Ouch...

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Do we have any herpetologists on board?

Not me.

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Recently, I have heard people debate rattle snake bites. Some say that the venom of the snake is deadly and will kill a human in average health within hours and some say that is not at all true and one can go days without medical treatment and not die.

Anyone know the real truth?

I think really might depend on both the snake and the type of snake. Get bit by a Mojave Green rattlesnake, full envenomation, you'd better be close to a horsepital. Get bit by a nervious old western diamondback, you might get no venom at all.

Hit, and, ahem, miss.

One thing I've heard, is the cut and suck treatment is way out. I hear tell of testing where folks have been "envenomated" with a syringe, then cutting and suction applies to see how much juice comes out. Very little. Probably makes more sense to "RICE" than anything else, and try to get to medical attention.

Seems like several folk get bit out here (Utah) every year with very little to no ill effects. I think more folks die of bee stings. And, was a feller that lost a ton of flesh to a spider bite.

I dunno. Knock on wood, but, I think that if I got bit in a real remote area, miles and many hours away from medical treatment, I'd probably hurry up and wait to see what type of swelling I got, whilst tryin' to evaluate the snake type and size. I think older/bigger snakes tend to strike out of fear and not predation, and will inject very little juice. Problem out here is, there are a number of different types of snakes, so, being able to tell a great basin from a pygmy (quite small full grown), might make a difference.

If I didn't get much local swelling, and didn't feel too bad after a couple of hours, then I'd consider myself lucky and probably not worry about tryin' to hurry to medical attention. But, realistically, I'd probably perish from the shock of it all (seem to have lost my boyhood fearlessness of snakes).

If I get bit in the backyard (we get the occasional rattlesnake in town here), easy money, I'm clinic or ER bound. But, there's many a time when I'm a long ways from help.

Anyone know proper protocal for gettin' bit in a remote area? Ie, whats the WFR (wilderness first responder) recommended treatment for snake bites?

Brian in SLC