Yet Another Snake Bite Fatality

[moosenoose]

Such a damned shame. Wrong place at the wrong time Certainly the brown snake is indisputably Australia's most dangerous snake.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21361696-1702,00.html

 

[Hoppa1874]

Oh dear.. how sad for those parents.. coodnt imagine how i would feel if it was one of my kids..
Condolences all round

 

[redline]

Oh that is so sad.

 

[DameJacquie]

Oh how sad, poor little girl, and poor parents

 

[michael555]

im sooo sad to hear that

 

[RevDaniel]

Sorry to have to read this bad news. That is my biggest fear with my son, getting a bite from a snake.

 

[cyclamen]

wow. that poor poor girl. i feel for the family.
mel

 

[reptalica]

Poor little girl. Didn't stand a chance by the looks of it, not even the fact they lived in a rural area would have contributed to that i.e. getting to the closest hospital.

 

[kwaka_80]

yeah well she died within 3 1/2 of being bitten... i would think even with anti venom you would still go through some symptoms and quite possibly still die?... My sympathy goes to the family

 

[sc1010]

yeah many people have heart attacks before they are able to get the anti venom and stuff like that..so sad..
poor little girl, God bless her family..

sophie

 

[pythoness]

Terrible news, my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

 

[slim6y]

Why don't the papers print how to avoid snake bites...?

How do you get 9 year olds to avoid browns? What can you do?

I realise browns are quite defensive and the media write about them as though they're agressive and actively pursue people who disturb them.

But what do I tell my daughter if she sees a snake (regardless of the fact if it is a brown or a spotted python...

When I saw a program on the browns they showed it actively pursuing a possible attacker. It struck out 10 or 15 times.

What, if anything, could have the parents done? Could have they applied a pressure bandage (maybe they did)? Would it have helped?

It is very sad and I feel for these parents. It has been a bad year for snakes and bitees. And I do think some of this can be attributed to the drought and the snake having to go more urban in search of food.

 

[koubee]

So so sad. Poor little girl.

 

[reptalica]

In suburban Melbourne, particular in my "neck of the woods" it is particularly relevant as we have browns and tigers in a suburb called Ivanhoe around 10-15 k's from the city. Our district in Melbourne is considered the worst according to various snake catchers down here.

Haven't seen any yet BUT I can tell u one thing, having been a member of this forum I feel I am a lot better educated in dealing with a situation should I be confronted with one.

 

[cris]

How do you get 9 year olds to avoid browns? What can you do?

keep them indoors or take the risk. I would doubt a nine year old girl would be trying to catch or kill a snake. The only other things they can do is try to make their house and surrounds unsuitable for snakes and maybe get a dog so it will be more likely to cop a bite before a kid. watching where you step is always a good idea, walking where browns are common is abit like walking in a mine field IMO but few ppl would think of it with the same caution.

After getting bitten by a brown you are up the creek and only with luck you will be OK, medical treatment will not always save ppl and many survivors have serious long term health issues.

 

[debaig]

After getting bitten by a brown you are up the creek and only with luck you will be OK, medical treatment will not always save ppl and many survivors have serious long term health issues.

To the best of my knowledge there have been no deaths from snake bite in Australia since about 1963 when a pressure bandage has been applied immediately after the bite. If anyone knows of a case that disproves this I'm happy to listen.
The best thing anyone can do for their kids, friends, family and themselves is learn to apply a pressure bandage and always have a couple in the car, home and if bushwalking in your pocket.

 

[dazza_wilto]

very sad to hear such a young life is over

 

[nuthn2do]

I was contacted by local media today to do an interview about "just snakes in general".
I declined simply for the fact that i new where it was going and found it in bad taste considering Uralla is in the transmission area.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

I was contacted by local media today to do an interview about "just snakes in general".
I declined simply for the fact that i new where it was going and found it in bad taste considering Uralla is in the transmission area.

You can be sure they would try to make the story even more sensational (if thats possible) by adding scary music etc and overtones in the dialogue to make the snakes appear to be vicious sneaky slippery monsters.
To avoid this you make the appointment for the interview and try to steer it in the directions you want it to go,ie educating the public.But your right , it's to soon .

 

[debaig]

Good move methinks...if only the media made such a fuss everytime someone died from, cancer, AIDS, car accident, etc... these things kill more than bites from snakes, spiders, crocs but isn't as sensational so doesn't get the attention...