Stanford expert warns that Bay Area may face greater snake danger this year

STANFORD, Calif. - Bob Norris pointed to a bag under the reporter's chair.

'Sure, I've got a rattlesnake with me today I could show you,' said Norris, MD, associate professor and director of the division of emergency medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His name is 'Jake the Snake' and he was apparently sleeping peacefully in a well-secured bag under the unsuspecting visitor's chair in Norris' office, a visual aid for a presentation earlier in the day to a group of doctors about the dangers of spring.

Rattlesnakes, spiders, bees, ticks - when it comes to anything that bites or stings during the spring, Norris is the medical expert. And after several rainy years in a row in the Bay Area, there may be even more of this worrisome wildlife out this season. An expert in environmental toxicology, in particular snake venom poisoning, Norris virtually oozes helpful information for the average wilderness lover.

'Don't ever pick up a rattlesnake. If you get bit by a rattlesnake, don't wait to get medical care; the venom starts working its adverse effects immediately, though the average death usually doesn't occur until sometime between 12 and 48 hours,' he said. 'Wear light-colored clothing when you're out hiking in the wilderness so you can spot the ticks more easily; bees prefer bright colors. Use tweezers to remove a tick, lighting a match under its rear won't work. Apply ice to bee stings and spider bites.'

And don't worry too much about black widows, he said, picking up the one he keeps in a jar on his office shelf next to his wilderness medicine books. They're plentiful, but they rarely bite. Simply wearing gloves when moving woodpiles or cleaning up that neglected corner of the garage will prevent most of these bites.

Next, Norris, a snake lover since the sixth grade when he traded for his first one, pulled out the bag from under the reporter's chair to show the most dangerous of the biting pests of which Northern California hikers should be aware: the Northern Pacific rattlesnake.

'I don't even hold venomous snakes with my hands,' Norris said as a warning, then unzipped the bag, keeping his distance with a 3-foot-long stick as the hissing snake slithered across the carpeted office floor. They may not crawl fast, Norris said, but they can strike at 8 feet per second anywhere within half of their body length. Always stay back twice the distance of a poisonous snake's length.

Just another helpful tip.

No doubt about it, Norris is a snake geek. He typically keeps a couple dozen snakes as pets. On a break during a business trip to Aruba last month, he and his wife took off in a Jeep to search for the endangered Aruba Island rattlesnake. They never found it, but they did find a red-tailed boa so the trip wasn't a total loss. He'll be heading to India next where he's part of a panel of physicians that will be developing a new snakebite treatment protocol. India, he noted, has the world's highest mortality rate from venomous snakebites.

But getting back to local snakebites, he said, this is the time of year to watch out for rattlesnakes. The reptiles like the warmer weather. The Northern Pacific rattlesnake, the only rattler native to the area, is moderate in size, about 4-feet long, with fairly toxic venom and a somewhat tolerant personality.

'But don't test out this 'tolerance,'' Norris warned. 'Like any individual, a snake could just be having a bad hair day.' Stanford's hospitals treat about a half-dozen rattlesnake bites a year. Rarely does anyone die. The antivenin is safe and effective. Nationwide, there are only six deaths per year out of 8,000 venomous bites.

Still, it's just best not to get bit. For one thing, it really hurts. 'There's a very quick onset of pain,' Norris said, as he gently prodded Jake back into his cage. 'Patients tell me it's like a hot poker stuck in your skin. Victims get a funny taste in their mouths and their muscles start to twitch.' Amputations are occasionally necessary, though the rates are low, he said.

Nevertheless, Norris said, you've got to love 'em. They're great rodent removers. And he almost always has one captive rattlesnake for his frequent snakebite presentations. 'I was pretty happy to get Jake,' said Norris. The rattler was just a baby when he was given to Norris by the patient whom Jake had bitten.