Snake bites could be on the rise this fall. What you need to know before hitting the trails

St. Mary Medical Center warns people taking walks in the woods this fall to beware of snakes hiding under rocks or in those colorful piles of leaves. 

This summer, snakes, including copperheads, have snacked on that multitude of  crunchy cicadas that only make their appearance once every 17 years.  

Eating well could help the snake population multiply and that, coupled with the fact that more people are taking to outdoor activities during the pandemic, could lead to bites, the hospital notes.  

"They might be more active this year," said Dr. Darin Geracimos, chief of emergency medicine at the hospital.

Earlier this year, 17-year-old Audrey Weir of Northampton was bitten by a copperhead while visiting High Rocks Park in Tinicum.

She drove herself to St. Mary where she was initially evaluated and then taken by rescue squad to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she was given several doses of anti-venom medication to reduce the swelling in her hand that was bitten.  She's now doing fine, her mother, Stephanie Weir, said last week.

St. Mary now has a supply of the drug,  CroFab, to be used if any other patients would need it, but it's better not to get too close to a venomous snake, said Geracimos. 

Weir had gotten close to see the snake since she has had pet snakes.

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"If you're in an area with copperheads, you would want to wear long pants and boots," he said.  And if you see a snake, back away slowly.  Copperheads usually only bite when they feel threatened or if someone steps on them by not seeing them since their skin is camouflaged with shades of brown and orange. They can be founded in both wooded areas and meadows of high grass.

"Most bites are on the lower extremities," Geracimos said.

He said that people should not apply a tourniquet  or cut and try to suck the venom out of the site, but rather call 911 and get right to a hospital where anti-venom medication is available.  He said the app Snakebite911 has a listing of local hospitals equipped to handle a snake bite. "you can get pretty ill from it," he said, and need to be monitored for at least 12 to 24 hours. 

He said besides copperheads, other poisonous snakes in Pennsylvania are timber rattlesnakes  and Eastern massasauga snakes, a type of rattlesnake.

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Karen Verderame, animal programs developer at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, said copperheads "are named so for their orange/brownish head and body. They have hourglass like markings down their dorsal side of their bodies. Typically they are not considered very aggressive. It is always good to give them a wide berth because they can be territorial if approached," she said. 

Both she and Ned Gilmore, director of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at the academy in Philadelphia, said they aren't aware of extra copperheads prowling about but Gilmore said, "If there is an increase in snake abundance in certain areas of the Delaware Valley, it maybe because of the wet and warm weather we been having. Also lots of people were spending more hours outside and exploring different places in the last year." 

Verderame suggested it's good if people get to know how to spot different species of snakes.

"As more people venture out hiking during the pandemic and nice weather, I would recommend learning how to identify a copperhead. There are about 21 species of snakes considered to Pennsylvania. Knowing how to recognize key features of copperheads (orange/brown coloring, hourglass patter, spade shaped heads) will help people avoid them as they travel." Most other snakes in Southeastern Pennsylvania are "not venomous in our area," she said. 

She said copperheads are a type of pit viper, a group of snakes that have heat sending pits between their eyes and nostrils, and are considered ambush predators. They hide in brush and wooded areas and use their heat-sensing pits to detect potential prey.

"Their venom is hemotoxin, meaning that is attacks the tissue near the bite site. It is not considered highly toxic nor deadly. Death from a bite of a copperhead is extremely rare," she said.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that between 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year but only five die from the bites.  But snake bites can lead to permanent injury in some cases, particularly with rattlesnakes. "For those bitten by rattlesnakes, 10–44 percent will have lasting injuries. An example of a disability or permanent injury is the ability to use a finger or losing part or all of it," the institute states.

Geracimos said that snake venom has blood-thinning characteristics and hospitals will run a blood test on someone bitten to determine if their clotting factor has been affected. Rarely does it cause bleeding.  Anyone bitten by any type of snake should get it checked out, he said, and especially if the wound is on their head or trunk or if it causes swelling and tenderness at the site or if the person experiences a blood pressure drop or vomiting, which are signs of a system-wide response. 

And he cautioned that any bite should be checked if it breaks the skin since bites by other animals can carry bacteria from their mouths, even if they aren't rabid. That applies to human bites as well.  "If there's a true injury, you should get it evaluated," the emergency physician said.

To contact Peg Quann, email mquann@couriertimes.com.