Regular exposure to all sorts of wonderful information is one of the fringe benefits of my job. Should I happen upon something especially helpful and/or interesting, I feel I should pass it along to you. Case in point: a textbook on Wilderness Medicine informs me that most pit viper (rattlesnake) bites in North America "occur around dawn or dusk, during warmer months, when snakes and people are more active outdoors. A young, intoxicated male bitten on the hand while intentionally interacting with a snake (e.g., tormenting the animal, trying to catch it, or working with a captive specimen) is the most common clinical profile in the United States."
Please, young men, if you are drunk--do not play with the snake.
One thing that this textbook makes abundantly clear: you do not want to get bitten by a rattlesnake. Furthermore, do not attempt to catch or kill the snake. You may get bitten again while you should be rushing to the hospital before you die or your bitten limb swells up, turns black, rots and falls off. If you insist on taking revenge on the snake you were teasing, please handle its decapitated head with care. "Serious morbidity and even death have been reported after envenomation by decapitated rattlesnake heads. In addition, an apparently dead snake or a decapitated snake head can have a bite reflex for up to I hour after death." Now you know, if they had to put that in a medical textbook, well, there's a reason. And somewhere out there some poor, dumb fool has a great drinking story. You, however, have been warned.
