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Snake Bit

Sam06
A guy died from a copperhead snake bite.


Link
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2019/05/alabama-man-dies-3-days-after-copperhead-snake-bite-at-smith-lake.html


C&P
A Tuscaloosa husband, father, son and brother died Monday, three days after he was bitten by a copperhead snake at the family?s Smith Lake home.

Oliver ?Chum? Baker, 52, was pronounced dead at a Huntsville hospital. He leaves behind a large, close-knit family including his wife, Marilou Briney Baker, and sons Charlie, who just graduated from high school, and 12-year-old Walden. Baker grew up in the Birmingham area.

?He never met a stranger,?? said his brother, Reb Baker. ?He loved everybody.?

The family had gathered at the lake home for the long holiday weekend. Baker was outside on the stone patio walking his new lab puppy when he alerted family members that he had been bitten by a copperhead. The snake was still coiled up outside the back door.


It looks like anaphylactic shock got him. Copper head venom is not all that powerful but if you have an allergic reaction and go into shock you are done. Like bee sting. I think more people die from bee stings and AS than snake bites.
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • babun
    At our campground,{25 acres in the woods}, we have had loads of copperheads this year.
    The 20 gauge pump and the .22lr pistol got most of them.

    I' ve read that the copperhead is "almost" being listed nonpoisonous, the venom is getting that weak.

    Shock is still a factor tho.
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  • Sam06
    I have 5 ac with maybe 2 of it not woods. All told I have killed 7 copperheads this year. That is the most I have ever killed in 10 years. I have also seen more turtles this year.

    I caught a big black snake and put him near my barn, I hope he likes mice.


    My dog got bit a few years ago by a Copperhead and the vet told me to give him Benhadryl 1 for ever 20# and keep an eye on him. He was fine except for the swelling. He learned his lesson though now he sees a snake and he will either bark at it or try to kill it.
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  • He Dog
    A copperhead bite is no joke. They are not the pit viper with the most potent venom of any, but they are not garter snakes either (by the way some people react to garter snake bites with classic signs of envenomation). While deaths are not common from copperhead bites, this is by no means the first to occur. If he was treated with antivenom, that is the likely cause of anaphylaxis. Many of us do not react well to horse proteins. There are antivenoms made from sheep serum which are much less likely to cause problems except in the billfold.
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  • Sam06
    He Dog from reading the article it sounds like he went into shock at the house and stopped breathing. He was not stable enough to even fly him to the hospital. I don't think he ever even go any antivenom.

    I wonder if they hit him with a epipen would he have come out of it or would it have run the venom through him harder? I have dealt with soldiers who were allergic to bees and give many a shot to them. Its scary to see how fast it comes on.
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  • He Dog
    Sam, anaphylaxis is not common from envenomations, but we can be allergic to most anything, and a lot depends upon factors like the amount of venom injected, the site of injection and the physical health of the victim. The very best advice is don't get bit. Still, if I had to pick any North American pit viper to be bitten by, a copperhead would be my top choice, preferably a really little one. I would probably refuse antivenom, depending upon the severity of clinical signs and symptoms. Sad story.
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  • jimdeere
    I would have died of shock, alright. Or massive head trauma when I rammed my head into a tree limb as I was running away.
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  • spasmcreek
    he must have been real sensitive to it..i had a friend in his 20's, big strapping guy but was highly allergic to stings....he walked out of a township board meeting and a wasp stung him on the neck...DRT...doc buddy of mine said the if he had been there and gave him the anti vernom med right then it would not have helped as his blood turned to jello immediately...sad...left wife and two young kids
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  • David Nunn
    My former neighbor is allergic to bee and wasp venom. Turns out he is allergic to snake venom as well, and he found out about it the hard way.

    He was bitten by a small Copperhead on his little finger. Fortunately, he was at home and his wife was there, because he was almost immediately incoherent, and then unconscious. A helicopter took him to a hospital, but had to land on the way because his heart stopped, and they had to get him going again.
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  • David Nunn
    My former neighbor is allergic to bee and wasp venom. Turns out he is allergic to snake venom as well, and he found out about it the hard way.

    He was bitten by a small Copperhead on his little finger. Fortunately, he was at home and his wife was there, because he was almost immediately incoherent, and then unconscious. A helicopter took him to a hospital, but had to land on the way because his heart stopped, and they had to get him going again.
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