Lessons learned from 20 years of snakebites

The best way to avoid getting bitten by a venomous snake is to not go looking for one in the first place.

Like eating well and exercising to feel better, the avoidance approach is fully backed by science. A new study from University of Florida Health researchers analyzed 20 years of snakebite cases seen at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The results were published in the Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“This is the first time we’ve evaluated two decades of venomous snakebites here,” said senior author and assistant professor of medicine Norman L. Beatty, M.D., FACP.

Researchers analyzed 546 de-identified patient records from 2002 to 2022 and highlighted notable conclusions—for instance, that a third of the snakebites analyzed were preventable and caused by people intentionally engaging with wild snakes.

“Typically, people’s experiences with getting bitten are due to an interaction that was inadvertent—they stumble upon a snake or reach for something without seeing one camouflaged,” Beatty said. “In this case, people were seeking them out. There were a few individuals who were bitten on more than one occasion.”

Most (77.8%) of the snakebites occurred in adult men while they were handling wild snakes, and most of the bites were perpetrated by the diminutive pygmy rattlesnake and the cottonmouth. The latter is named for the white lining of its mouth, which it displays when threatened.

“I was less surprised to see those species emerge as some of the most common ones people were bitten by, but the robust presence of other, less common species in the data—like the eastern coral snake, southern copperhead, timber rattlesnake and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, was interesting,” Beatty said.

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is one of the most venomous snakes in North America.

Most patients were bitten on their hands and fingers and about 10% of them attempted outdated self-treatments no longer recommended by doctors—like sucking out the venom.

Initially, the study began as a medical student research project, thanks to a handful of medical students who worked with Beatty to review the cases. The intention was to dive deep into the circumstances of each encounter and learn more about the treatment given, as well as the outcomes.

Fourth-year medical student River Grace, the paper’s first author, said the work struck a personal note.

“My dad is a reptile biologist, so I’ve grown up around snakes my whole life,” Grace said. “He was bitten by a venomous snake many years ago and ended up hospitalized for multiple weeks, so it was interesting to keep that experience in mind while going over the data.”

Grace noted that it typically took those bitten over an hour on average to travel from where the bite occurred to the hospital.

“It seems like the reason for that was people not knowing exactly what to do once they’d been bitten, or underestimating the severity of the bite,” he said. “Some would just sit at home for hours.”

Floridians share their home with a variety of scaly neighbors who don’t always welcome visitors—accidental or not. Ultimately, thanks to the timely care of providers, only three snake bites were fatal. However, antivenom is no panacea. Those who are lucky enough to receive it in time can still incur complications from the original snake bites, like tissue damage, or even a fatal allergic reaction to the antivenom itself.

Consequently, researchers look toward improving the processes used to triage snake bites in the emergency room, ensuring that providers are equipped with the knowledge and the know-how to shorten time to treatment.

“In the future, we think we’d love to get involved in enhancing provider education so everyone in the health care setting is confident in being able to identify and administer antivenom as quickly and safely as possible,” Grace said.

The best way to avoid getting bitten by a venomous snake is to not go looking for one in the first place.

Like eating well and exercising to feel better, the avoidance approach is fully backed by science. A new study from University of Florida Health researchers analyzed 20 years of snakebite cases seen at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The results were published in the Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“This is the first time we’ve evaluated two decades of venomous snakebites here,” said senior author and assistant professor of medicine Norman L. Beatty, M.D., FACP.

Researchers analyzed 546 de-identified patient records from 2002 to 2022 and highlighted notable conclusions—for instance, that a third of the snakebites analyzed were preventable and caused by people intentionally engaging with wild snakes.

“Typically, people’s experiences with getting bitten are due to an interaction that was inadvertent—they stumble upon a snake or reach for something without seeing one camouflaged,” Beatty said. “In this case, people were seeking them out. There were a few individuals who were bitten on more than one occasion.”

Most (77.8%) of the snakebites occurred in adult men while they were handling wild snakes, and most of the bites were perpetrated by the diminutive pygmy rattlesnake and the cottonmouth. The latter is named for the white lining of its mouth, which it displays when threatened.

“I was less surprised to see those species emerge as some of the most common ones people were bitten by, but the robust presence of other, less common species in the data—like the eastern coral snake, southern copperhead, timber rattlesnake and the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, was interesting,” Beatty said.

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is one of the most venomous snakes in North America.

Most patients were bitten on their hands and fingers and about 10% of them attempted outdated self-treatments no longer recommended by doctors—like sucking out the venom.

Initially, the study began as a medical student research project, thanks to a handful of medical students who worked with Beatty to review the cases. The intention was to dive deep into the circumstances of each encounter and learn more about the treatment given, as well as the outcomes.

Fourth-year medical student River Grace, the paper’s first author, said the work struck a personal note.

“My dad is a reptile biologist, so I’ve grown up around snakes my whole life,” Grace said. “He was bitten by a venomous snake many years ago and ended up hospitalized for multiple weeks, so it was interesting to keep that experience in mind while going over the data.”

Grace noted that it typically took those bitten over an hour on average to travel from where the bite occurred to the hospital.

“It seems like the reason for that was people not knowing exactly what to do once they’d been bitten, or underestimating the severity of the bite,” he said. “Some would just sit at home for hours.”

Floridians share their home with a variety of scaly neighbors who don’t always welcome visitors—accidental or not. Ultimately, thanks to the timely care of providers, only three snake bites were fatal. However, antivenom is no panacea. Those who are lucky enough to receive it in time can still incur complications from the original snake bites, like tissue damage, or even a fatal allergic reaction to the antivenom itself.

Consequently, researchers look toward improving the processes used to triage snake bites in the emergency room, ensuring that providers are equipped with the knowledge and the know-how to shorten time to treatment.

“In the future, we think we’d love to get involved in enhancing provider education so everyone in the health care setting is confident in being able to identify and administer antivenom as quickly and safely as possible,” Grace said.