Posted 1/3/23
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. -Luke 10:19
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Ophidiophobia is an extreme, overwhelming fear of snakes. The condition is called a specific phobia (fear), which is a type of anxiety disorder. Ophidiophobia may be associated with herpetophobia, which is fear of all reptiles.”. I kind of get it. I have at least a healthy respect for snakes (aka sneks, nope ropes, danger noodles, mr. no-shoulders, hiss tubes, bitey ropes, Benedict Cobrabatches, David Hisselhoffs, Rumpelsnakeskins, Snakey McSnakefaces, or, for my friends across the pond, Sir Pents. My “fear” for these slitherers is not a true fear, as such, but more of a respect. Seldom, despite seeing dozens on the Frisco Highline Trail and other places, have I ever been pursued by one. They tend to just set there in semi-judgment of my foolishness and smell me, not unlike my wife does after one of my long runs. I was chased by a water moccasin one time which was annoying, but I tend to have much more trouble with bees/wasps/murder hornets (?) chasing me and probably qualify on the phobia chart more there than snakes. Regardless, there are lots we can learn from these slick critters about our topic. (snakeskin-handled shoe horn extracted from my bag…and off we go…)
5 Things You Can Learn About Late-Term Dementia from Snakes
- If you hear a rattle coming from the snake, be aware. A rattle should be a red flag that the snake is threatened by you and you should head in another direction as danger is near. In dementia, the most common cause of death is pneumonia. You guessed it…don’t get ahead of the shoehorn here…the easiest way to spot pneumonia is by hearing the rattle in the lungs of a loved one, and it can be particularly bad in their case as they likely inhaled food or liquid and have been unable to cough it out. Specialized therapists can sometimes help when getting choked on food/beverages starts to try to fend this off. Drinks are frequently thickened to the consistency of honey or thicker to fend off this snake, but it is very common. In fact, my mom currently has pneumonia, again, as I type. We were very concerned we may lose her last week, but she fought it off.
- If you see a rattling tail on the snake, be aware. Several types of snakes, especially ones in the Colubridae and Viperidae families, rattle their tails like a rattlesnake to scare its enemies. Venomous pit vipers, such as copperheads, cottonmouths, bushmasters, tercipelos, and cantils may exhibit tail vibration when threatened. Non-venomous snakes that shake their tails include, kingsnakes, rat snakes, gopher snakes, and corn snakes.
- Most snakebite injuries are completely accidental. Some are caused by messing with the wild, bite kind of snakes and not leaving them alone. Others happen while tiptoeing through the forest not paying attention and stepping directly on or right next to one. They DO blend in well, more often than not. Other injuries include one that I suffered…falling trying to flee the stinkin’ thing. In summary, bits are rare and normally preventable. In our topic of conversation here, two thoughts come to mind here: Dementia, in between 25-40% of the cases, was completely preventable (depending on which site to read). NIH studies say “that up to 35% of dementia could be prevented by modifying nine risk factors: low education; midlife hearing loss, obesity, and hypertension; and late-life depression, smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes, and social isolation.” I have seen as high as 40-45% in other studies. Bottom line: In life we should try to do common sense things to live longer and better, but we sometimes prefer not to. My mom smoked for decades before quitting about 10 years before diagnosis. Her only other risk factor was stress, at least partially because of me. She did the rest well. Was she to blame? Nope….but she didn’t completely watch for snakes. The second thing that comes to mind that I couldn’t find good data on is falls. Falls are certainly a top 3 cause of death in dementia and 100% a primary cause of decline. Help them fight falling. Just do it as best you can. Rearrange furniture. Have walkers available…more than one. Take fall prevention classes at your Area Agency on Aging that you can do with your loved one when you return. It can be quite fun and good for you. I suspect although I have no way of quantifying this is many falls, whether by dodging a nope rope or struggling at home with dementia are because of fear. Do what you can. (BTW…unlike (the opposite) dementia, far more men are bit by snakes than women. Whether our macho-ism/hold-my-beer-ism that causes this or just our propensity to fish and hunt in higher numbers, it is a fact and we can do better.
- There is always good among the bad. Here is a video of cute snakes: LINK Snakes can be cute and nice and even make good pets, or so some say. Every once in a while, though, as you can see by the video, they do bite. Same with folks with dementia, in a way. While they may not bite, be aware that they can swing a fist here and there, typically for little or no reason. Paranoia is very common in dementia, regardless what stage you are in. Just remember, they can hurt you and are acting, likely, on instinct. Here are a couple of excellent videos of tips on deescalation from Teepa Snow: LINK and LINK
- Snakes are everywhere and it seems like they are showing up everywhere you turn. Have you noticed? Maybe it is just me? I do run on a trail quite a bit, but I find them in the yard, on the street, and everywhere else… The numbers of folks with dementia are increasing that way too…and sadly, many of them are homeless and “on the street” as well. While it is hard to find definitive numbers, there are certainly thousands of the 6 million with dementia homeless and wandering….and it is tragic.
I like snakes ok. They eat mice, which I like even less. They do other good things I am sure… But we are where we are and we have to co-exist. I don’t feel the same about dementia. It is ruthless and hurts some great folks and, frankly, needs to go. Lecanemab is very promising as a building block. It sort of re-proves the Amyloid hypothesis, to a point, and promises up to 27% delay/slowing of symptoms…and that is a huge step. We love steps here much better than slithers. There are a host of similar drugs going through the pipeline. Every day we get a little closer! Keep your head up, friends, and watch for those nope ropes, knowing the bad and the good. Oh, and speaking of the bad and the good, never forget to love on the good while there is good to be found. There are always things that are happy and joyful and worthy of remembering. Joy them down. Post them. Blog/Vlog about them! 🙂 We need more reminders that all is not a pit of vipers. 🙂
Thank you all! Thank you as well for the prayer. Mom, amazingly, is recovering from another pneumonia party. Everything except her 02 level is getting much better. I hope you have a wonderful 2023! Hopefully this is the year that we finally #EndALZ !
-Mark
Note: Remember that any underlines item is a link in my posts. They are not for selling, just more reading material on the topic. The closest thing to selling I do is ask for money for my June event… 🙂 Oh, an occasionally link to a book or two on Amazon that gives money to non-profits if you buy a specific book. I am not here for the money. LOL……