man dies from tiger snake bite

Our local snake catcher here has confounded the experts after surviving a taipan bite recently. He presented at A&E with his daughter who told the staff her Dad had been bitten by a taipan. They said "there are no taipans around these parts..." That's when she told them he was the snake catcher. He was very, very sick but pulled through.

Taipan bites are particularly bad as their venom contains a neurotoxin that attacks the nervous system. It also prevents clotting which causes massive bleeding. And to top it all off, it is also myotoxic so it eats away at muscle tissue. Not nice at all....

Quote >> man whom died from a tiger snake bite he sustained whilst sitting at his computer

I think it was a confused snake >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> was probably after his mouse ?
Boom Boom

Link here.......Snake Bite Death - WA
Yep re the small ones - remember years ago my late dad saying don't be fooled by the juvenile bites - he'd seen a bloke affected very badly by a small brown's bite - lucky to survive. As for tigers - saw one or two in WA last year - a much respected beasty :-o(.

Hi Everyone,
We had a snake specialist at school the other day. They said that young snakes do not know how much venom to release so they release the lot so it is actually worse to get bitten by a young one
barb

I did a stupid thing on a camping trip in Sturt National Park recently. Got out of the car in sandals and walked through some longish grass for about 200 metres. Was being eaten alive by mosquitos and didn't feel anything bite my ankle. A day later there was a large, poisonous looking red wound, very raw looking with two adjacent marks in the centre. God only knows what it was but a faint mark is still there about 2 months later. Obviously not dangerous but could so easily have been. Lesson learned. Bigtime.
Lou

thanks Doc, along with other posts, your point is well made. Cheers

More relevant/interesting news here than on the idiot box "news" (which I lately have not bothered to watch).

For those that haven't read the article or don't know the local area, Gin Gin is a rural area north of Perth that stretches from the coastline across the flat sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain to the hinterland and foothills of the Darling Scarp. Gin Gin is best known for the Moore River (a great spot to go camping, fishing, 4WDing) and there is a system of fresh water lakes and streams... A haven for the tiger snake!

Thanks Doc for the story.
Michelle

"The 43-year-old man was sitting at his computer at his Gingin property when he was bitten on the toe by a small Western Brown snake on Friday, police said"

and

"A Western Australian man has died after being bitten on the toe by a tiger snake while using his computer."

2 different quotes from two different articles

Wonder what type of snake it was actually?

Ian

I guess it depends which news bulletin you want to believe. Tiger or brown snake matters little when the report indicated that instead of ringing for an ambulance straight away and limiting his physical activity this bloke rang a mate to come around and help him find and kill the snake. Only rang an ambulance when he started feeling crook. If his mate had known a little first aid he would have sat him down and applied a pressure bandage instead of chasing the snake around.
But as I said it depends on which news you want to believe.

Cheers Pop

A Simple First Aid course will tell you, that a snake bite is not a problem to deal with if you take a few simple steps.

With proper first aid you can be 4 hours away from help and survive.

Been there done that, it was a western Brown.

Hi Oz Doc

Have to agree with 3GoBush on this one. The correct First Aid applied quickly and there would be no problem. Courses are inexpensive when compared with the saving of a life, and a good quality first aid kit again is not overly expensive.

We have a good variety of snakes around here, and have never lost anyone to a bite. Generally speaking, the RFDS come from DErby, which is up to 3 - 4 hours away for a response, so total limb bandaging, complete immobilisation of limb, keeping patient warm and still, and things will be okay.

There could always be an axception, but generally first aid in time and medical help, people survive. I find it hard that in a major city, with massive hospitals, the person actually died, someone had no idea what they were doing.

Cheers

I thought they referred to it as a Western Brown Snake, I'm not that familiar with WA snakes, is it just another name for a Tiger Snake?

Australian Snake Bites

Here is a website I keep on my computer desktop for easy access.

Bruce

Most reported deaths state no first aid was given (usually due to bite being undiagnosed).

It goes to show the importance of learning the Pressure Immobilisation Technique which can safe lives and gives many hours to get victim to hospital. Although we see more snakes (dugites) in our own back yard than we see on our travels, i always keep a few rolls of crepe bandage and pins to secure them in my back pack and in the car first aid kit.

First Aid for Snake Bite

Motherhen

all snake bites should be treated as potentially dangerous. I am aware of a case where a small simoselaps (banded snake) which is normally very placid and not considered dangerous bit a person. it wasn't the venom that was a problem, he had a reaction and went into anaphalatic shock.

You can never be sure when they will pop up , I was out using my electric jack hammer on tracks and as I'm hammering away I thought something looked strange about the power coord - unbelievably a tiger was in amongst the coils - and I thought they would be put off by noise but apparently some vibrations attract them. Always take the shotgun.


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the snake had been killed and latest report says it was positivly id as a gwarder by experts

as one of the brown snake family they are collectivly australias deadliest snakes

Saw the TV report on this last night, very sad story.

oz doc
the snake was mistakenly identified as a tiger, initially but was later identified as a western brown and they're a nasty kettle of fish. But to be bitten on the toe, you've got to be unlucky.\

Hi Guys
a very sad state of affairs....but I would really like to push ....Learn a little FIRST AID...if you are 1/2 hour out of town and you don't do the right thing in the case of such things as snake bite you might as well be 1/2 a day away.
come on guys ...GIVE IT SERIOUS THOUGHT
Brian