Taipan Bite - Experts Forum at VenomousReptiles.org

Taipan Bite	Reply
by Cro on December 18, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
Here is a bit more about the 15 year old boy in Austrailia who was bitten by the Taipan. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1097938/Teenager-survives-brush-deadly-snake--thanks-quick-thinking-friends.html Best Regards John Z

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by puffadder7 on December 18, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
amazing how quick the effects of the venom were, god was with him on that one, arin

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by theemojohnm on December 18, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
"Ryan was alone in the water when he was ATTACKED by the snake..." Interesting read regardless. It isn't often you hear about Taipan bites. Good thing his buddies knew some of the first aid measures. I agree, it seems like this bite turned systemic almost instantly. Defeinitely potent venom there. Thanks for posting John! Take Care, ~John Mendrola.

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by 23bms on December 21, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
There were three things about this article that, in conjunction, aroused my curiosity. First, the article said he got bitten when he jumped in a pool of water near a river (in 2008). In the water? Just 'jumped in' and happened to land on or otherwise irritate a passing taipan. Okaaayyy... Not impossible I suppose. The second thing was the last paragraph of the article. He supposedly got bitten by an almost equally deadly eastern brown snake a year ago while motorcycle riding (apparently 2007). Motorcycle riding??? MOTORCYCLE RIDING??? Either this kid has a genius for just happening to be in the worst possible place at the worst possible moment or something else is going on here. Third, the article includes a photo of Steve Irwin freehandling a taipan - the sort of stunt that Irwin was given to and probably one of the stupidest things a human being can do - that is dated 2006. Am I being totally cynical and uncharitable when I wonder if perhaps there is something going on here other than just a freak accident - like, just perhaps, this kid was trying to catch these things and maybe, again just perhaps, trying to emulate Mr Irwin? Oh well. At least he didn't do it in Pennsylvania. We have enough nitwits of our own already.

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by Cro on December 21, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
I kind of wondered about the same things in the article. I suppose if you jump into a swimming hole, and happen to land on a taipan, you could get nailed two times fairly quickly. And the supposed brown snake bite while riding a motor cycle was also a double bite, but turned out to be a dry bites. However, in both cases, he was bitten on the leg or foot. If he was trying to capture the snakes, and trying to emulate Steve Irwin, you would think he would have been bitten on the arm or hand, unless he was trying to hold the snakes down with his foot. Also, the article says they used the snake venom detection kit to determine what snake had bitten the boy, as he said he had not seen it. That kit will determine what of 5 different types of venomous snakes caused the bite. If the kid had been trying to catch a taipan, and had gotten bitten in the process, it is likely that he would have said it was a taipan, and not made up some sort of story about not knowing what kind of snake it was. Many Australians out in the bush know the value of positive identification of venomous snakes involved in bites, as they know there are different antivenoms. Sounds like this kid lives in an area where there are many deadly snakes, and perhaps is just unlucky. Best Regards John Z

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by puffadder7 on December 21, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
well just look at the picture of them, they seem like kids that would cause trouble, and probably do stupid dangerous things, that being on par with trying to catch a taipan, im sorry, but you dont get bit twice, two times by the worlds most venomous snakes, just my opinion, arin

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by Cro on December 22, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
Arin, you might be right, they do look like they could potentially be trouble makers, LOL. Perhaps instead of trying to emulate Steve Irwin, they were trying to emulate Johnny Knoxville and the Wildboyz ? Best Regards John Z

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by toddg on December 22, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
Nearly a liter of antivenin? Convulsive and bleeding from the mouth within moments of being bitten? I thought systemic symptoms from taipan poisoning was supposed to be relatively slow to present. Something doesn't add up.

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by Cro on December 22, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
As far as the Clinical effects of a Taipan bite, Early Collapse has been reported, but it is not common. The bite almost always causes Coagulopathy, and Neurotoxicity, and can also cause Myotoxicity and Renal Impairment, and Local Effects. A excellent summary of the effects of the bites of various Australian Elapids can be found at : http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/29/5/125/9/ A normal Antivenom Dose for a Taipan Bite is listed at 3 vials, so, this must have been one very severe bite, or bites. Also, some of the damage that the venom has done before antivenom is given is not reversible, and has to wear off over several days as the body repairs itself. Once antivenom is given, it can stop further damage from happening. Although the friends were given credit for tying a tee shirt around the boys bitten leg and saving his life, it is very likely that it was not nearly as tight as a proper compression bandage should have been, and it is likely that a large amount of venom made it into his system. To be most effective, a compression bandage should be placed quickly on a Elapid bite, hopefully within the first 3 minutes following the bite. Studies in Australia have shown that most snake bite patients who arrive at hospitals with compression bandages, do not have them tight enough to stop the spread of venom. Best Regards John Z

RE: Taipan Bite	Reply
by toddg on December 23, 2008	Mail this to a friend!
John, that site�s a bit generic and I didn�t see any actual case references. The rare early collapse you mentioned, I believe, is a result from a rapid loss in blood pressure. I�m also under the impression that the neurotoxic symptoms from taipan envenomation typically takes a few hours to present. As for coagulation issues, I�m not aware of ANY snake venom that would cause this symptom immediately. Just to be sure though, I�m going to go through my entire House dvd collection for that �taipan episode�, if nothing else, just to learn more really big medical terms I don�t fully comprehend.

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