After surviving a puff adder bite at the end of last year, St Andrew's learner David Harvey feels fortified and more than ready to tackle Grade 11 in 2014.
After surviving a puff adder bite at the end of last year, St Andrew's learner David Harvey feels fortified and more than ready to tackle Grade 11 in 2014.
David had just finished setting up camp on Day 17 of the 21-day John Jones Fish River journey in November last year, when he took off his hiking boots, put on his slip slops and ventured out to a viewpoint to see nearby Riebeeck East.
Soon after, he felt a sting on the arch of his foot, which he assumed was a bee. But when he looked down, he saw two identical marks next to each other.
"I ran back to check at the viewing spot and saw a puff adder curled up with its head slighly showing above the grass," David said.
"I was petrified."
Puff adders are rather sluggish and often do not move when approached, resulting in many people getting bitten. But, it has a lightening-fast strike – it takes just 0.24 seconds to strike and return to its coiled position.
According to event organiser and teacher Deon Boshoff, David was "very lucky"."I don't think the snake injected the full amount of venom. It wasn't a full bite."
"We've always had encounters with snakes in the past, but we've always been prepared for this kind of eventuality," Boshoff said.
Every learner is equipped with a medical kit, which comes in handy during emergencies.
David was quickly put on a drip and within an hour, was in Settlers Hospital, where he spent the next two nights.
"The school handled it very well, as did the staff at Settlers, who were amazing," David said. "My parents drove from PE to see me. My mom is a farm girl so she wasn't worried at all about the situation."
The popular camp is a traditional event for the school's Grade 10s, spanning a decade. The 10th annual adventure in 2013 saw a total of 180 leaners taking part in activities that included hiking, cycling, canoeing and community service. The camp starts at the source of the Fish River near Riebeck East and ends 600 kms away at the Fish River mouth near Port Alfred.
Puff adders: Lazy but deadly
As the most common and widespread venomous snake in Africa, the puff adder is responsible for most of the serious snakebite incidents on the continent.
They are sluggish and might not move when approached, but they do often hiss and puff – hence the name "puff adder".
Their venom is Cytotoxic and highly dangerous. Once the venom enters the body, the body sends plasma (white blood cells) to the site of the bite to try and dilute the venom. With the venom being so potent, excess amounts of the plasma cause the body tissue to swell up to the degree where the veins are compressed tightly up against the skin, resulting in loss of blood circulation.
The area that swells up will often turn a blackish-blue colour with there being a lack of blood. If not treated promptly, after about four hours amputations may be necessary. Source: southafrican-wildlife.blogspot.com.
Read more about preventing snakebites and what to do if you can't:
http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/how-be-snake-savvy-01-03-2012
