# Man dies after bite from venomous tiger snake



## News Bot (Dec 1, 2010)

Authorities are reminding people of the dangers of snakes after the state's first recorded death from a snake bite this year.

*Published On:* 01-Dec-10 08:55 AM
*Source:* ABC News

*Go to Original Article*


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## moosenoose (Dec 1, 2010)

Whilst I feel desperately sorry for the man, his family and friends...there has to be more to this story! Perhaps he's tried to "tough it out"?? There shouldn't be a fatality like this if the correct first aid proceedures are administered. I'm a little suss.

Still, a terrible shame!


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## Tristan (Dec 1, 2010)

yeah i would agree with moosenoose, there have been 77 recorded bites this year and this is the first death? 

also regarding the thread title a venomous tiger snake? is this opposed to the non-venomous tiger snakes? lol


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## ezekiel86 (Dec 1, 2010)

mmmm not good ! poor bloke !


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## Tristan (Dec 1, 2010)

not every one has the same view on death. and i don't believe any one has "pulled the piss" out of the guy involved moos and i both stated it was odd he was the first death out of 77 bites and believed he chose to do something silly like not seek immediate attention.

and feral was making a jest at the articles terminology, so perhaps you should read first consider second before you jump on your high horse.


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## Snakes_R_us1 (Dec 1, 2010)

Tiger in Gingin? Gingin QLD? Who ID it?


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## Echiopsis (Dec 1, 2010)

Theres a map in the article, Gingin in WA...


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## Niall (Dec 1, 2010)

It has now been confirmed as a Western Brown not a tiger snake.


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## Brodie (Dec 1, 2010)

Can nuchalis cause sudden death like textilis can? Anyone know? Jonno?


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## Belial (Dec 1, 2010)

That's really sad it's the first death this year, so close to xmas aswell =\


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## Jonno from ERD (Dec 1, 2010)

Brodie_W said:


> Can nuchalis cause sudden death like textilis can? Anyone know? Jonno?


 
G'day mate,

I'm not the one to ask - I've been cramming recently with regards to the clinical effects and treatment of Australian elapid bites but it is so complex and variable that definitive answers are hard to come by. My semi-educated guess would be a definite yes though - they are a very dangerous snake.

The fact that the snake was originally identified as a Tiger, and later found to be a Western Brown suggests that standard First Aid procedures for snakebite were definitely not followed somewhere along the line. I will make some enquiries and see what the story is.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

Procedure wasn't followed as the victim called a friend to help who arrived and administered CPR while waiting for an Ambulance

Warning after WA snakebite death - The West Australian


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## soundfix (Dec 1, 2010)

Oh my, dreadful news! -If your not safe indoors,while near a computer,even a baby wrongly identified snake,can find you and kill you.-that doesnt make sense.hmmm


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

?


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## fauce (Dec 1, 2010)

Poor man! A snake that small you may not even feel the bite. Or it sounds like the hospital might have given him the wrong antivenom? Doesn't really add up. 

Yeah it sounds like something more than just the bite went wrong, either he didn't really know he had been bit, or the medical treatment might have been wrong. 

Anyways shows our snakes are extremely dangerous and even smalll bites should be taken seriously.


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## fauce (Dec 1, 2010)

ah well that second article sheds some light


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 1, 2010)

I was watching the ABC, they properly identified it as a western brown, quite pretty really.
The expert called in was Brian Bush, the guy who trained me in snake catching.



Oh, and Echiopsis? You deal with it how you wish to, but by not immediately calling for the ambulance, he sealed his own fate.


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 1, 2010)

steve1 said:


> Procedure wasn't followed as the victim called a friend to help who arrived and administered CPR while waiting for an Ambulance
> 
> Warning after WA snakebite death - The West Australian


 

I have to say that article is about the most balanced, non sensationalist piece I've ever seen in the West.


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## Belial (Dec 1, 2010)

I did, coz i want people(my mates) to know about snake bites!( and since im getting a snake good and bad sides to all types, ect anyways why em i explaing myself -.- ) Does'nt seem suss at all -.-


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## Brodie (Dec 1, 2010)

Jonno - Didn't mean to put you on the spot dude, just though you may have heard something! I'll ask BGF next time I talk to him.

I remember when I was bitten by a hoplo, what was it, 6 or 7 years ago now? VDK came back positive for Black Snake. They tried to give me black snake AV, which, apparrently would have been useless. Bart was not on call that night, so was relying on treatment from some poor ER Dr who had no idea about snake bites. I am so glad I had Bryans help, I can still remember hearing him scream at the Drs making sure they gave me the right AV, haha.

I remember Brian Bush years and years and years ago reporting that BHP saliva came back as Black Snake on VDK too. Scary!

Poor guy, would be interesting to know what happened once he got to hospital..


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## Bushfire (Dec 1, 2010)

There is alot that can go wrong with any venomous snake bite that can cause rapid death, even in todays modern world. There have been alot of talk over many years that for some reason humans are particular more suspectable to P.nuchalis venom than the lab test suggest. There is quite a few cases of keepers despite correct treatment being in serious trouble in very short time frames.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

Makes no difference to the attending medics what it was ID as, as the hospital would have run tests anyhow, purely a case of media jumping on a story without facts. And Feral your comment as to what he was doing at the computer was in poor taste for someone who had just been killed, and you can't expect everyone to have the knowqledge of snake bite treatment that most on this forum would possess, the poor bloke probably reacted in panic and made a mistake that cost his life.


