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Copperheads are the least toxic of the venomous snakes in the U.S. There has never been a recorded death from a Copperhead bite anywhere in the world. If bitten by a Copperhead a trip to the hospital is not necessary because the venom is only designed to kill small mammals and frogs and is almost harmless to people. The venom has the same effects as bee, wasp, or hornet sting if even that. If there is a case where you are bitten just clean the bite with and anticeptic. A small amout of swelling may occour but shouldn't last over 12 hours.

I copied it word for word from a field guide of venomous snakes. I was just wondering how true it was.

If there is a case where you are bitten just clean the bite with and anticeptic. A small amout of swelling may occour but shouldn't last over 12 hours.

Antivenom is not normally used for copperhead envenomation.....but, In the event that one is bitten by ANY venomous snake it is always importantant to seek immediate medical attention to make sure that there will be no serious complications.

Swelling can last over a week or more and several days is not uncommon.

I'd like to know what field guide would publish such horribly inaccurate, and potentially dangerous, misinformation. The only thing I might agree on is that the venom was designed to kill small prey. The rest of it is, essentially, bullcrap.

We had an envenomation case from a Broad-banded Copperhead here in the Oklahoma City area last summer. I was able to meet the victim, a woman of about 30, and discuss the incident in detail with her several months later. Her account of the ordeal was one of the most shocking, horrifying accounts I have heard in a long time. And she was most definitely sincere. The incident also received coverage on the local news.

She was bitten on the foot. By the time EMTs arrived, they had no choice but to medi-flight her to the OU Medical Center. Her description of the severe symptoms - excruciating pain from the very slightest touch or attempt to move virtually any part of her body, extreme nausea, terrible thirst, continuous vomiting, etc. - is hard to describe in terms of intensity. The swelling was so intense they were very close to performing surgery to keep her skin from literally bursting from the pressure. Medical staff opted to hold off on antivenin despite the severe symptoms, going with her age and fitness to fight for her life rather than risk an allergic reaction. (Probably saved her a bunch of money, too.) Months later she still walked with a limp, and still experienced occasional milder versions of the nausea, tenderness, etc.

She described it as a living hell, an ordeal so intensely horrific that it was far, far worse than anything she ever thought she could endure. I can not even put into words the emotions of pain and terror she expressed as she related her experience. And she received medical attention in less than an hour.

So if you get tagged by a copperhead, think twice about cleaning the bite with an antiseptic and waiting 12 hours or so for the small amount of swelling to go down. It probably won't, and you very likely WILL have to go to the hospital.

Nothing against you, SlipKorn, although you really should cite the source of such statements if they're not your own.
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MichaelB

you wrote

"Her account of the ordeal was one of the most shocking, horrifying accounts I have heard in a long time."

You make it seem like a steven king movie!
It is never fun to be snake bit.
Copperheads bite many people yearly.
most don't get any special treatment.
some bites a finger or tissue might be removed.
Far from the most horrific snake bites.
how about the guy that stepped on a gaboon viper in his yard in africa.
Now thats horrific!
This woman might have truly been horrified don't get me wrong.
But the facts are copperheads are low on the DEATH-O-METER.

Here is a great link a the site with the I guess its a dangerousness index meter.
compare a copper to the black
and so on its a great site.
toxinology

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Bud

As often is the case, the real truth here probably is somewhere in between the horror movie-like account I related and the don't-worry-about-it approach reflected in the initial post on this thread. (And it DID seem like a Stephen King movie when she related it to me! ) The case I described no doubt was a severe envenomation as far as copperheads go, and there may well have been other circumstances that exacerbated the symptoms (such as fear and panic that increased her heart rate and thus the rate of spread of the toxic effects).

I agree that copperheads certainly are the least toxic of our venomous snakes in the U.S., and I suppose that IF the victim of a copperhead bite knows what to do and does it properly after being bitten), then they MIGHT be able to avoid a trip to the hospital if it's a mild envenomation. But the statement in question implies that copperhead bites NEVER require hospitalization and that they ALL can be treated by cleaning with an antiseptic. That simply is not correct.

Budman, thanks for the link. If the toxinology site isn't linked in the caresheet/FAQ part of Kingsnake.com, it should be added.
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MichaelB

I know all too well about panic,fear,Feelings of doom.
You can pass out just from fear.
Staying calm is first on my list.
a guy got hit on the finger from a a.cont a foot long.
It destroyed the first cm of his left index finger.
He went to the hospital for the excruciating pain.
No AV.
It all depends on your level of pain,fear,symptoms you can take.
If you can ride out non lethal copper bite.

Yes thats a cool site they have a slow server though.

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Bud

LOL, there are some cases where copperhead envenemation may not need medical attention, but ive heard of far too many cases that do need medical attention to risk not going to a hospital...if anyone gets bit by one i would DEFINATELY suggest going to a hospital.

