Entries filed under 'rattlesnake'

Humans Vs. Rattlesnakes, Part 2: Will Gaiters Protect Me?

A reader asks: Does wearing gaiters protect a person from rattlesnake bites? The question is a good one. The Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS has taught thousands of people how to handle emergencies since 1990, but we've yet to find a study that definitively answers how well gaiters protect from rattlesnake fangs. There are many factors that come into play. What size rattlesnakes? What types of gaiters? ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on September 14, 2012 8:45 AM & Tagged WMI of NOLS, gaiters, rattlesnake and wilderness medicine | permalink | Comments



Human Vs. Rattlesnake: What to Do If You Are Bitten

Each year in America some 6,000 to 8,000 people report venomous snakebite injuries, most by rattlesnakes. Amazing myths persist about what one should do in such an emergency, everything from sucking out the venom (which doesn't work) to electrocuting the bite victim (which hurts and just might kill you). We at the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS have been teaching people how to handle medical emergencies for over 20 years. While we love a good, improvised traction splint as much as the ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on July 24, 2012 12:31 PM & Tagged WMI of NOLS, Wilderness Medicine Institute, rattlesnake and snake bites | permalink | Comments



Crossing Paths with Wildlife: What's Your Story?

So far this hiking season I've encountered deer (doesn't everybody?), bighorn sheep (very cool, but they took off before I could dig out my camera), foxes (ditto), a couple of indignant horny toads, wild turkeys (in Zion National Park, off all places) and, hoo-doggie, a rattler.  The rattlesnake (also seen in Zion) had no interest in my buddy and me during our meeting on an off-trail route, and after sounding off, it headed off in the opposite direction.  Interesting to see; happy that our ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on September 13, 2011 4:46 PM & Tagged national parks, rattlesnake, turkeys, wildlife and zion | permalink | Comments



Treating Snakebite: Keep It Simple

If one believes any of the lore on treating snakebites, then you have a bewildering number of options. Should I pack the limb in ice or apply ice only on the bite? Should I use a stun gun or jumper cables from my car battery to run electricity through the bite? Perhaps I should slather it with meat tenderizer, use a tourniquet, hope my special black rock absorbs venom or resort to incision and suction, a la John Wayne in the film True Grit.  If you believe the credible medical advice, as I do, ...

Posted by Tod at WMI on July 29, 2010 8:20 PM & Tagged NOLS, WMI, backcountry, first aid, rattlesnake, snakebite, wilderness medical institute and wilderness medicine | permalink | Comments