Dr. Rebekah Hartfield Talks About Snakebite Preparedness

Doctor Rebecca Hartfield is a veterinarian in Holdenville, and she joined LeAnne Taylor at News on 6 at 9 to discuss snakebite preparedness.

LeAnne: What are the common types of snakes that might be on property around Oklahoma?

Hartfield: So the main ones that I see here are going to be copperheads, rattlesnakes, Pygmy rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, water moccasins, or coral snakes. Those first three I mentioned are those pit vipers, and those are ones that, if you get to the vet soon enough, those have a better prognosis because we can treat those. Of course, we have nonvenomous snakes as well, like your grass snakes, but can still cause some damage.

LeAnne: So, what are some of the symptoms or signs that your pet has been bit by a snake? And I know you've seen several in the last month or so at your clinic.

Hartfield: I think I've seen six or seven just in the last month. The most common place that you're going to see them get bit is, of course, their muzzle, anywhere around their mouth or their neck, because those dogs, and cats are curious and go after that snake, and that's right where they bite them. Sometimes you'll see some bite marks on their legs, but the most common area is going to be their muzzle. So, whenever you see it, a lot of times owners are going to see the snake bite. If you see it, make sure you can identify that snake, if possible, being careful of course. However, with nonvenomous snakes, you're going to see swelling, maybe some bruising. They're going to be really, really painful, and so these can also lead to secondary infections with venomous snakes, this is really going to depend on the species of snake. They can cause the tissue to necrotize, so to die, wherever they're a bit. They can have a lot of swelling, extreme pain, and bleeding, which can lead to clotting disorders, neurological disorders, and other bodily organ damage. And the biggest one that we worry about is shock and then them being, of course, in respiratory distress. So the swelling and the pain and the bruising are the big things that you're going to see first.

LeAnne: Let's say you see your dog bit by a snake. What can you do? How do you provide kind of that first aid?

Hartfield: So the first thing is to protect yourself. As I mentioned, these dogs are in extreme pain. So, please muzzle your dog or your cat before you go to pick them up, because they might turn around and bite you because they're so painful. The other thing is, try to carry your dog and not let them walk. We don't want to increase blood pressure or blood flow that gets to the heart, we want to minimize that. So carry them, keep them as quiet as possible. As you're on your way to your veterinarian, you want to keep the area that's bitten either at the level or below the heart, so that blood flow isn't getting back to the heart.

LeAnne: Once you get in there, how do you go about treating it?

Hartfield: The first thing that's always helpful is if the owner did see what kind of snake, that really can help us guide us, how quickly we need to act on things like antivenin. So if it's a venomous snake, this is obviously a big emergency. If it's nonvenomous, it's not as emergent, but we definitely need to control the swelling and control the pain. A lot of times we're going to do subcutaneous fluids, maybe some IV fluids, antibiotics for that secondary infection, and then, of course, anti-inflammatory. Anti-inflammatories to help with that pain. If it's a venomous snake, we're going to be really worried about hypotension, low blood pressure, treating them that they might be in shock. So we're going to do that with some fluids, antibiotics, pain medication. And then, of course, if we know what kind of snake, we can put an antivenin. On top of that, the biggest concern we have, of course, as mentioned earlier, is respiratory distress. So we may have to add on a few other things to help keep them comfortable and so that they can breathe OK, like oxygen.

LeAnne: Time is obviously of the essence. A lot of times, naturally, we have a tendency to give our dogs Benadryl as a way to kind of calm them. Is that beneficial?

Hartfield: It's OK. It's not wrong to give. Just know that Benadryl is an antihistamine with bites, snake bites specifically. It doesn't really have a histamine response. It's not a major component of a bite. The swelling that you see occurs from cell leakage, not necessarily from a histamine release. Now, your dog could be allergic to maybe something in that bite, so it's not wrong to get Benadryl. Just make sure and check with your veterinarian before give it.

If you want more information or reach out to Dr. Hartfield, go check out her website.