If bitten by a Copperhead a trip to the hospital is not necessary because the venom is only designed to kill small mammals and frogs and is almost harmless to people. The venom has the same effects as bee, wasp, or hornet sting if even that. If there is a case where you are bitten just clean the bite with and anticeptic. A small amout of swelling may occour but shouldn't last over 12 hours.

The only part of this paragraph that is remotely accurate
is the fact that copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) venom evolved to subdue small prey. Copperhead venom is much less toxic when compared to that of other North American pit vipers and even others of the same genus. However, a copperhead envenomation is no small thing and depending on the severity of the bite can have serious medical consequences. Severe nausea, vomiting, tissue damage and necrosis of the bitten area are common effects of copperhead bite. It is not unheard of for a finger to have to be amputated do to necrosis. Gross nerve and muscle damage are also possibilities. As with any and all envenomations the possibility of severe allergic reaction is there.

There has never been a recorded death from a Copperhead bite anywhere in the world

I don't know if that statement is completely true, but I have never heard or read anything that spoke of anyone dying from a copperhead bite.

Stating that there have never been fatalities from copperhead bites anywhere is a foolishly broad statement, and is, in fact, not true. This was cited in Poisonous Snakebites In The United States by Dr. H.M. Parrish: He cited T.S. Githens from the Scientific Monthly (Aug. 1935). One conclusion was that there were 6 lethal copperhead bites in the particular series studied, with a case fatality rate of 0.9%.

Parrish also writes that from 1950 through 1959, there were 138 snakebite deaths in the United States-an average of about 14 deaths per year. Of these, there was one death in Maryland in 1958 that was probably attributable to a copperhead. Thus, the case fatality rate for copperhead bites is probably about 0.01%. With modern medical treatment, deaths from copperhead bites are rare. Of 701 copperhead bites, 62% were grade 0 or grade I bites, which require little or no antiivenin, however, 27% were grade II, & 11% were grade III, both of which require prompt, proper medical treatment & the use of antivenin in pretty decent quantities.

I just hope that anybody who reads the first piece in this thread goes on to read the rest of the thread. If not, they will be sorely misinformed.

~~Greg~~
Venomous Snakes of Florida

Do you have any information on the demographics of the patients that required antivenom treatment?

Age Group Est. # of Bites

0-9 684
10-19 724
20-29 310
30-39 328
40-49 252
50-59 313
60-69 209
70&over 86
Not stated 14
Total 2,920

This again, is from Parrish's book mentioned above.

~~Greg~~

I cannot locate a copy of this text....do you happen to have a breakdown of the numbers of each level of envenomation (0-III) in each age bracket?

Thanks again...

You're quite welcome. He did not break it down to bite grades, I'm afraid. He did include population & percentage thereof, but that probably is of little interest to you. The book is fairly old..i980. I can give you the ISBN if you want it. Actually, while there is some useful data in the book, there is a lot of stuff in it with which I strongly disagree, mainly on bite treatment.

~~Greg~~

I read it yrs ago and I couldnt even tell you where I read it anymore but they started keeping record in 1887 I believe and since then there is 2 people on record who died as a result of being alergic. Like I said I couldnt tell you where I read that but I did read it once 7 or 8 yrs ago.
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Jason & Danica
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I agree with the other posters, that statement is not very accurate at all. Saying that a copperhead bite is akin to bee or wasp stings is ridiculous. I also agree with Greg that saying that there have been 0 fatalities for copperhead bites is pretty presumptive. I would guess there have been some, just not very recently (in cases of severe envenomation, there is AV available nowadays...). Also as mentioned, copperhead bites that result in substantial envenomation can produce necrosis, muscle and nerve damage, and yes, even amputation. I've seen pictures of amputated digits due to copperhead bites myself. I'd much rather be stung by a bee

AP

My father was bitten on the finger by a Copperhead several years ago and his hand swelled to tremendous size in a matter of hours. Being a stubborn man he refused to go to the hospital and enjoyed two days of nausea, vomiting and severe pain radiating through the entire arm.
Less than a year later my dog was bitten on the side by a large Copperhead and developed drooling, weakness and vomiting within an hour. A week later he was back to his normal self except for the large crater like wound at the immediate area of the bite. This area took almost three months to heal completely.
Later in life while working in a clinical setting (specializing in wound care)I was able to see first hand the effects the venom had on the human body. In general the Copperhead bites were mild requiring little more than superficial debriding and basic wound management. On the flip side, the Timber Rattlesnake bite usually involved deeper tissue damage as well as moderate to severe amounts of necrosis in and adjacent to the bite area. Many times surgical debridement was neccessary and unfortunately amputation was sometimes required (although this was quite rare).
From personal observation and interaction with those unfortunate enough to be bitten, I would say that while the bite of a Copperhead probably will not kill you(provided anaphylaxis is not experienced) it still requires urgent medical care to minimize tissue loss.

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