You can get radon detection devices at many hardware and home improvement stores, or by contacting the EPA's National Radon Hotline (1-800-SOS-RADON). These devices are left in the home for 2 to 90 days, and indicate whether there might be a radon problem in the home. If results indicate that your home has a level exceeding 4 picocuries (pC/L), you will want to test your home again with the short, 2 to 90 day test and then calculate the average of the two tests, or test your home with an alpha track detector, which measures the long term radon average for three to twelve months. If the radon level in your home exceeds 4 pC/L, there are several techniques available to the lower levels. (Source: excerpt from Radon Testing: NIEHS_1)
Based on a national residential radon survey completed in 1991, the average indoor radon level is 1.3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The average outdoor level is about 0.4 pCi/L. (Source: excerpt from INDOOR AIR POLLUTION: NWHIC)
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The patient’s history and account of the injury, observation of fang marks, snake identification (when possible), and progressive symptoms of envenomation all point to poisonous snakebite. Laboratory test results help identify the extent of envenomation and provide guidelines for supportive treatment.
Abnormal test results in poisonous snakebites may include:
❑ prolonged bleeding time and partial thromboplastin time
❑ decreased hemoglobin level and hematocrit
❑ sharply decreased platelet count (less than 200,000/mm">3)
❑ urinalysis disclosing hematuria
❑ increased white blood cell count in victims who develop an infection (a snake’s mouth typically contains gram-negative bacteria)
❑ pulmonary edema or emboli as shown on chest X-ray
❑ possibly tachycardia and ectopic heartbeats on the electrocardiogram (usually necessary only in cases of severe envenomation for a patient older than age 40)
❑ possibly abnormal EEG findings in cases of severe envenomation.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
The patient’s history and account of the injury, observation of fang marks, snake identification (when possible), and progressive symptoms of envenomation all point to poisonous snakebite. Laboratory test results help identify the extent of envenomation and provide guidelines for supportive treatment.
Abnormal test results in poisonous snakebites may include the following:
❑ prolonged bleeding time and partial thromboplastin time
❑ decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit values
❑ sharply decreased platelet count (less than 200,000/µl)
❑ urinalysis disclosing hematuria
❑ increased white blood cell count in victims who develop an infection (the mouth of a snake typically contains gram-negative bacteria)
❑ pulmonary edema as shown on chest X-ray
❑ possibly tachycardia and ectopic heartbeats on the electrocardiogram (usually necessary only in cases of severe envenomation for a patient older than age 40)
❑ possibly abnormal EEG findings in cases of severe envenomation.
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
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