Man dies from snake bite trying to help neighbour

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

News Bot

Very Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
1,760
Reaction score
1
A man has died after being bitten by a brown snake while trying to remove the reptile from a neighbour's garage.

XWvUZa9pFSo


Published On: 22-Nov-11 04:34 PM
Source: NewsCore via NEWS.com.au

Go to Original Article
 
'Although Australia is home to many poisonous types of snake, deaths from snake bites are very rare, with only two or three people dying per year.'

VENOMOUS ! get it right jeez.
2 per year, this is about the 8th ive heard of in the past 2 months :/
 
For this very reason people should simple leave snakes alone and leave snake catching up to those who are trained in doing so. It is so devistating to hear of people dying from snake bite, something that simply should not occur in Australia. If this man had have called a snake catcher to do the job, he and the snake would both still be alive today.
These trajedies can so easily be avoided if people simply leave snakes alone.
 
If he had of applied correct first aid immediately and gone to a hospital he'd more than likely still be alive. Wasting time catching/ killing the snake seems to be a popular way of killing yourself these days....
 
It sounds to me like a poor snake bite management all over. First aid (lack of) to start with and hospital procedure to follow. You don't just pump up the antivenom into a patient.
 
Sounds like an allergic reaction to the horse-serum based antivenom - if you're allergic it will kill you far sooner than the actual venom will. Patients should always be tested for this allergy before being given antivenom. Not saying it didn't happen here, but it looks like it could be the case with such a rapid death.

Jamie
 
Not only all of the above, but if the true story was told you would find it even more stupid.

I have only heard the story second hand myself & therefore should not comment any further.


Have a nice day & leave the wild vens alone.
Ian

Hey just to add abit, we get browns in our garden here at Emerald all the time. There are thousands of them out there.

Without talking about my working in the field experiences & just talking about at home in the garden experiences, I have had them slither past me here at home only 1 metre away & have startled them in the garden & seen plenty of others, I just leave them alone & they leave me alone.

They are not agressive & a threat as some people might try to think, they just pass on thier way & they have to live somewhere so we just have to learn to live with them. I found a very large one in my 3x3 garden shed one day, all I did was make a racket around the outside of the shed & came back an hour later & it was gone.
I will not talk personally about what happened as peoples emotions are involved, but I will say that if he could have his time over again he would have left it alone.
Ta
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you wish to know a bit more of what we where told please PM me.

Ian

Unfortunately this is probably the last thing that will hear about this tragic story, is what is written in the newspaper.
There will be no follow up story to tell how to leave them alone or call the lisenced snake catcher, & this guys missfortune will end there with no improvements to the public knowledge due to some bullshit story in the paper.
 
Last edited:
If the venom hits a vein or artery your done for ,no matter what. I had to comment as i know a person who was bitten on the calf muscle, had heaps of anti venom and 3 months in hospital. was soooo sick. my self i have lived in the country all my life, had all types of snakes pass me or go round me. never had a problem, but i did upset a big carpet and payed the price.
 
Wow, ANOTHER death by snake bite this season. That is crazy. Such a tragic death so easily avoided!
 
Indeed a tragedy. Testimonial though, that interferance is a leading contributing factor to snakebite fatalities and why folks just need to ring a local catcher. RIP.
 
If the venom hits a vein or artery your done for ,no matter what. I had to comment as i know a person who was bitten on the calf muscle, had heaps of anti venom and 3 months in hospital. was soooo sick. my self i have lived in the country all my life, had all types of snakes pass me or go round me. never had a problem, but i did upset a big carpet and payed the price.

no matter what? mate can you show me a site of somewere that this is proven?
 
no matter what? mate can you show me a site of somewere that this is proven?

I can help with that. The statement in question is entirely inaccurate. Please see the following:

The lymphatic system is responsible for systemic spread of most venoms. This can be reduced by the application of a firm bandage (as firm as you would put on a sprained ankle) over a folded pad placed over the bitten area. While firm, it should not be so tight that it stops blood flow to the limb or to congests the veins. Start bandaging directly over the bitten area, ensuing that the pressure over the bite is firm and even. If you have enough bandage you can extend towards more central parts of the body, to delay spread of any venom that has already started to move centrally. A pressure dressing should be applied even if the bite is on the victims trunk or torso.

The preceding is an excerpt from: Treatment of Australian Snake Bites . What it is saying is that Aussie snake venom travels the lymphatic system, hence why applying a tourniquet is wholly ineffective (actually harmful for other reasons) and the pressure immobilisation technique is applied to compress the lymphatic system WITHOUT impeding the circulatory system.
 
Spot on Aaron

Applying correct first aid is the key

I might add DON'T PANIC and DON'T MOVE ask someone to call 000

Keep safe - Be informed

Cheers
Sandee :)
 
Spot on Aaron

Applying correct first aid is the key

I might add DON'T PANIC and DON'T MOVE ask someone to call 000

Keep safe - Be informed

Cheers
Sandee :)

Even better,
LEAVE THE BLOODY THING ALONE!!!!!!!
 
I can help with that. The statement in question is entirely inaccurate. Please see the following:



The preceding is an excerpt from: Treatment of Australian Snake Bites . What it is saying is that Aussie snake venom travels the lymphatic system, hence why applying a tourniquet is wholly ineffective (actually harmful for other reasons) and the pressure immobilisation technique is applied to compress the lymphatic system WITHOUT impeding the circulatory system.

Its not actually entirely inaccurate. Aussie elapids have such small fangs so generally the venom is injected into subcutaneous tissue and absorbed via the lymphatics as you have written. There is however a very small chance the venom can get administered directly into a vessel (vein or artery) causing a much more rapid onset of envenomation. I think that is what 43nickw was alluding to.
 
The guy died from a heart attack, appropriate bandaging and management would help in getting to hospital but after that it is a fight against your own body. As pointed out by Bryan G Fry at his AHS talk last month. Brown snake venom is an extreme self contained bilogical weapon. I doesn't react with your body, it attacks it directly.
It is the number two on the most venomous list for valid reasons.
 
When the newspaper contacted us we spoke at length about contacting snake catchers, using appropriate first aid, that the venom quantity was around 2mg, not 2ml.......lots of things discussed and not printed. There was also mention of how to prevent snakes in the yard........one of the things we emphasized was to contact a snake catcher and if bitten, dont catch it or kill it, bandage the wound and get medical treatment ASAP
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top