Rattlesnake Bites Man At Wal-Mart

[OhioChick]

10:53 pm EDT July 15, 2009

Man In Critical Condition After Reaction To Antivenom

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A man bitten by a snake at a Wal-Mart store in St. Augustine, Fla., is in critical condition after having a reaction to antivenom medication.

According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office report, a pygmy rattlesnake bit Jeriel Joiner, 27, on the hand as he reached under a display of ferns to retrieve a baby bottle.

Witnesses said the snake was still on Joiner's pinky finger when he pulled his hand out.

Jeremy Robshaw, of St. Johns County Fire-Rescue, said firefighters arrived at the garden center of Wal-Mart Tuesday afternoon and took Joiner to Flagler Hospital for treatment. He was then transferred to the intensive care unit of the Shands Medical Center.

Robshaw said Joiner's hand had swollen to the size of a baseball glove.

Firefighters captured the snake and positively identified it as a pygmy rattlesnake.

Ashley Hardie from Wal-Mart's corporate office said the garden center of the St. Augustine store was closed off while animal control officials and a wildlife expert combed the area looking for any other snakes. She said safety of customers is Wal-Mart's top priority.

Wal-Mart said the store reopened the garden center Wednesday afternoon after being cleared by authorities.

In the past three years, snake bites have been reported at Wal-Mart garden centers in Viera, Sanford, and Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Pygmy rattlesnakes are found across the southeastern United States and are most commonly encountered by humans in the late summer months.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/20064586/detail.html

[DrDan]

1. this is actually a fairly common occurence in Florida WalMart Garden Centers

[MADem]

2. In the past three years, snake bites have been reported at Wal-Mart garden centers in Viera, Sanford

and Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Do the snakes just "like" WALMART, or is someone planting them there?

[DrDan]

3. no - just one of the issues when getting plants from local nurseries - particularly when those

nurseries are located in "snake" areas.

s**t happens.

[izquierdista]

6. Are they native to China?

I can't imagine anything being sold at Wal-Mart that didn't originate in the land of slave wages.

[DrDan]

9. well - rattlesnakes have been pretty active here in Fl this year

I nearly ran over one on my motorcycle a week ago. A 5-ft or so Eastern Diamond back. It was scooting across the road and I came within inches of hitting it. Got my blood pumpin'.

There have been several bites in the area in the past couple of weeks.

[havocmom]

14. Is Wal-Mart still taking out life insurance policies on employees

without their knowledge?

[GoCubsGo]

21. No, WalFart likes....

...building its stores in the snakes' habitat. Sorry, WalFart. The snakes were there first. Plop your crappy buildings on their houses, and this is what you get.

[MADem]

40. Ah, that would make sense~! nt

[Vickers]

4. Ka-CHING!

:P

[AngryAmish]

5. Florida...

[Botany]

7. only one thing to do .... ban Wal-Mart

[OhioChick]

8. Ugh...

That'll give me nightmares for months. :(

[Blue_Tires]

30. and shoot the snake in the head, please

[tuckessee]

35. Why?

The snake isn't evil. He was just defending his immediate space. It was just a fluke accident. If the snake is removed to an area with few people then there is no further danger.

Odds are, the snake in question tried warn the victim by using his rattle when the bottle rolled to within his danger zone. The human was just too stupid or distracted to notice it and pay heed.

Many snakes, especially poisonous ones, are becoming endangered thanks to people who slaughter them at first sighting. It breaks my heart and angers me to see people swerve to run over snakes on my road. Usually they get black snakes, king snakes, hog snakes etc. It's quite a hobby among the mouth-breathers who think snakes are bad.

Most of our good rattlers & coppers have been killed off by hysterical Biblically brainwashed snake haters. Me, I prefer a few good snakes to the millions of rodents who take their place.

[Blue_Tires]

37. you're right...

i just have a phobia over snakes and insects...

[DrDan]

10. this is getting uglier

He now faces amputation.

And, he claims, he has yet to hear from WalMart. Apparently no one has called or visited.

It was a senior greeter who assisted him at the store - trying to get the snake off his finger, calling an ambulance with her personal cell phone. Sounds like even as this was happening - WalMart management was absent.

I smell a large lawsuit coming.

[marmar]

11. Did they have some Chinese-made antivenom ready for him?

n/t

[Historic NY]

12. "snakes on planes", snakes in Walmart, Whats next McDonalds?

[callous taoboy]

13. I got bit by a snake there as well...

He happened to be working in the housewares dept.

I have never found a Mal-Wart employee who was eager to assist. Each one tries to look through you first, and if you ever find two "team" members together, they will be less than thrilled when you the customer sidles up for some help. Mal-Wart sucks.

[havocmom]

15. To be fair, consider the possibility: Wal-Mart pretends to pay them so they pretend to work

;)

[callous taoboy]

19. Oh, no doubt. I used to work there from 85-86. It sucked.

[callous taoboy]

24. Yet, somehow (giggle) I always managed to be pleasant.

[sammytko]

18. i haven't had that experience at our local wal-mart

of course its in a smallish community. A couple of weeks ago i was looking at some eggs. There is one brand that has a weird container = plastic over the eggs, then the styrofoam cover. Well it hadn't been secured correctly and when i opened it, about 3 eggs fell on the floor.

