Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation.
With the continued growth of human populations, rural urbanisation and habitat degradation are on the rise, resulting in the displacement of native wildlife and an increase in human-wildlife conflicts. The presence of human habitation and waste often attracts rodents and thereby, snakes, leading to...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bb85a2015cb54c06b35d71d28898008b 2023-06-11T04:09:43+02:00 Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. Harry F Williams Karin Moejes Jarred Williams José R Almeida Ravi Savania Subramanian Senthilkumaran Ketan Patel Sakthivel Vaiyapuri 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/article/bb85a2015cb54c06b35d71d28898008b EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/article/bb85a2015cb54c06b35d71d28898008b PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 17, Iss 4, p e0011264 (2023) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 2023-05-07T00:31:57Z With the continued growth of human populations, rural urbanisation and habitat degradation are on the rise, resulting in the displacement of native wildlife and an increase in human-wildlife conflicts. The presence of human habitation and waste often attracts rodents and thereby, snakes, leading to increased snake sightings in homes. To address this problem, snake handlers, who are volunteers that remove and relocate snakes away from human development areas, are called upon. However, snake removal is a high-risk task that poses a risk of envenomation, particularly when dealing with spitting snakes. Several cobra species have the ability to spit venom. If the venom enters a person's eye, it can result in ophthalmic envenomation, which can have serious consequences for their eyesight. Therefore, snake handlers should take precautions, wear suitable eye protection, and use appropriate tools to ensure their safety and that of the snake. In this case, an experienced snake handler was called to remove a spitting cobra, but they were ill-equipped. During the removal, the venom was sprayed across the handler's face, and some of it entered their eye, resulting in ophthalmic envenomation. The handler promptly irrigated their eye, but medical treatment was still necessary. This report highlights the risks and consequences of ophthalmic injury and the importance of wearing appropriate eye protection and taking due care when dealing with venomous species, particularly those that can spit venom. It serves as a reminder that accidents can happen at any time and experienced snake handlers are not exempt from the risks. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 17 4 e0011264 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Harry F Williams Karin Moejes Jarred Williams José R Almeida Ravi Savania Subramanian Senthilkumaran Ketan Patel Sakthivel Vaiyapuri Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
With the continued growth of human populations, rural urbanisation and habitat degradation are on the rise, resulting in the displacement of native wildlife and an increase in human-wildlife conflicts. The presence of human habitation and waste often attracts rodents and thereby, snakes, leading to increased snake sightings in homes. To address this problem, snake handlers, who are volunteers that remove and relocate snakes away from human development areas, are called upon. However, snake removal is a high-risk task that poses a risk of envenomation, particularly when dealing with spitting snakes. Several cobra species have the ability to spit venom. If the venom enters a person's eye, it can result in ophthalmic envenomation, which can have serious consequences for their eyesight. Therefore, snake handlers should take precautions, wear suitable eye protection, and use appropriate tools to ensure their safety and that of the snake. In this case, an experienced snake handler was called to remove a spitting cobra, but they were ill-equipped. During the removal, the venom was sprayed across the handler's face, and some of it entered their eye, resulting in ophthalmic envenomation. The handler promptly irrigated their eye, but medical treatment was still necessary. This report highlights the risks and consequences of ophthalmic injury and the importance of wearing appropriate eye protection and taking due care when dealing with venomous species, particularly those that can spit venom. It serves as a reminder that accidents can happen at any time and experienced snake handlers are not exempt from the risks. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Harry F Williams Karin Moejes Jarred Williams José R Almeida Ravi Savania Subramanian Senthilkumaran Ketan Patel Sakthivel Vaiyapuri |
author_facet |
Harry F Williams Karin Moejes Jarred Williams José R Almeida Ravi Savania Subramanian Senthilkumaran Ketan Patel Sakthivel Vaiyapuri |
author_sort |
Harry F Williams |
title |
Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
title_short |
Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
title_full |
Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
title_fullStr |
Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ashes to eye: A skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
title_sort |
ashes to eye: a skilled snake handler's experience with ophthalmic envenomation. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/article/bb85a2015cb54c06b35d71d28898008b |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 17, Iss 4, p e0011264 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 https://doaj.org/article/bb85a2015cb54c06b35d71d28898008b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011264 |
container_title |
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e0011264 |
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