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2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, June 19,2019
Snake season has arrived and
here’s what you should know
By Kelsey Richardson
DCN Regional Staff
With the warmer
months in full swing,
snake season has arrived
in Georgia.
Out of the 46 snake spe
cies in the state, only six
are venomous, according
to the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources’
wildlife division.
Kathy Church, program
coordinator with the
Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, said
these dangerous snakes
include the copperhead,
timber rattlesnake,
Eastern diamondback rat
tlesnake, Eastern coral
snake, pigmy rattlesnake
and water moccasin, also
known as a cottonmouth.
The Eastern diamond-
back rattlesnake and water
moccasin typically reside
in the center of Georgia,
while the Eastern coral
snake’s range lies in
Southern Georgia.
If a person is bitten by
a snake, Church said
there are only three things
to remember — relax,
call 911 and take a pic
ture.
“If you’ve been bitten
by a venomous snake,
stay calm,” she said.
“When the heart starts
beating fast, it’s pumping
the blood all over.
Keeping the heart from
speeding up will slow the
spread of venom.”
Whether a venomous
bite or not, she said call
ing 911 and traveling to
the hospital is crucial. If
people have the option of
snapping a photograph of
the snake, she recom
mends doing so to help
the doctor identify the
source of the bite.
To antivenom or
not to antivenom?
Gaylord Lopez, clinical
toxicologist and director
of the Georgia Poison
Center in Atlanta, said his
staff receives around 500
snake bite calls a year. The
number of calls slows
down during November
through January.
Angela Gary, executive
director of trauma and
emergency services at
Northeast Georgia
Medical Center, said her
staff has treated seven
patients with antivenom
since June 2018.
Despite the large num
ber of bite victims in
Georgia, Lopez said only
20-25% of all cases
receive antivenom.
As a toxicologist, his
job doesn’t entail relying
on what the victim tells
him about the snake.
“We can’t trust the
patient describing the
snake as the end-all,”
Lopez said. “We base it
on symptoms, so regard
less of the snake, we send
everyone to the hospital.”
Lopez said around 25%
of venomous bites end up
dry because snakes can
control the amount they
inject.
In a scenario where
DEATH NOTICES
Dennis William
Edwards
Dennis William
Edwards, 67, of
Dawsonville died
Saturday June 15,
Scott Rogers DCN Regional Staff
Kathy Church, program coordinator with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, holds a snake for student to touch if they
wish Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at East Hall Middle School during STEAM (Science,Technology, Engineering,Art, and Math) Day.
someone needs antiven
om, the antidote can
prove costly.
“It wouldn’t be unusual
for antivenom to be thou
sands of dollars for one
vial,” Lopez said.
“Critically ill patients
may need 15-20 vials.”
Even if the reptile
doesn’t show the charac
teristic triangular head,
patterns or slitted pupils
of a venomous snake,
Lopez advises people to
seek medical attention.
People can still receive
bacterial infections from
a nonvenomous bite.
Keeping a safe
distance
Church said out of
Georgia’s six venomous
snakes, Hall County resi
dents mostly encounter
copperheads.
Northeast Georgia
Medical Center offers
CroFab, which is the anti
venom used to treat North
American pit viper bites.
These snakes include
water moccasins, rattle
snakes and copperheads.
“We do not keep coral
snake antivenom because
we don’t see patients with
bites from coral snakes,”
Gary said. “If a patient were
to arrive with that kind of
bite, we would get the anti
venom to treat them.”
She said the Eastern
coral snakes — notable
for their bright red, yel
low and black bands —
require a different antive
nom. This snake’s venom
acts as a neurotoxin.
“They’re dangerous and
it will shut down your
heart, lungs and brain,”
she said.
If a person sees a
snake, Church said the
most important action
includes “turning around
and walking away.”
“If you don’t want
snakes coming back, get
rid of what they’re going
to eat,” she said. “If he’s
in the attic, you probably
have bats. If he’s under
the house, you probably
have rats.”
Church encourages
people who spot a ven
omous snake near their
homes to contact their
local pest control and
walk away.
Lopez said he dealt with
a patient in 2018 who was
bitten on the foot while
doing yard work. The per
son moved to capture the
snake and received a sec
ond bite on the hand.
“They’re not after
humans no matter what
anybody says,” Church
said. “Do not try to kill
them. A majority of peo
ple bitten usually were
trying to kill it. That puts
a person close enough to
be bitten.”
Alan Scott, veterinarian
at Gainesville Veterinary
Hospital, said he sees an
influx of pets getting
snake bites during the
warmer months. Most of
them include dogs.
More often than not, he
said the bitten pet doesn't
need antivenom.
“Each case is a little
different,” Scott said. “It
depends on the size of the
dog; obviously a smaller
dog is more susceptible to
the (venom) effects.”
