Hi-Desert Medical Center holds snakebite awareness and prevention meeting in Joshua Tree

It's officially snake season in the Coachella Valley, so you can expect to find plenty of them along hiking trails or even in your backyard right now. Snake season typically runs between March and November, but this year it got off to a late start because of cooler temperatures. Experts say a rise in temperature means an increase in snake sightings as they begins to explore the world again.

Dominique Sandoval, a Joshua Tree resident, says she's already seen a few already.

"My son and I were walking and there was a snake right off the path where we were," said Sandoval. "He was sitting there, and I didn't really know how far to go around it."

Sandoval isn't likely the only person to have seen one already, in fact, seven different venomous snake species are native to the Desert here, more than most counties around the country. That's why local doctors and park rangers are working to prepare people for a possible encounter.

“If you do come across a snake and you or your pet are a little bit too close, start backing up slowly," said Anna Marini, Preventative Search and Rescue Coordinator for Joshua Tree National Park. "Keeping your eyes on the snake is the best way to handle that. Make sure you're at a safe distance, definitely quite a few feet away because they can strike about half their length. That's something to always remember, to not to get too close, and to not attempt to pick up that snake."

Marini, along with several physicians and pharmacists attended Wednesday's 'Desert Survival Seminar', hosted by the Hi-Desert Medical Center. The session helped bring public awareness to snake season, snake bite prevention, and snake bite treatment for humans and pets.

"The number one thing is to get help, whether that is calling 9-1-1," said Marini. "Whether that be through your cell phone service, or activating your Emergency SOS device. Or even by finding a park ranger, or finding somebody that can help you get help. The most important thing is that we need to know your location. And we need to be able to start getting you out of the park and to a hospital for definitive care."

According to the Center for Disease Control, every year around 8,000 people around the U.S. are bitten by a venomous snake. Out of those 8,000 people, five people die annually, many of them dying because of an inability to get to a proper emergency care facility.

Doctor Suneil Agrawal with Desert Regional was a keynote speaker at Wednesday's session. Dr. Agrawal is an Emergency Medicine Physician who deals with snake bites in the Coachella Valley, and he says timelines is imperative when it comes to snake bites.

“Even if you get bit by a snake and it doesn't seem that bad, or you don't have any symptoms, you still need to go to an emergency department right away," said Agrawal. "Symptoms may take eight to 12 hours to develop. And we need to watch you very carefully as they develop.” 

Agrawal also reminded people that doctors don't need to know the type of snake, or even the color of the snake that bit you for treatment. He says they treat patients based on their symptoms, so there is no need to stick around to take a picture of the snake. He also asked folks to not stick around and try to kill it, and to never bring a dead or alive specimen into a hospital.

Agrawal is one of several doctors working on a new study to create a first-of-its-kind oral anti-venom treatment. The treatment would come in a pill form, and could be easily carried and distributed in emergency situations.

"If it's going to take someone 12 hours to get to an emergency room and receive anti-venom, that's too late a lot of times. And so this way, they can take a pill and temper some of those toxicity symptoms until they can get to the hospital," said Agrawal.

If the groundbreaking study proves successful, it won't only have a major impact in the desert community here, but it would be a game-changer for the rest of the world.

"It's very exciting because this is a pill form a synthetic medication that if it works, it may not replace anti-venom completely, but it'll be easily stored and shipped out across the world," said Agrawal. The idea of this case study and clinical trials are so spectacular, its caught the eye of the Department of Defense.

"You could have people in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia use this," said Dr. Agrawal. "You can have military personnel carrying this with them on missions and deployments. And if they got bit by a snake, they don't have to wait to get help which could be hours away. Or even inaccessible depending on the situation. It could also be distributed to people who live in an area that lacks a proper healthcare facility."

Human trials for these pills are currently underway, with some taking place in Palm Springs. Until then, experts say the best way to prepare for a possible snake encounter is to expect one, and to pack the proper resources to call for emergency help, especially if you're hiking in or around Palm Springs, Palm Desert, or Joshua Tree National Park.

"If the weather is poor, we're not going to be able to fly a helicopter," said Park Ranger Marini. "As soon as we get your location, we will have people like myself, an EMT, that goes in with a medical kit, and a search and rescue team on the way. So it could be as little as 20 minutes if we're already on the trail, but it could be an hour or so until we're out there."

If you're interested in learning more, additional session about snake bites and survival will be taking place in the future. The next Desert Survival Seminar is scheduled at the Hi-Desert Medical Center on May 2nd. You do need to pre-register.