What do you do if you get bit by a cottonmouth?

Most of them are not dangerous to humans. Some snakes, however, are venomous, and their bites can be life threatening. These dangerous snakes include the copperhead, rattlesnake, cottonmouth (water moccasin) and coral snake. If you are bitten by a venomous snake, call 911 immediately.

What happens if you get bitten by a cottonmouth?

Being bitten and injected with cottonmouth venom can lead to "temporary and/or permanent tissue and muscle damage; loss of an extremity, depending on the location of the bite; internal bleeding; and extreme pain around the injection area," Viernum added.

How are cottonmouth bites treated?

[10] Patients bitten by a cottonmouth snake will require observation, local wound care, the elevation of the affected limb, and potentially antivenom. Patients that have any signs of coagulopathy or worsening pain, edema, or ecchymosis should receive antivenom, and require admission.

Is a cottonmouth bite fatal?

The cottonmouth (also known as the water moccasin) bite is much more dangerous and harmful to humans than the bite of the closely related copperhead, but rarely leads to death. The cottonmouth is more aggressive, but as with the copperhead, biting isn't common unless the snake is actually touched.

How do you survive a cottonmouth snake bite?

Take off all jewelry and tight clothing to avoid problems with swelling. Keep the area of the bite below the heart to keep venom from spreading. Keep the person as still as possible to keep venom from spreading. Cover the bite loosely with a clean, dry bandage.

What to Do if You Are Bitten by a Cottonmouth

Which is worse cottonmouth or rattlesnake?

A bite from either a cottonmouth or a timber rattlesnake is enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. But, out of the two, the timber rattlesnake's bite is much more serious. While both species use hemotoxic venom, the timber rattlesnake's venom is more likely to cause serious complications, or even death, in humans.

Which snake bite kills fastest?

The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.

What's the difference between a cottonmouth and a water moccasin?

Cottonmouth, Water Moccasin – One and the Same

Although many people believe that water moccasins are distinct from cottonmouth snakes, the truth is that they are one and the same. Regardless of what it's called, all subspecies of this snake are venomous but not particularly aggressive.

What's the difference between a cottonmouth and a copperhead?

Cottonmouth snakes are generally considered to have more potent venom. Copperheads are considered less venomous and there is some controversy as to whether or not bites from copperhead snakes need to be treated with antivenom. Copperhead and juvenile cottonmouth snakes are both brown in color.

Are cottonmouths aggressive?

New research suggests that habitat loss, climate change, and other human-driven environmental stressors prompt cottonmouths to attack people more often than they otherwise would—a finding that turns a longstanding depiction of the snake as malicious aggressors on its head.

How poisonous is a water moccasin?

Water moccasins are deadly as their bite delivers potent venom that can kill humans. However, most bites rarely lead to death when attended to immediately. According to the University of Florida, cottonmouths accounted for only 1% of all deaths from snakebites in the United States.

Is there an antidote for water moccasins?

These species are some of the most deadly species on the planet. Luckily, if you are bitten by the Western Cottonmouth, there is antivenom. But, before you can be given anti-venom, you have to be bitten by a snake. It is important to make sure you have been bitten by a venomous snake.

How much is cottonmouth antivenom?

But the facility appears to have since lowered its price for CroFab. According to its price list — posted online to satisfy a recent federal requirement — the drug now costs $5,096.76 per vial. And the snake antivenin market in the U.S. now has another drug competing for patients: Anavip.

Can a water moccasin bite you underwater?

Besides sea-snakes, there are two common snakes that can live in or near water - the cottonmouth (water moccasin) and the water snake. Not only can snakes bite underwater, but water moccasins join a list of more than 20 species of venomous snakes in the United States making them even more of a threat.

How many cottonmouth bites a year?

Most cottonmouth envenomations in this series were treated with antivenom and were hospitalized beyond 24 hours. There are an estimated 5,000-10,000 snake bites annually in the United States (US) [1-3]. Nearly 98% of envenomations are due to snakes from the subfamily Crotalinae, colloquially known as pit vipers.

How long does it take to recover from copperhead bite?

Even though copperhead envenomation is rarely fatal, virtually all patients experience pain and swelling of the envenomated limb [6,8-11]. Most patients recover and resume activities of daily living within 2–4 weeks, but in a minority of cases, residual symptoms last a year or more [10-12].

Which is more aggressive copperhead or water moccasin?

That's why more people are bitten by copperheads than any other type of snake in the United States, according to the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension. The bites are painful and cause permanent scarring. Water moccasins are less aggressive, usually attacking only if provoked.

How do you tell if it's a cottonmouth?

Cottonmouths also usually have a neck that is narrower than their heads, while water snakes have necks that are not distinct from their bodies. Head shape can also be a telling clue. While cottonmouths have thick, block-shaped heads, a water snake's head is flat or slender, the University of Florida reports.

Which is worse rattlesnake or copperhead?

Snake species

Though most fatal bites are attributed to rattlesnakes, the copperhead accounts for more snakebite incidents than any other venomous North American species. Rattlesnake bites, by comparison, are approximately four times as likely to result in a death or major effects as a copperhead bite.

Why are cottonmouths called cottonmouths?

The cottonmouth receives its name from the whiteness of the interior of its mouth that it exposes as a defensive display.

What snake looks like a cottonmouth?

Water snakes, especially the northern water snake, can look very similar to cottonmouths. They are both dark in color, with darker markings along their bodies.

What is the number 1 deadliest snake?

Saw-Scaled Viper (Echis Carinatus) – The Deadliest Snake In The World. Although its venom is not very potent, the Saw-Scaled Viper is considered as one of the world's deadliest snakes as it is believed to be responsible for more human fatalities than all other snakes put together.

What state has the most venomous snakes?

While plenty of states are host to a variety of poisonous creatures, the state with the largest number of venomous reptiles is Arizona.

What snake kills the most humans every year?

Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus). The saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) may be the deadliest of all snakes, since scientists believe it to be responsible for more human deaths than all other snake species combined.