Page 5 - Black Range Naturalist, Vol. 2, No. 2

walker. Whenever I put my foot down the pain was intense. The feeling of blood rushing to my ankle was horrific. It was easier to crawl on my hands and knees with my left leg raised up than it was to walk. What a sight!!
While I was healing I would put a poultice of Yerba Mansa leaves on the bite area. You could visibly see the difference as the black and blue faded immediately when I did this! I also would put CBD oil on the area every evening. I believe that both of these things helped as my recovery was fairly quick and the visible damage...not so visible!
It has now been 6 months since the “INCIDENT”. I am so very lucky...not lucky to have been bitten, but lucky that the after effects are minimal, or at least to me they are. Other than my calf and foot turning black, blue, and yellow, I never had any necrosis or sloughing off of skin. I still have pain at the bite area as well as at different spots on my leg. I believe that some muscles and nerves were damaged. I can hope that it is not permanent. When you look at the bite area, it appears to be a few added little freckles. Below my ankle the skin is a bit darker. All in all, if you didn’t know you wouldn’t know it had happened.
Definitely a story for my grandkids.
COMMON QUESTIONS ANSWERED
• The snake never rattled
• The snake was not coiled
• There are 3 snake bite marks ..the top 2 are 1” apart
• If I had not seen the movement of the snake I would not
have immediately known that I was bitten
• The pain is unlike anything I have ever felt ...HORRIFIC • It did not hurt immediately
• The area where I was bitten is still painful like a bruise • The area is still slightly discolored
• I believe that the snake was trying to get away from my activity and that in its viewpoint I went back one too many times for chicken scratch
• I still am not fond of snakes
• I now wear Chippewa snake boots, super comfortable
• We live in a great area where the community support after
this horrific incident was and is still overwhelming ...Thank
you always
• Dallas lets the chickens out in the morning
Rattlesnake Venom
See Randy Gray’s article about the rattlesnakes of the Black Range in Vol. 1, No. 1 of this magazine.
The venom of a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is primarily hemotoxic (meaning that it affects the circulatory system primarily), but it also contains cytotoxins and myotoxins which affect cells and muscle. Most of the snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico (10 to 20% of untreated bites result in death), and most snakebites in the United States, are from the Western Diamondback.
If you are struck, seek medical advice and follow it. Do not assume that you have had a dry strike!!
Snake bite ...the red line is dried blood, at the time it hurt too much to wipe it away.
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