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  Discussion on Rattlesnake Bite
Author Message
Member:
patricia

Posted on Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 7:04 pm:

Dr. O,

Sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday a.m. my horse was bitten on the nose - between the nostrils - by a snake. The bite marks were clearly evident and considering our location and the numerous sitings of rattlesnakes this year, I am assuming it was a rattler that got him. His nose was already significantly swollen and I administered bute, put cold compresses near the wound and on the side of his face for as long as he would co-operate. I was concerned that his nostrils would swell and he would be unable to breathe, but in spite of the swelling, he seems to be doing OK. Of course this had to happen on a holiday weekend! I located a vet taking emergency calls and met him at his office to get penicillin and more bute. He has suggested a course of 5 days of the antibiotic and 1 1/2 grams of bute twice a day. Today the swelling seems to have gone done a very tiny bit and I will continue treatment as suggested. My biggest concern is what I should be looking at over the next several days as far as tissue damage (necrosis) at the site of the bite. What will it look like? Will it be clearly evident that it I'll need to have it opened up and drained?

Thanks to anyone who can educate me so I'll know what to look for and what to do.

Patricia
Member:
mrose

Posted on Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 9:37 pm:

Just to reassure you somewhat until you hear from Dr. O., a friend of mine had a yearling that got bit on the nose by a rattler. She basically did the same things you did and the horse had no side affects after the swelling went down. Hopefully your horse will be the same. It's a scary thing though to see. I've read you should put a piece of hose or surgical tubing down the horse's nose to keep the airway clear, but I don't know anyone that's tried it.
New Member:
ctfontes

Posted on Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 10:50 pm:

I had a horse get bitten by a rattle snake years ago. I discovered him near dark on a Saturday evening. By the time I got a vet to come check him, it had been hours. The vet administered a shot for pain, one for swelling and gave me antibiotics for infection. His poor lips were so swollen, it was very difficult for him to pick up food. But the vet said the more he tried to pick up grain/hay with his lips, the better for the swelling. It took several weeks for the swelling to subside, but there were no long term problems at all. I never saw any problems with tissue damage, etc. The only mistake I made was while waiting for the vet, I had read in a book about inserting pieces of hose into the nostrils to keep them open. I duct taped the hose inside his nostrils via his halter. The vet asked what in the world I had done, and when I explained, he politely let me know that the hose is held in place by the swollen nostrils and in this case, the hose was NOT needed. He said all I did was irritate the inside on his nasal passage and caused him undue pain. I felt SO bad. It was a scarry situation, but turned out fine. I hope for the best with your horse.
Cathy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 8:45 am:

Hello PatriciaKW,
It sounds like you have the treatment in place. Usually viper bites open up on their own and don't require draining though aggressive debridement of necrotic tissue is warranted to speed healing and avoid complications. The most prominent characteristic of necrotic tissue is that it does not bleed when cut though there is often bleeding at the where it attaches to the living tissue. Increased swelling, pain, fever would all be signs things are not going as they should.
DrO
Member:
gailkin

Posted on Thursday, Sep 6, 2007 - 3:12 pm:

I worry about snake bites as we have lots of them at our ranch. You are supposed to insert the hose or tubing into a nostril in case the nostrils swell shut and cut off breathing. I have bought clear tubing available at the hardware stores and keep that in short lengths. I also had vets at Davis show me how to insert it--the nose opening curves downward, so the curve of the tubing should curve downward. If you pushed it too high you could do damage. If you get to see a horse's skull, it is easy to see how to position the tubing. We had a horse in my area who died from a bite on the nose due to swelling. One never knows exactly how much venom a snake will release on a bite; it depends on their mood, when they have bitten or eaten previously, etc. Sometimes they bite and do not release venom at all. It is better to be prepared, and I would not feel bad about doing what you think is best for your horse Cathy. In a crisis situation, we make the best choices we can for our horses.
Gail
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Sep 8, 2007 - 8:25 am:

Gail how long and what diameters of tubing does UCal recommend?
DrO
Member:
gailkin

Posted on Saturday, Sep 8, 2007 - 3:20 pm:

The vet spent 20 minutes showing me the skull and discussing rattlesnake bites, but did not give me hose length or diameter even though I asked. So I use my best guess: the clear tubing is about 5/8 inch in diameter and I get about 12-14 inch long pieces. I don't know that they need to be that long; maybe you could advise us since they need to go past the soft parts of the skull where swelling would close off the nasal opening. It is just important to remember to curve the tubing downward toward the back of the throat so as not to puncture the top portion of the roof of the mouth. I think he thought a shorter piece would be fine, but I wanted to make certain in had long enough pieces. I hope I never need to use these, but my youngster is always poking his nose where it doesn't belong. Thanks for any suggestions Dr. O.
Gail
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Sep 10, 2007 - 9:57 am:

Hmmm... the first thing that occurs to me is that the size is going to vary from horse to horse so a good place to start would be to get a good idea of the diameter of the nasal passage and measure how far back the bony area begins from the nostrils opening. You might try examining your horse nostrils with your fingers or use a flash light to estimate the diameter. This might be best done under sedation with some horses. Next palpate-percuss where the bone begins on the nose.

Without a bit of research to guide me the recommendation that makes the most sense is to buy tubing that is slightly smaller than your estimate of the diameter of the nostril and allow for several inches past where the bony part begins and for several inches to hang out the nose. Remember you can always shorten a too long a length. Carefully trim away the edge you are inserting so that it has a gently bevel and not a sharp edge.

Prior to inserting it should be lightly lubricated with water soluble lubricant if available but a very light coating of vegetable or baby oil will do in a pinch. Insert is with the gently curved portion of the tube pointing slightly ventrally (downward) so that it slides along the floor of the nasal passage. If you run into a obstruction try gently rotating the tube a little to the right or left. I would then duct tape the exposed ends, you will need to wipe off any lubricant before applying, to a halter so that they stay in place.

You might want to practice before an actual emergency to get the knack, the key is firm but gentle insertion.

Without prior preparation consider using water hose of the largest diameter than can be inserted into the horses nasal passage following the rules of insertion above.
DrO
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