If an animal does
receive a snake bite, he
encourages pet owners to
seek veterinary care
immediately.
Breaking snake
venom myths
Despite what people see
in movies about cowboys
cutting their snake bites
and sucking out the
venom, Lopez said the
method doesn’t work. He
also advises against relying
upon venom extractor kits.
“Let’s say a venomous
snake shoots a thousand
molecules of venom in
you,” he said. “The Sawyer
venom extractor may take
out 100 molecules. It only
takes one molecule for you
to be sick.”
When people see swell
ing, they tend to counter
the effects with ice.
Lopez doesn’t recom
mend using ice to slow
down the swelling from a
snake bite. He said ice
speeds the venom through
the system quicker.
Another movie myth
involves putting on a tour
niquet or constricting
agent to prevent blood
from carrying venom
through a person’s system.
“You run the risk of
cutting off blood supply
to the area and can dam
age yourself even more,”
Lopez said.
Pain medicine may
seem like a simple solu
tion to alleviate discom
fort; however, it could
add more complications
to the mix.
“Venom can cause car
diovascular or heart issues
that mainly revolve around
dropping blood pressure
very quickly and danger
ously,” Lopez said. “You
don’t want a drug to affect
clotting and the poison
effects at the same time.
Don’t take pain medicines.”
An important play
er in the environ
ment
Church describes
snakes as “a massively
important animal.”
She said snakes sit in
the middle of the food
chain, just below hawks,
eagles, foxes and other
predators.
Every time a person
kills a snake, she said
they not only take away a
food source from those
predators, but increase the
amount of pests in the
area.
Some of the animals
snakes feed on include
bats, insects, frogs, liz-
2019. Bearden Funeral
Home of Dawsonville
was in charge of the
arrangements.
Dawson County News
June 19, 2019
J. D. Hopkins
J. D. Hopkins, 58, of
Dawsonville died Friday
June 14, 2019. Bearden
Funeral Home of
Dawsonville was in
charge of the arrange
ments.
Dawson County News
June 19, 2019
William "Dean"
Shupert
William “Dean” Shupert,
48, of Dawsonville died June
13, 2019. Bearden Funeral
Home of Dawsonville was in
charge of the arrangements.
Dawson County News
June 19, 2019
ards, fish, birds and
rodents.
“When you take out
one snake, you’ve vastly
increased the bug popula
tion,” Church said. “Their
job in the middle is to
keep the whole rest of the
food chain in check.
They’re free pest control.”
Raymond Roger Gilleland,
82, of Tucker, beloved
husband, father, and
grandfather, passed away
June r2, 2or<). Born May
11,1937, in Tate, GA, he was
the son of the late Carlton
Woodrow and Cleva Hulsey
Gilleland of Dawsonville,
GA. Roger graduated from
North Georgia College
and served as an Army
Reservist, reaching the rank of Captain. After a brief
stint with Firestone, he began a 35-year career as an
Insurance Adjustor at Crawford and Company, later
serving as lead of its trainee department.
Roger was always active in community service. After
moving to Tucker with his new family, he and his wife,
Pam, served in the Tucker Jaycees/Jaycettes. He was
a long-time, devoted member of Briarlake Baptist
Church where he served as deacon, taught in various
capacities in Sunday School (youth and adult), and
coached in the baseball and basketball programs.
He spent many years serving in youth sports at
Fitzgerald Field. He coached both of his children in
baseball, football, and softball and served as Tucker
Youth Council president for softball. Roger was the
head coach of the first travel softball team from
Fitzgerald Field to participate in nationals, taking his
12-and-under team to a top-10 finish.
Most of all, Roger will be remembered for his kindness
and fairness towards others, giving generosity, and
love for those in need. He will be greatly missed.
Roger is survived by his wife of almost 58 years,
Pamela Oliver Gilleland; son, Kevin Rogers Gilleland
(Elizabeth) of Raleigh, NC; daughter, Chere Gilleland
Stadler of Atlanta; four grandchildren, Sarah Elizabeth
Gilleland, Olivia Alexandra Gilleland, Asher Jacob
Stadler, and Lilian Bray Stadler; and brother, Dwight
Delano Gilleland (Margaret) of Dawsonville, GA.
The family would like to express its gratitude for those
who assisted in the care of Mr. Gilleland.
The service will be held on Wednesday, June
19th at 11 a.m. at the Briarlake Baptist Church
chapel in Decatur. Visitation is at 10 a.m.
Interment will be held following the services at
Dawsonville Memorial Gardens, Dawsonville, GA.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the
American Bible Society (www.americanbible.org).
Online condolences may be made at
www.ASTurner.com.
^ Daws 0 n C 0 u nty N e ws
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