In Panama a lot of deciduous trees shed their leaves in dry season, but the phenomenon is by no means as universal as in the autums of temperate zones. It's still enough of a factor that piles of leaves can be a seasonal reality.

Beware of superficial similarities, however. Playing in a pile of autumn leaves may be one of the rites of passage for children in the US suburbs, but doing the same during dry season in Panama's Interior carries the risk of snakebite. Unmortared stone retaining walls like the one in this picture are also favored habitats for serpents.

In dry season animals are on the move in search of water and shelter, or to flee seasonal brush fires, and nature's predators migrate along with their prey. The diminished foliage on the trees gives birds of prey a better view of their surroundings, but the leaves on the ground give the things they like to eat a place to hide. From the serpent's perspective a pile of leaves is both a shelter from avian and human predators and a hunting ground for tasty mice, frogs and lizards. Thus a romp though the leaves can lead to a surprise encounter and a painful bite. It happens often enough that experienced emergency room personnel will tell you that dry season is the time of the year when they see the most snakebites.

If you learned about first aid for snakebites decades ago, what you were taught then is now considered bad medical advice.

The great majority of people who are bitten by poisonous snakes do not die because of it. However, the pit viper species responsible for most of Panama's snakebites --- the fer-de-lance (equis) and the smaller but more aggressive patoca --- have hemotoxic or proteolytic venoms, relatively slow-acting poisons that dissolve tissues like blood, skin and muscle. While the risk of death may be relatively low, the possibility of tissue damage that can lead to the amputation of a foot is much higher. Applying a tourniquet cuts the blood flow and increases the tissue damage around the bite. Cutting x-shaped gouges over the fang holes spreads the venom and aggravates the tissue loss. Sucking venom out of a bite creates the risk of tissue damage in the mouth of the person who renders first aid in this fashion.

Some folk "remedies" of old were recognized as stupid moves back then and are no wiser today. Drinking alcohol or applying a hot pad make a snakebite worse, not better.

Panama's largest venomous snake, the bushmaster (verrugosa), is a pit viper with venom much like that of the fer-de-lance or the patoca. However, due to its size it tends to inject more venom through longer fangs. Bushmasters don't like to live around people, so the odds are slim that you will encounter one in a pile of leaves near a house.

The little yellow eyelash vipers are also pit vipers, but their arboreal nature means that their bites are much more likely to be to the upper body. You don't want to be bitten in the face. As in other places, the treehouse is a source of broken bones, but in Panama such childhood fun carries the added risk of snakebite. In the dry season, tree-dwelling snakes will often come down from their usual perches in search of food and water.

In addition to the pit vipers, Panama has some snakes with neurotoxic venom, poison that attacks the central nervous system. Most notable in this category are the coral snakes and the sea snakes. Bites by these relatively small, short-fanged serpents do not immediately appear as serious as those inflicted by the pit vipers. There is less pain, and less swelling. However, as the venom takes effect respiratory failure and cardiac arrest become very real possibilities.

(Have you heard that jingle about distinguishing poisonous coral snakes from their non-poisonous imitators by analyzing the order of the markings? "Red next to yellow kills a fellow, red next to black, my friend Jack" may be a useful guide in North America, but it does not apply down here. We have several species of coral snakes, including some with no yellow markings at all.)

Non-poisonous snakes also defend themselves with their teeth, and there are some rear-fanged venomous species whose bite marks don't include the double fang holes commonly but not always associated with pit viper bites. You will want to have a professional look at the bite of a non-toxic critter because, apart from the possibility that you are mistaken about the nature of what bit you, there is the risk of infection that's inherent in all animal bites.

So, what should a person do about a snakebite?

The first thing is to avoid it. Wear a good pair of high-top boots when walking through snake habitat. Keep the grass around your living environment cut short. Rake up the dry season leaves and compost them away from the house. Be aware of the wildlife that trees might conceal. Control your urge to play in that pile of leaves. Don't go reaching into holes in the ground or in trees.

If you or someone around you is bitten by a snake, it will help the medical professionals if the species responsible can be identified or at least well described. If you can kill the serpent and take it with you to the hospital, do so. Calm down --- running around in a panic just speeds the venom's diffusion throughout your body. Wash the wound with soap and water. Immobilize and elevate the limb that has been bitten. Go straight to the emergency room.