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RE: Winder man dies from snake bite
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by Cro on October 13, 2009
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(Timber rattlesnakes are the most common in the wooded area, said John Willson, a snake researcher at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab. But timber rattlesnake bites rarely are deadly, he said. "Most venomous species in the Southeast, you can recover if you make it to a hospital within two to three hours," Willson said.)
More bad advise from the the folks at SREL.
Oglethorpe County has some large lowland timber (canebrake)rattlesnakes. Giving advise that folks will be OK if they make it to a hospital within two or three hours is just stupid. That could cause folks to delay if they had a serious bite.
They should have left the fellow in the woods laying on his side, and called in for a helicopter ambulance. Having him try to sit up on a 4 wheeler and ride out is one of the worse things they could have done.
Of course it is a natural reaction to try to get a injured person back to a road, car, etc. Sometimes, it is better to leave them where they are, and let the rescue folks arrive and take them out on a stretcher. That way, they can stay laying down, which can go a long way to keeping the blood pressure changes from the bite from starving the brain.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: The full text of article.
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by wls967 on October 13, 2009
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A Winder man died over the weekend after a rattlesnake bit him while he was hunting in Oglethorpe County with his grandson.
Dick Rupert, 68, was climbing down from a tree stand in the woods off Thaxton Wynne Road about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when a rattlesnake bit him in the calf, Oglethorpe County Coroner James Mathews said.
Rupert died at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington about an hour later, Mathews said.
Rupert's 12-year-old grandson tried to drive him back to the road on a four-wheeler, but he passed out and fell off twice, Mathews said.
Rupert's grandson and his son, who was hunting nearby, dragged him to the road, and he was unresponsive when Oglethorpe EMS workers arrived at 7:44 a.m., Mathews said.
"The grandson was doing CPR when our crew got there," Mathews said. "But Mr. Rupert was already in full cardiac arrest."
The puncture marks on Rupert's calf barely were visible, said Assistant Coroner Howard Sanders.
Thaxton Wynne Road runs between U.S. Highway 78 and Georgia Highway 22 about seven miles southeast of Lexington, not far from the Wilkes County border.
Timber rattlesnakes are the most common in the wooded area, said John Willson, a snake researcher at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab. But timber rattlesnake bites rarely are deadly, he said.
"Most venomous species in the Southeast, you can recover if you make it to a hospital within two to three hours," Willson said.
While about 8,000 people get bitten by venomous snakes in the United States each year, only about 10 die, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Deaths in the Southeast are incredibly rare, but they can happen," Willson said.
Bites vary in severity depending on the snake, he said. Snakes can control how much venom they inject.
"It all depends on the circumstances," Willson said. "He could have had a particularly bad reaction. Sometimes, the reaction can be worse than the bite itself."
While Mathews will not order an autopsy, he suspects that Rupert died of such a reaction. Rupert had a history of high blood pressure, he said.
"Lots of times snake bites speed up other problems," Mathews said. "Whatever it may have been, the immediate cause was the snake bite."
Rupert is the second person in Georgia to die of a rattlesnake bite this year.
A 65-year-old Dothan man died in September after a rattlesnake bit him in the neck.
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RE: Winder man dies from snake bite
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by wls967 on October 13, 2009
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John, I agree 100 percent. Most people only know what they see on the news/tv and a few still believe the folklore. If I knew nothing about venomous bites and that where my grandfather, I would have done everything in my power to get him out of the woods and closer to help. You are right though. He probably should have been immobilized and waited for the paramedics. With cardiac arrest coming that quickly, even though we know that the "Timber's" venom seems to be evolving, I would tend to agree that the bite (and venom) merely triggered another reaction from an underlying condition. I'm no doctor or paramedic though. I would be interested in hearing Chris's take on this.
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RE: Winder man dies from snake bite
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by BobH on October 13, 2009
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Probably some underlying conditions in the 68 year old subject. Falling off the 4 wheeler twice probably didn't help either. Correct me if I am wrong, but the last time I looked, Dothan was in Alabama.
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RE: Winder man dies from snake bite
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by Kingetula on October 13, 2009
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I feel for the family and the kid, that had to be scary for him. Makes me want to hug my son a lot more, (not that I don't do it enough already and tell him how much I love him) but one minute everything is like a normal day and then I walk in to feed my snake and simple mistake could change his life forever. (This is reason enough for me to be careful, some of you have seen my face book pictures, I have boots on, hex-armour gloves while I work with a 3 foot EDB lol. I don't play around... I'd rather be safe than be sorry)
I really feel for the kid and family, makes you think.
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RE: The full text of article.
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by toddg on October 13, 2009
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John, according to the news report, the poor man was "unresponsive" roughly 14 minutes after the bite, in "full cardiac arrest". I doubt there was much anyone could've done for him. I certainally don't fault his son and grandson for trying to move him.
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RE: Winder man dies from snake bite
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by agkistrodude on October 13, 2009
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John Z is absolutely right. 2 things that saved me after a bite from a large canebrake last May was laying down, and getting to an ER with a staff that was familiar with snakebite protocol within an hour.Even then, my BP was 25/65 on arrival. No way would I have lasted 3 hours. Probably not two. Never test C. horridus. Take care, Marty
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