Rattlesnake bites cyclist on Colorado park trail, officials say. ‘Started tingling’
A bicyclist was hospitalized after a rattlesnake bit him on a Colorado trail, fire officials said.
The cyclist was bitten while riding at Ute Valley Park on Tuesday, Aug. 8, the Colorado Springs Fire Department said in an Aug. 9 Facebook post.
Fire officials said they took the cyclist to a hospital, where they were treated with anti-venom.
“My body started tingling all the way through my body and my tongue,” the cyclist, Casey Dion, said of the experience, KRDO reported. “It was just kind of like when you lick a battery.”
He told the station he rode over the snake.
Fire officials urged that “rattlesnakes are very present in Colorado Springs,” adding that should you encounter one to keep your distance and call 911 right away if you are bitten.
Snake bites
Venomous snakes bite more than 7,000 people each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“About 5 of those people die,” the CDC said. “The number of deaths would be much higher if people did not seek medical care.”
Rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes are all venomous snakes that live in the U.S.
If you see a snake, back away slowly and don’t touch it. Here’s what the CDC says you should do if a snake bites you:
Try to remember the color and shape of the snake. It could help with treating the bite.
Stay calm and still to slow down the spread of venom.
Seek medical care as soon as possible.
Apply first aid if you can’t get to the hospital quickly.
Wash the wound with warm, soapy water.
Cover the bite with a clean cloth or dressing.
Don’t slash the wound with a knife or try to suck out venom.
Don’t apply ice to the wound.
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