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## Brodie (Dec 1, 2010)

I know a few people who have been done by nuchalis, saw it happen first hand once too. One guy is still recovering 6 years down the track.. My point was that it is well known that textilis can cause death from heart failure within minutes. Last I heard it wasn't understood if it was a component in the venom of certain populations, or, if certain people were sensitive to said component. I was told in detail how it MIGHT work, but it was years and years ago, I can't remember! 

Was wondering if immeditae (<5 mins) heart failure had been reported in nuchalis? Do you happen to know of any mate? (bushfire)


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 1, 2010)

steve1 said:


> Makes no difference to the attending medics what it was ID as, as the hospital would have run tests anyhow, purely a case of media jumping on a story without facts. And Feral your comment as to what he was doing at the computer was in poor taste for someone who had just been killed, and you can't expect everyone to have the knowqledge of snake bite treatment that most on this forum would possess, the poor bloke probably reacted in panic and made a mistake that cost his life.


 Yes, my comment was in poor taste, call me human for using humour to deal with tragedy, I wouldn't be the first, and I highly doubt I'll be the last.
So there you have it.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

And comments like he decided to "ride it out" or "tough it out" are just as bad as media sensationalism


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 1, 2010)

steve1 said:


> And comments like he decided to "ride it out" or "tough it out" are just as bad as media sensationalism


 To be fair, those comments were made on the earlier, erroneous reporting.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

It has also been reported the bloke put a fair bit of effort in trying to catch it. Probably in the misguided belief it would need to be identified, a myth that this thread runs the risk of enhancing


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 1, 2010)

steve1 said:


> It has also been reported the bloke put a fair bit of effort in trying to catch it. Probably in the misguided belief it would need to be identified, a myth that this thread runs the risk of enhancing


 I don't see how? Geez, even the experts need to go to the DNA level to be sure these days.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 1, 2010)

What are you talking about? What don't you see how?


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 2, 2010)

I don't see how this thread can contribute to the mis-information regarding snake bites and the need to properly ID them


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## Gone_Feral (Dec 2, 2010)

****, this isn't going too well at all...I came here tonight to own up to bad taste and poor form and now...


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## saratoga (Dec 2, 2010)

Where do they get the images from for these stories.....this article shows what I think is a Water Moccassin or Cottonmouth and calls it a Western Brown

Western Brown Snake Bite Kills Gingin Man


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## moosenoose (Dec 2, 2010)

steve1 said:


> And comments like he decided to "ride it out" or "tough it out" are just as bad as media sensationalism


 
Not the first time anyone has ever tried doing that. I know exactly the sorts stubborn enough to try it also!

So he either didn't know he was bitten (which is highly likely) or he did exactly that- try to ride it out!! I don't know what's sensationalist about that?? It's either one or the other. By all reports he delayed getting medical attention. Perhaps he didn't know he'd been bitten??? All speculation, but otherwise a realistic couple of scenarios.

So now it's a brown snake. The time for the guy to have reacted just got narrowed down even further.


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## snakeluvver (Dec 2, 2010)

Belial said:


> I did, coz i want people(my mates) to know about snake bites!( and since im getting a snake good and bad sides to all types, ect anyways why em i explaing myself -.- ) Does'nt seem suss at all -.-


 Okay, sorry I took it the wrong way.


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 2, 2010)

moosenoose said:


> Not the first time anyone has ever tried doing that. I know exactly the sorts stubborn enough to try it also!
> 
> So he either didn't know he was bitten (which is highly likely) or he did exactly that- try to ride it out!! I don't know what's sensationalist about that?? It's either one or the other. By all reports he delayed getting medical attention. Perhaps he didn't know he'd been bitten??? All speculation, but otherwise a realistic couple of scenarios.
> 
> So now it's a brown snake. The time for the guy to have reacted just got narrowed down even further.



I realize there are plenty who do ride out bites, but to try and suggest that this bloke chose to ride it out with a, she'll be right mate attitude is crap. The more likely scenario is that he got bitten and had no idea of the procedure to follow for treatment or he did and the panic just through procedure out the window, it now seems the bloke thought it necessary to ID the snake and put in considerable effort trying to catch it. This mans efforts were not stupid they arose from lack of education, to suggest he decided to ride it out, is to suggest he acted like an idiot which is unfair considering he is dead.


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## moosenoose (Dec 2, 2010)

Why would it be crap??? Because you've now read the latest reports, as have I, and now know the whole thing came down to a "dumb" lack of education?? There are plenty of numb-nuts around who still think a tiny snake won't do much to them because they are too big and tough! Considering most people can survive a bite without too much to worry about in this day and age (even young kids), and then have some poor sod cark it because he was bitten by a snake just seemed a little too odd for my liking.

So I don't know what your problem is, perhaps get off your shoebox for a start. Anyone in this country, in my humble opinion, who lives in the locality of venomous snake species (which is bloody-well everywhere!) needs to know how to deal with them and in a emergency situation, a bite! It's like living in the bush and not having a fire plan, it's like having a pool in the backyard and not teaching your kids how to swim! So yes, this bloke was a bit of an idiot regardless of what he did, because he turned a controllable situation into something lethal!


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## Elapidae1 (Dec 2, 2010)

If anyone needs to step down from shoeboxes or soapboxes it's you. My problem is people like yourself who have a bit of knowledge about snakes expecting everyone else to share it. then media and people like you sensationalize a situation before the facts are even known therefore helping to perpetuate myths. When these myths do the rounds people think they're getting good solid information it's not stupidity or someone being a numb nut it's acting on misinformation, fortunately situations like this don't occur to often


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