Snake bite risk in Tulum ruins?

[DandyDon]

Is this for real?

San Antonio man dies from snake bite during Mexico vacation

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man is being mourned by his family after a long and agonizing death in Cancun, Mexico from a snake bite when anti-venom wasn't available until it was too late.
When Juan Hernandez left San Antonio for Cancun on July 4, he had no idea his trip would be his last. Three days into the vacation, he visited the Mayan ruins at Tulum with his family.
"He said, 'You know what, I think something bit me because my leg feels like it's burning, and it's hurting,'" said Karina Hernandez, his widow.
Juan didn't realize it at the time, but he had been bitten by a pit viper snake. The wound was in a part of his leg where Juan had no feeling due to a skin graft after a childhood accident. A few hours later, Juan was in excruciating pain at a hospital.
'It just started to get worse," Karina said. "The coloring on his skin started to change. He had purple spots and black spots on his body."
Karina and her husband went to three hospitals where doctors suspected it might be a bite but didn't have the anti-venom. At a fourth hospital, they spent three hours of torture waiting for the anti-venom. Karina said she pleaded with the staff to administer the medication sooner.
"I fought with everyone that I could fight (with.) I begged with everyone that I could to give it to him, but that wasn't enough."
Images of Juan's wounds are so graphic, KENS 5 has decided not to include them in this report. He bled out 30 hours after the bite. Karina believes the outcome would have been different had this happened in the U.S., where only about 10 people die annually from snake bites.
"I just think he could have been treated better and maybe, maybe if that would have happened, there would have been an opportunity for him to be here today," Karina said.
Now, she is urging anyone traveling to another country to take precautions, such as knowing what your health insurance covers while you're traveling. She also hopes authorities in charge of the Mayan ruins will post signs warning signs about the wildlife dangers near the ruins.

 

[Dhboner]

There are several species of rattlesnakes in the area of Tulum that use the ruins as their habitat. I am surprised that the hospital didn't have anti-venom though.

 

[decompression]

Wow, I don't recall any warning about snakes....but then again my.....um....my memory......is........ah.........


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[DandyDon]

There are several species of rattlesnakes in the area of Tulum that use the ruins as their habitat. I am surprised that the hospital didn't have anti-venom though.

The story said "pit viper," but who knows? Coba ruins wouldn't surprise me, but as manicured and busy as Tulum ruins are, I'd think that snakes would either leave or get used to tourists. But for all we know, he might have walked thru some thick brush and stepped on one.

I wonder if they final hospital had the anti-venom but withheld for payment? We never know what really happened or was said from news stories, but these remarks make me wonder...

At a fourth hospital, they spent three hours of torture waiting for the anti-venom. Karina said she pleaded with the staff to administer the medication sooner.
"I fought with everyone that I could fight (with.) I begged with everyone that I could to give it to him, but that wasn't enough."

Now, she is urging anyone traveling to another country to take precautions, such as knowing what your health insurance covers while you're traveling.

 

[agilis]

All species of rattlesnakes are pit vipers, a large group of venomous snakes that use a pit like sensory organ that detects heat, enabling them to locate warm blooded prey.

 

[driftwood]

I think the chance of snakes at Tulum would be greater than at Coba due to the amount of trash the tourists leave behind. When mice and rats have something to eat and you get snakes to eat them.

One thing that makes rattlesnakes so iffy is that they either inject very little venom or unload on big animals. They generally vary the dosage according to size and our size confuses them.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I was down there in 89 , diving cenotes , the guides all wore army boots , when I inquired they told me they wore them to protect them against the two steps , When we inquired about the "two steps" they are apparently small snakes , when they bite you have two steps before you go down ... the surprising thing about this post is that there are not more bites , that area is full of venomous snakes