Grand Strand Health Emergency Medicine residents learn about antivenoms for snake bites

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Grand Strand Health Emergency Medicine residents went to “Alligator Adventure” on Tuesday to learn more about antivenoms.

The residents are physicians who have completed medical school and are now in specialty training. They reviewed species in and around the Grand Strand that can cause serious injuries.

They also learned about many local and exotic snakes, along with the anti-venom used for the exotic snakes.

Grand Strand Medical Center Director of Toxicology Jarratt Lark said being able to see in person the snakes that students are learning about in their textbooks is a great way to learn.

“What are the features that make up a pit viper as a opposed to a cobra, which is a neurotoxic snake, and how will those patients present differently, and some of the strategy you can tell by looking at a snake,” Lark said. “So, seeing the snake is educational.”

There were many snakes the residents saw, including a Red Dominican boa, a rattlesnake and more.

Alina Kiley, a first-year resident in the program, said seeing all the different types of snakes in person will help her in the future with knowing how to treat a snake bite.

“All of the snakes were so different, I mean, sometimes when you don’t know, they can all look the same and you don’t really know how to tell them apart or why they’re different or why it matters,” she said. “Being able to go enclosure to enclosure and see really what the meaningful differences are was really helpful.”

Lark said they treat about three to four dozen snake bites per year and the anti-venom they have has saved several lives. He explained the venomous snakes in our area.

“Coral snake, which is neurotoxic, and that populates down near Brookgreen Gardens, and then we have copperheads, and then we have water moccasins, and then three rattlesnakes,” he said. “The canebrake rattlesnake, which is a version of the timber rattlesnake, we have the eastern diamond back right there, and then we have pygmy rattlesnakes.”

One of the chief residents in the program said applying what you learn as opposed to just learning from a textbook is very different.

Mark Ghobrial was a first-year resident in the program just a few years ago and said going to Alligator Adventure and seeing the snakes in person helped with treating snake bites.

“Getting that experience of seeing how these snake bites actually occur, how they regress throughout time. It really helps you be able to apply that in real time,” Ghobrial said.

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Hannah Huffstickler is a multimedia journalist at News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2024 after graduating from Coastal Carolina University in December of 2023. Keep up with Hannah on Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and Instagram . You can also read more of her work here .

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