Circumstances and Consequences of Snakebite Envenomings: A Qualitative Study in South-Eastern Costa Rica
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. General Characteristics of the People Interviewed
2.2. Identification of Nodes of Analysis
2.3. Economic Dynamics in the Brunca Region of Costa Rica
2.4. Sociodemographic and Economic Conditions That Determine the Vulnerability of People to Suffer a Snakebite
“The men lifted me and brought me to an old house, and applied a tourniquet…and it hurt a lot, and I wished they would take out the tourniquet, and then they took me to the hospital.”(TA-ENT06)
“Yes, information on how to act is needed. The only thing I knew was from a person who told me ‘when you get bitten by a snake, take it, get out its liver and bile and eat them, and you will see that nothing happens to you’. The company does not provide information.”(TA-ENT04)
“Well, in the field the only prevention is to wear boots, but in my case the snake bit me above the boot, there was little else to do because if you wear boots and the animal is large it can bite above the boots and there is no way to avoid it.”(TA-ENT03)
2.5. Attention Provided after the Bite and by the Public Health System, and Sequelae of Envenomings
“The man for whom I was working did not even give me a glass of water during the two months I could not work, he did not even ask whether I had died or not.”(TA-ENT03)
“…The closest locality here is Puerto Jiménez, because in my community there is a clinic, but it is not open 24 h, it opens in working hours only; if you go now, it is probably closed, there is nobody there. Thus, the closest place is Puerto Jiménez…If it rains that is another thing, the rivers overflow, and the situation gets more complicated, it is 80 km away.”(NTA-ENT03)
2.6. Consequences of the Snakebite Envenoming
2.6.1. Physical and Psychological Sequelae
“Sure, it makes sense. It is something that you cannot get rid of easily, it will remain your whole life, because losing a leg, for example… And also you have to take care, do not walk too long because although the venom is gone, some deficiencies remain, deficiencies that affect you, you know?”(TA-ENT05)
“It was very tough, I became so stressed that I almost died, I was in very bad shape…and on top of that my partner was in jail, I said how terrible, I am worthless… and I said God bless, I am worthless, I cannot do anything…it was terrible.”(NTA-ENT01)
“Well, the hiccups did not come back, but often one feels discouraged, it’s the venom, like now I feel like lazy, like tired, like I need to rest…The snake bitten person will always have problems, like in my case it was the hiccups, but other people have other things. In my case, when the snake bit me, it felt like an electric shock.”(TA-ENT05)
2.6.2. Long-Term Socioeconomic Consequences
“Almost 2 years. At that time I had cattle, I was economically more or less stable and had pigs. I had pigs, cattle, dairy cattle, but as a consequence of the snakebite I had to start selling, selling, selling, and now I have nothing, I lost everything. Neighbors, friends, relatives helped me many times with food and economically because I was in bad shape, I was in a very critical situation, and I got help from many people…”(TA-ENT05)
“Well…my family suffered because they had to support me economically. I could not work, I could not provide anything to my people.”(TA-ENT03)
“…So, I had to come here, with this man, live with him because I did not have where to go with my children, they were in school and I did not have anywhere to go, and I said oh God I do not want them to quit school, because you know how hard it is without schooling, I do not want them to quit, oh God, I said, how do I do it?”(TA-ENT07)
“I was not able to work for six months, seven months…I went back to the farm where I worked when my incapacity license ended, I went back there and I was told that I could not do any type of work there, they said, because with that hand you cannot work. He said to me that they could not give me any type of job, and that I could not go back to work. They did not pay me anything, that was all he said, that they could not offer me a job because I could not work, they did not give me even a piece of paper, some money, nothing, nothing.”(TA-ENT07)
“Economically yes, it is difficult, because it is not the same when I was well as I am now, because the people who used to look for me to do some jobs, they no longer look for me because of the limitations I have…”(TA-ENT-05)
3. Conclusions
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Type of Study
4.2. Universe of Study
4.3. Interviews and Analysis of the Information
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Arias-Rodríguez, J.; Gutiérrez, J.M. Circumstances and Consequences of Snakebite Envenomings: A Qualitative Study in South-Eastern Costa Rica. Toxins 2020, 12, 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010045
Arias-Rodríguez J, Gutiérrez JM. Circumstances and Consequences of Snakebite Envenomings: A Qualitative Study in South-Eastern Costa Rica. Toxins. 2020; 12(1):45. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010045
Chicago/Turabian StyleArias-Rodríguez, Jazmín, and José María Gutiérrez. 2020. "Circumstances and Consequences of Snakebite Envenomings: A Qualitative Study in South-Eastern Costa Rica" Toxins 12, no. 1: 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010045
APA StyleArias-Rodríguez, J., & Gutiérrez, J. M. (2020). Circumstances and Consequences of Snakebite Envenomings: A Qualitative Study in South-Eastern Costa Rica. Toxins, 12(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010045