Furthermore, if the snake engages the lower jaw, two additional rows of small teeth impressions will be seen below the first group.
Frequently the bite pattern is not a clear one. For example, if the snake pulls to one side as it disengages the fangs after a strike, the result is a series of scratch marks instead of punctures. There is also the possibility that the snake will engage only a single fang; or, perhaps, during fang replacement, two fangs are temporarily in position on one or both sides of the upper jaw. Any of these conditions, as well as others, can contribute to an obscure bite pattern.
The bite of a coral snake often is difficult to diagnose by examination of the wound. Because this snake impels its fangs in a sort of chewing motion, the pattern created by its bite may be two groups of closely spaced punctures where the fangs have entered the flesh a number of different times.
A clearly defined harmless snake bite pattern consists of a series of uniformly small punctures (four rows made by teeth in the upper jaw, two rows by teeth in the lower), but always without the large fang holes. More typically, a non-poisonous bite produces several rows of scratches.
Pit-viper poisoning is diagnosed primarily by the presence of local signs and symptoms. The most important of these are:
1. Pain accompanies most poisonous snake bites. Generally intense and burning in character, it becomes more severe with the passing of time. This symptom alone is not conclusive because pain can be imagined following a non-poisonous bite. Occasionally in a severe bite, the pain is replaced by numbness and tingling.
2. Swelling at the bite area is present in every case of poisoning. It will appear within five to 30 minutes. In a severe case, the swelling may continue to spread for 24 hours. There will be no swelling from a bite by a non-poisonous snake or by a poisonous snake that injected no venom.
3. Discoloration, reddish or bruise-like in appearance, begins around the fang punctures within a half hour and becomes gradually more extensive.
Intense local pain is symptomatic of coral snake poisoning but, unlike a case of pit-viper poisoning, swelling and discoloration are not pronounced. Diagnosis of coral snake envenomation is difficult and must be based primarily on systemic symptoms: headaches, weakness, lethargy and facial paralysis.
SEVERITY OF THE BITE
Even after the bite has been diagnosed as venomous, it is not immediately possible to predict the course it will follow. The severity of each case of snake poisoning is determined by the speed with which symptoms progress. Although the bite of a large snake is generally more serious than one caused by a small snake, the seriousness of a bite cannot be gauged by snake size alone. Some variable factors that affect the severity of each case include:
1. Age, size and health of the victim. 2. His allergy complex and sensitivity to protein poisoning. 3. His emotional condition immediately after having been bitten. 4. Location of bite on the victim. 5. Amount of fang penetration and venom injection. 6. Number of times the victim was bitten. 7. Kind and size of snake that bit him. 8. Whether or not the snake recently had eaten. 9. Conditions of the snake’s fangs. 10. How soon treatment was administered.