Rattlesnake Bites Toddler In Pittsburg Backyard
PITTSBURG (CBS SF) -- A Pittsburg toddler was airlifted to a hospital after suffering a bite from a rattlesnake Tuesday evening, according to firefighters.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to an address on Rio Verde just before 8 p.m. to help a toddler that had been bitten by something in her backyard, according to Capt. Robert Marshall with the Contra Costa Fire Protection District.
"At the initial call we didn't know it was a rattlesnake," Marshall said. It took a couple minutes before crews located the snake, caught it and contained it in a mason jar.
"We called a medical helicopter," Marshall said. "They responded and transported the child to Children's Hospital in Oakland."
Rattlesnake venom can be fatal if they are not treated right away.
Details about the toddler's condition were not immediately available.
Meanwhile in Folsom, a 4-year-old was bitten after stepping on a baby rattlesnake coiled on a bike trail. Within minutes, his ankle started to swell and turn purple as the venom spread.
"Mama Bear instinct in me decided to suck the venom out because that's what apparently Bonanza does," his mother said.
But emergency officials say that's the wrong thing to do. Instead a snake bite should be treated like a basic wound -- wash it and call 911.
They also warn everyone in snake prone areas, especially in a drought when snakes tend to go searching for water, to cut your grass to give them fewer places to hide.
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