what would happen if you got bit by a rattle snake?

Answer 1

Well
I hope this is for curiousity's sake and not cause youve been bit!

First.. much depends on What type of rattler bites you and if its a single strike or more than one.

Also Rattle snakes can strtike without invenomating the vitctim, so you can even get a dry bite.. It will still leave puncture wounds but not much else...

Now having said all of that...
If you get bit you have to assume there was venom..

You NEVER cut and suck the wound like the old movies show.. But medical intervention is key in how well you are going to do..

The location of the bite makes a difference... The closer to your heart the worse it is.

Most rattler bites are NOT directly fatal.. that means the person survives the bite... with medical care....

There will be an large amount of tissue damage, sometimes rewuiring skin grafting and multiple surgeries...
When a bite is fatal it is often due to complications like Cardiac Arrest either from lack of timely medical care or just due to a stressed heart from the experience even with good Medical care.
Another factor is the persons age and health already... pre existing conditions can lessen a survival rate and also young children have a higher risk as well.

People often think when they hear that a rattler bite is rarely fatal that its no big deal.. but it really is..

If you are ever bit by a snake, and you are not SURE of what type it is... tr yto have somebody capture it for the Docs to see at teh ER.. take a picture something.. this helps them choose the best Anti Venom for treatment.

Never put a snake in a pillow case thinking it cant bite you.. a Pit viper can bite you through that easily. Plastic container is best, Metal can or bucket with lid... Its best to let an officer capture the snake if you can... or ID it... Many folks have been bitten trtyingto capture a snake that bit somebody else .. Then the ER sees 2 victims not 1.

And remember... snakes dont attack unless they feel threatened.. give them some room and leave them be and you can live happily with them around. The only exception to this regarding US snakes anyway is the Water Moccosin. They are quite Aggressive and Will actually come after you. The rest of the Native US snakes if left alone or given room to escape will Happily leave!

Hope this helps

Wismom

Answer 2

Let's assume a worst-case scenario- solid arm bite from a decent sized and toxicity of snake, say a Timber rattler. No hospitalization.

At first is a fairly mild pain from the actual puncture wounds, and a lot of shock. After a few minutes, a burning pain grows and will shoot up the arm. The wound site will turn red and hot, with a continuing trickle of blood.

The hemotoxins will begin to break down your blood, literally exploding the blood cells. The enzymes in the toxin will begin to dissolve your muscle tissues. At first, this will be a cold, burning numbness (yeah, sounds contradictory, but differnet tissues will be at different stages).

Your arm will start to swell, and the very swelling will cause pain and stretch your skin like a sausage.

All of this will keep building for a while. Blood dying, muscles being dissolved, tissues swelling. Quickly the various dead and decaying products will start to flush through yor body in the blood stream and lymph system. You'll go into a deep shock as the lack of useful blood stops circulating enough oxygen in your system.

Giant cracks in the skin and huge gashes or pits in the muscles are not uncommon. Entire bundles of muscles can be literally eaten away.

SOME people can 'sleep it off' and not bother with hospitals, even with this much pain and damage. Your kidneys will start to rebel, your other organs become stressed and tender. Your appetite goes away and you are in real danger of dehydration on top of the other problems.

Systemic infections are sweeping through you- chills, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, weakness, fatigue, and sheer pain- both localized in the arm and overall.

Odd are you are going to live. The lost muscle tissue will eventually rebuild after long recovery and therapy... maybe. You might even regain use of the arm. Your heart will be damaged- possibly quite badly- it is a muscle too, and a lot of the venom has passed through the poor organ. Stressed-out hearts claim many bite victims who survive the initial envenomation.

Answer 3

The venom of these snakes causes major soft tissue destruction. The site around the bite will rapidly begin to swell and become very discolored(black&blue). The pain is like a burning flash that will intensify as the affected tissue continues to die. You will become dizzy and your heart will pound as your pulse rate increases. You will sweat profusely and become sick to your stomach. The sooner you can get to medical attention & receive the anti-venom injections, the sooner the tissue destruction and pain will be reduced. These bites almost always leave some degree of permanent damage, but are not usually fatal in a healthy adult that receives timely treatment.

Answer 4

The rattle-snake belongs to the viper family and their bite can kill you, what one of the people who answered your question does not seem to know is that the rattle-snake can inject as much poison and it chooses to that is why some people survive. So whatever you can do to avoid getting bitten do it. And give them all as wide of a berth as you can ...............

Answer 5

well you would get a rash in the area bitten. After a few hours you would get a really violent throb and you would slowly but surly die. but now a days you can just go to the hospital and get anti venom so you would not die if you got anti venom. what this anti venom is, its the venom in a snake if you extract the bodd poison in the poison it will kill the other pathogen (the other venom thats bad) cell of the poison.

Answer 6

canines preserve a rattle snake chew much extra effective than people. I definitely have widely used of two canines that have been bitten and that they are positive. they only swelled up for some days then have been back to widely used.

Answer 7

If left untreated the poison will go through your entire system and you could die. If ever biten by any snake seek medical attention immediately.

Answer 8

Rattlensnakes are venomous, so the poison would enter your bloodstream through the bite and affect your body. Without anti-venom you could die. At the least, you would become violently ill.

Answer 9

It would hurt.

The bite is rarely fatal since there are so many hosptials equipped with anti-venom. The trick is to get medical attention right away.

Answer 10

u would need to see a doctor or need to see some-one about it because it could lead to death if not treated.