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RE: The full text of article.
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by Cro on October 13, 2009
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Todd,
I do not fault the folks for trying to save their grandpa, they did what most folks would do.
However, the bite from a canebrake rattlesnake from that area often causes a massive dilation of the blood vessels. This causes the fixed volume of blood to suddenly be in a much larger "container." as the blood vessels grow larger. This causes a massive drop in blood pressure. This is what kills a prey animal bitten by one of these snakes. And, this is what kills people before they can get out of the woods, or, to a hospital.
Suddenly, you are working with a greatly reduced blood pressure, and that causes a great difficulty in supplying blood for the brain, heart, and lungs.
If the patient is kept laying down, there is a greater chance that blood will make it to his brain, and he will continue living.
However, if he is set upright, on the back of a 4 wheeler, or the back of a car going to the hospital, it is highly likely the bitten person is going to die before he ever makes it to a medical facility.
The way to prevent this, is to leave the bitten person where he is, and call for help. He needs to not be sat up, which will starve his brain from blood. If he stays on his side, there is a much better possibility for his survival, as his brain will continue to get oxygenated blood.
In the case of a large canebrake rattlesnake bite, it is far better to call for help, and bring the life saving technologies to the victim. This also applies to the bites of other rattlesnakes, that also cause the massive drop in blood pressure, and massive fluid shifts.
It is unfortunate for the family. And, they did what most folks would do in a similar situation. And, perhaps the old guy had other medical problems which were a contributing factor. I feel sorry for these folks, and for their loss.
But, for the folks who who have not been bitten yet by a large canebrake rattlesnake or diamondback rattlesnake, it is something that they should be aware of if that happens. Fluid shifts and blood volume changes are what kill the prey animals the snakes bite. And they are what can kill humans who are bitten by the same snakes.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: The full text of article.
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by SCatheris on October 27, 2009
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I've always felt horridus bites (until recent years) have been almost waved off because people don't seem to know just how bad they can be. They pack some serious ammo!
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RE: The full text of article.
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by AquaHerp on October 27, 2009
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I don't know that horridus bites have ever been waved off. It's always been fairly been commonplace that these snakes are serious players in the venom arena.
DH
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RE: The full text of article.
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by Cro on October 27, 2009
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I think I know what Justin is talking about.
If you read some books like Bill Hasst's Snakes in his Garden, you will see Bill holding a timber rattlesnake at age 15 at scout camp. And you will read that he was bitten by it. You do not read anything about him being in intensive care in the hospital for days after it bit him, because he received a fairly mild bite. So, you get the impression that the bite might not be that bad. And in that case, it was a fairly mild bite.
And there are other similar accounts published in other books. Some of those do tend to make the bite from a timber rattlesnake sound trivial, however, it is likely that the folks involved were very lucky, and perhaps got a bite where little venom was injected. It is also possible that some populations of timber rattlesnake do have fairly mild venom, compared to other populations that have extremely bad venom.
Also, in the earlier books, folks were often talking about the mountain population of timber rattlesnakes, and not the huge snakes that were at the time called canebrake rattlesnakes.
It is in resent times, that we are hearing of these bites from timber rattlesnakes with very potent venom, mostly due to the internet.
However, if you go back and research the snake handling churches of the Appalachian Mountains, you will find many accounts of deaths due to timber rattlesnake bite.
I think the potential for a timber rattlesnake delivering a fatal bite has always been there, but, the news outfits do not post stories about someone who got a mild or dry bite and had few symptoms, they post stories of folks who died, or almost died.
It is more of a communication / information / perception problem than anything. The good news is that folks are learning just how dangerous these snakes can be, and are hopefully being more cautious when dealing with them.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: The full text of article.
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by agkistrodude on October 27, 2009
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I, for one, can vouch for C. horridus packing a serious punch from personal experience.(large canebrake version)Give them all the respect they deserve. Take care, Marty
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RE: The full text of article.
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by Phobos on October 29, 2009
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Doug's absolutely correct, Timbers ability to kill a human should not be under-estimated. Marty is not the only person I know that was down in short order after bites by Timbers from that area of Georgia. Timbers from this region are as HOT as Mojaves.
Al
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