THE SCOTSMAN (Edinburgh, UK) 14 August 06 Rescue team saves life of walker after adder bite (Raymond Hainey)

A hillwalker was in hospital last night after being bitten by an adder on a Scottish island.

Robert McGuire, 44, suffered a severe allergic reaction to the bite and had to be taken to hospital by air ambulance.

Mr McGuire is understood to have gone into anaphylactic shock - a potentially fatal allergic reaction which causes airways to close and vital organs start to shut down - after being bitten while walking on Goat Fell in Arran on Saturday.

He was brought off the hillside by the area's mountain rescue team and given emergency treatment by an air-ambulance paramedic.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "His face and tongue were swollen and he was in the early stages of anaphylactic shock."

Mr McGuire, who is understood to be from Glasgow, was flown to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock. A spokeswoman for the hospital was last night unable provide any information on his condition.

However, it is understood the fast reaction of the ambulance team saved his life and he is recovering from his ordeal.

Adders are Britain's only poisonous snake and attacks on humans are rare. Most reactions to bites from adders are mild. Fewer than ten people are thought to have died from an adder bite in the UK during the past 50 years.

However, doctors advise that anyone bitten by one of the 60cm snakes should seek urgent medical treatment.

Symptoms of an adder bite include localised intense pain at the site of the bite, with as long as 20 minutes before other symptoms begin.

These include swelling, tenderness in the groin with a leg bite and the armpit if the arm is bitten. Vomiting can follow and breathing may become difficult, while signs of shock may also appear.

In the advanced stages of adder poisoning, victims can also salivate and sweat heavily, as well as lose consciousness.

The snakes have a distinctive zig-zag pattern down their backs and, unlike other UK snakes, have a broad, angular head with an upturned snout.

They can vary in colour from grey to brown to yellow, although some are black.

They are rarely seen and only bite when picked up or disturbed.

Adders are a protected species and it is illegal to harm them or trade in the species.
Rescue team saves life of walker after adder bite

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