Within seconds 2 ladies rushed over and told me not to touch them. They kind of guided me out of the area, so I wouldn't even touch the broken eggs with my foot. They were doing loss prevention, but still it was nice of them.

They have found snakes at a local grocery chain. my nephew was working there as a clerk. The snake was in the cart holding area.

[W_HAMILTON]

16. Question about snakebites

If you get bit by a snake, should you automatically go to the ER?

I don't know much about snakes, so I wouldn't know whether or not it was venemous. Would you wait to see if you had a reaction, then go to the ER? Or go to the ER immediately, even if it turns out to be a harmless snake that bit you?

I always wondered about this.

[sammytko]

20. i would go to the ER just to be on the safe side,

My niece was bitten by a rattler on the leg. She was 5 yrs old and she survived. Her little leg got huge and she still has a deep scar where they cut it open - or whatever it did.

[callous taoboy]

23. I've been bitten by all manner of non-poisonous snakes:

The worst being a king snake and all he did was draw a little blood and not let go until I dunked his head in a bowl of water. Some bigger non-poisonous snakes might require stitches and I always clean bites of any kind with hydrogen peroxide.

Always get to a physician quickly when puncture wounds are present. Friend of mine was out in her back yard moving a sprinkler one evening (middle of Austin, TX) and was tagged by a copperhead. It was too dark to see what had bitten her but the puncture wounds indicated poisonous snake and copperheads are common in her neighborhood, so she went in and got the anti-venom.

Talked to a guy last weekend who has been bitten twice by rattlers while working at the state park. Excruciatingly painful, with intense swelling and the last time he had to be medi-vacced.

[whyverne]

25. If you weren't sure don't take any chances.

Although in the U.S. most of the venomous snake bites will show two definite fang punctures. Harmless snakes have many sharp teeth and will show as such. Like a bunch of rose bush thorns. The Coral Snake has rear fangs but they're pretty obvious to identify. Red to yellow kill a fellow, red to black venom lack.

Anti venom works really well except this WalMart guy seems to have been allergic to it. The cure might have been worse than the bite in this case.

[GoCubsGo]

28. He was probably allergic to horses

See my post #27...

[GoCubsGo]

27. If you are unsure, YES.

However, if you ARE envenomated, you'll know it. I'm told the venom causes a burning sensation. I have been bitten by harmless snakes. They feel like a cat scratch. My advice is to just go ahead and learn a little about snakes before the fact so that you know for sure. There are lots of identification guides online, including guides for all of the states.

Here is a good guide to treating snake bites: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/snakebite.asp About half of all venomous snakes are dry bites, where no venom has been injected. Venom is physiologically expensive to produce, and snakes don't like to waste it for defensive purposes. It's primary purpose is to kill their food quickly. If they release venom into your flesh, chances are you'll know it. Even if you think you have a dry bite, it's still a good idea to go to the ER, however.

Another thing: If you are bitten and the doctor wants to administer antivenin, INSIST on an allergy test for horses if you are unsure that you might have a horse allergy. Antivenins are manufactured using horses, and if you are allergic, you you could die from an allergic reaction. Ironic, considering few people die from snake bites in the U.S.

As someone who spends lot of time in snake-infested areas, I have just one more thing to add: Never ever put your hands, feet, backside, or any other body part were you cannot see where it is going to land. I other words, watch your step, don't stick your hand somewhere without checking where you are about to place it first, and be careful where you sit. That holds true even in your home. You likely will not have a snake lurking, but there's a chance a black widow or brown recluse spider might be present. Quite frankly, I would rather be bitten by a snake than one of those things. They can do much more damage to one's flesh, especially the latter.

[SIMPLYB1980]

17. I'm tired of these Mother&#*@%!) snakes in my Mother&#*@%!) Wal-Mart.

Someone had to say it.

[sweetpotato]

22. Its actually *antivenin*

but who's counting, right?

[TahitiNut]

29. Archaic

The name antivenin, comes from the French word venin meaning venom, and historically the word antivenin was predominant around the world; however, this usage is archaic in English. For the English language, the World Health Organization decided in 1981 that the preferred terminology in the English language would be "venom" and "antivenom" rather than "venin/antivenin" or "venen/antivenene".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivenom

[ChickMagic]

34. That's my pet peeve!

It IS antivenin. Argh!

[backtoblue]

26. I thought BIG snakes were the problem in Florida

Here in the south, we have scary venomous snakes everywhere, but those huge pythons and boas scare the living shit out of me!

[RubyDuby in GA]

31. "She said safety of customers is Wal-Mart's top priority."

I call bullshit!

[AnnInLa]

32. We had a big, fat nutria at our WMart

Nutria probably entered when WMart was being renovated, alot of building materials moving in and out. Nutrias are like giant rats. They are trapped here and used for fur products. You can frequently see them scurrying across the road in your headlights. Ugh.

Nutria jumped out at woman in WMart...she ran over own foot with cart, trying to escape nutria...foot surgery...lawsuit.

[Lars39]

33. Had to look that critter up...

Can't say as I blame her for panicking.:o

[Lautremont]

36. Have you ever seen the movie "Nutriaman: The Copasaw Creature"?

Also known as "Terror in the Swamp." Great movie - check it out.

[Bombero1956]

38. not the snakes fault

with Walmart it was seeking it's own kind.

[KamaAina]

39. What was the man doing in the executive office?

:P