A mountain biker in Phoenix continued riding for 30 minutes after getting bitten by a rattlesnake,
Fox 10 reports.
Jim Watkins, 75, was riding in the mid-afternoon when he tried to unclip on an uphill section of the Apache Wash trail. He was unable to and fell directly in a rattlesnake's den. He said: "It felt like a bee sting. And then as I looked down, I could see the snake was recoiling back up, but still vibrating his rattles. And so I pulled away."
Watkins continued riding for 30 minutes before his left calf started to swell up and he was finally convinced to call for medical help. He told
AZ Central, "Once I got in the truck, I got poison control on the speaker phone and started talking with them. And they said, 'This is serious, you need to go to an emergency room,'"
Watkins went to Banner University Medical Center and was assessed once he arrived. He received three treatments of anti-venom that counteracted the snake's venom and reduced the swelling. Untreated rattlesnake venom will cause breakdown of muscles and skin, as well as a lot of edema and swelling, in the worst case scenario, it will induce shock and coma.
Watkins is expected to be OK but Daniel Brooks, medical director of Banner’s Poison and Drug Information Center, has advised that anyone bitten by a rattlesnake should seek anti-venom as soon as possible by calling the 24-hour Poison Control Hotline at 1-800-222-1222.
135 Comments
Overnight stay at the hospital probably $15,000. Check.
Total out the door experience $51,000.
SRAM NX Groupset to put on your single speed mtn bike so you don't run out of gears and fall on to a rattlesnake $400.
Just saying
I would have been the microphone drop if he fell over after cracking an Enve e-bike rim, while riding an e-bike, gets bit by the snake, then got carbon splinters in his hand when grabbing the non cracked rim, and said in the interview that he was just riding his down country bike but would not have crashed if he was riding the M9 dh rim instead.
But I’m on flats no so probs.
While in the bushes a rattle snake bites his pecker.
I call 911 and they say to save his life the venom needs to be sucked out of the wound, they suggest using the mouth.
I hang up the phone and my friend says "what did they say"
I reply "The doctor says, your going to die."
(although I would probably pee my pants if I got bitten by one...)
.....
Snake bite has an average mortality rate of 0.03 per 100,000 per year. So yep, not all make it. Most do.
A Public Safety Message. Do not ignore it, seek help, try to move as less as possible, immobilize the bitten limb (as you get mostly bitten in limbs) See video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQEKr8ldGJ0 on how to.
Hope this is better
We do not use tourniquet's on bites from Australian snakes either; a pressure bandage (like that you'd apply to a sprain; firm but not restricting blood flow) for the entirety of the affected limb and immobilisation are key to treatment. Call for help, be transported out by someone else/ambulance.
Also, because of the smaller fangs the bite doesn't usually present as a typical "two puncture wounds" snake bike, but maybe a few light lacerations or scratches. The fangs are really quite small, comparable to a small splinter point, worth googling if you're interested.
Obviously, read up about necessary precautions for wherever you're riding and stay safe out there shredders!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQEKr8ldGJ0
Me: "I'm mountain biking and I hear a rattle snake, it's close...."
This guys nuts, waiting until his calf is swollen up until he calls for help! Hope he recovers quickly.
BTW, who's going to make the first Enve joke on this post...?
Another reason to ride flats.
The first time I saw/heard one was also the last day I ever rode with ear buds in.
Hope I’m as cool as him at 75.
Wonder if he'll switch to flat pedals now?
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