Man hospitalized after rattlesnake bite

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Florida (WALA) - An Escambia County man had to be life-flighted to the hospital after being bitten by a rattlesnake. The man was bitten in his own yard Monday evening.

It’s not an injury emergency personnel see often, but it’s one that requires immediate attention. Escambia County Fire-Rescue responded to a snakebite call shortly after 6:30 Monday evening. When they arrived at the residence near the Walnut Hill community, they found a 28-year-old man with obvious symptoms of a snakebite. He had been bitten on the ankle by a rattlesnake while walking in his yard. Life-Flight was called in to medi-vac him to Sacred Heart Hospital.

Michelle Mullins lives next door to the victim and heard all the commotion.

“Well, we realized something had happened when the dogs went nuts,” Mullins said. “My daughter came and got me and she said, 'There’s a helicopter in the yard.'”

Mullins said it’s pretty common to see rattlesnakes nearby. A short walk down her driveway revealed pieces of a recently shed snakeskin. Doctors said the main thing to do if you are bitten by a snake is to remain calm.

“The old days, they tell you to make an 'X' and suck out the venom and all that stuff; that’s been debunked,” said Dr Gary Pablo, the Director of Emergency Services for Sacred Heart Hospital. “There’s absolutely no benefit to doing any of that. What is a benefit is for the patient to stay calm, because the calmer they are, the lower the blood pressure, the lower the heart rate. It’s less likely they’re going to spread the venom.”

Dr. Pablo said keeping the snakebite victim’s heart-rate down and starting anti-venom treatment is critical. The speed of recovery largely depends on the amount of venom injected.

“You may have a recovery time in just a day or two with not having to get the anti-venom to somebody that’s very critically ill,” Pablo said. “They could be in the intensive care unit for over a week.”

The victim in this case was still in critical condition Tuesday afternoon. This marks the fourth snakebite reported in Escambia County this year.