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TIMES-DAILY (Florence, Alabama) 23 June 04 Man dies from snake bite at creek in Loachapoka
(AP): A man bitten on each hand by a copperhead snake last week at Saugahatchee Creek in Loachapoka has died.
Trent Leprettre, 31, of the Little Texas community in Macon County, who was bitten June 14, was taken off life support Sunday morning from complications arising from anaphylactic shock.
Family members said Leprettre had been swimming at the creek with his 9-year-old daughter, who went to get help after he was bitten.
"Someone called 911 and it didn't take long, about 20 to 30 minutes, to get to the hospital," said his mother-in-law, Gail Spradlin.
Leprettre's immediate symptoms were swelling in the throat and difficulty breathing. He later had to be revived after heart failure.
He was given medication to counter the snake poison, but family members said he was highly allergic to the venom.
Man dies from snake bite

Though it wasn't just the venom that killed him, does this count as the first recorded death due to copperhead bite? Just goes to show how you can never really classify even "non-dangerous" venomous snakes as truly non-dangerous. I guess people will think twice now about saying that the most you get from a copperhead bite is a bit of pain and swelling and a rough week. That's tough news, but I think it'll help open some peoples' eyes to these slightly underestimated snakes.
-Chance

I've read about one other case where a 14 year old boy died. It talks about it in the book "Venomous Reptiles of North America", I've seen the book at most libraries if you're interested, I can't remember the author though. It also said that the odds of dying from a bite were .01%. Although people consider these snakes as a less dangerous venomous snake, they need to remember that it's a relative term. Sure, it may not be as bad as a lot of the rattle snakes around, but it's still something that I know I don't want to ever experience. (Yay for hooks and tongs!)
-Will

While I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of a copperhead bite, we have to remember that the guy died of anaphlaxis. A bee sting, ant bite, hell, even eating a peanut could result in a similar situation.

Interestingly enough, there was no mention of measures taken to counter-act the anaphlactic shock...there was mention of anti-venin being administered (bad idea, since it was established he was allergic to snake venom)...

Anyway, I'm sure this will officially go down as a copperhead related fatality, even though technically it wasn't the venom that killed him.

There was a woman back in the 80's who was in a Atlanta hospital after being bit by a copperhead. Gangrene had set in and they were forced to periodically amputaate as they were unable to stop the disease progress. My sister was a nurse on the case.

I don't know if she survived however, the concensus was that she would eventually die from the gangrene.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

What ever gave you the idea that copperheads have never proven fatal? I have read several books that have mentioned fatalities, & even posted that up in the past, with title, author, chapter & verse. Yeah, chances are the bite will not prove lethal, but the potential is definitely there, & always has been.

~~Greg~~

Thanks for the clarification Greg. I guess I was just going on anecdotal information collected from other people (and I was thinking a couple of books, but I'm probably wrong on that) in the past. I can very well imagine that any of the Agkistrodon can be life threatening, I was just trying to point out with my post that contortrix ssp. are often not given the respect that they very well deserve.
-Chance

I agree, fatalities are rare, and the chances are slim, but there is still a chance. Guess he was the guy it caught up with. too bad.

creep

OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS (Opelika, Alabama) 23 June 04 Local man dies from snake bite (Evan Casey)
A man bitten by a snake last week while swimming in the Saugahatchee Creek off of Highway 14 in Loachapoka died Sunday.
Trent Leprettre, 31, of the Little Texas community in Macon County, was taken to East Alabama Medical Center last Wednesday after receiving a bite to each hand by a copperhead snake.
Leprettre was leaving the creek with his 9-year-old daughter at the time of the incident.
"They were going back to the truck and he told her to go back down and get help," said Gail Spradlin, Leprettre's mother-in-law. "Someone called 911 and it didn't take long, about 20 to 30 minutes, to get to the hospital."
Although no one but Leprettre actually saw the snake, his brother Travis, said Trent, who once worked as a certified sterilization technician at EAMC, would have recognized the type of snake that bit him.
Leprettre's immediate symptoms were swelling in the throat and difficulty breathing and he later had to be revived after heart failure. Leprettre was given an anti-venom more than once, but his condition steadily worsened, Spradlin said.
Although most bites from copperhead snakes are not fatal, Leprettre was highly allergic to snake venom, Travis Leprettre said. Trent Leprettre went into anaphylactic shock which further complicated his symptoms and he was taken off life support Sunday morning.
Copperhead snakes are abundant throughout the area and the Southeast, and tend live in wooded areas. Summer is the most common time of the year for snakes to be out, and about three to four victims are treated for snake bites each year locally.
Snakes also tend to burrow in rock piles, brush piles and in old debris, such as in piles of car parts, said Roger Birkhead, of the Auburn University biological sciences department.
Birkhead said copperhead snakes usually grow no longer than four feet and can be distinguished by an hourglass marking on their backs. The usual statistics for snake bite victims are white males, 20 to 35 years old and are associated with trying to pick the snake up.
Birkhead said if someone sees any snake they should back up and walk away.
"Most people have the misconception that a snake will chase you," Birkhead said. "The best thing to do is leave it alone. They want out of the situation just as much as people do."
Other snakes common in the Lee County area are the timber rattle snake, cottonmouth and pygmy rattle snake, which are all venomous. If bitten, Birkhead recommends the victim stay calm and keep the wound below the heart to keep venom from spreading.
"The best option is to immediately go to the hospital," he said. "Usually there is no permanent damage and survival is very high."
Local man dies from snake bite

Was the snake really a copperhead? I get cottonmouths brought in from time to time with people telling me they found a copperhead (and not just the juveniles).

was the shock brought on by the venom or the "medicice" (assuming antivenom?) that the man was given.

Just how did this guy manage to get bit on BOTH hands??

This is a strange case. If he was allergic to snake venom, as the reports indicate, wouldn't it be extremely risky in his case to apply antivenin? In fact, aren't we all allergic to snake venom in a sense? Maybe not allergic in a strict medical sense, but hey, as far as I know, virtually anyone who is envenomated will experience bad physiological reactions.

As for the type of snake, it certainly seems to have been an Agistrodon. Since the victim apparently was the only one who saw it, we may never know if it really was a copperhead, or perhaps a cottonmouth. In a stream, the latter would seem a little more likely.
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MichaelB

>>Just how did this guy manage to get bit on BOTH hands??
>>

Perhaps there is a bit more to the story.

>>This is a strange case. If he was allergic to snake venom, as the reports indicate, wouldn't it be extremely risky in his case to apply antivenin?

Not really since antivenom contains utterly different proteins than the venom.

>In fact, aren't we all allergic to snake venom in a sense? Maybe not allergic in a strict medical sense, but hey, as far as I know, virtually anyone who is envenomated will experience bad physiological reactions.
>>

True but this has nothing to do with allergic shock, which is a extreme medical emergeny in its own right.

>>As for the type of snake, it certainly seems to have been an Agistrodon. Since the victim apparently was the only one who saw it, we may never know if it really was a copperhead, or perhaps a cottonmouth. In a stream, the latter would seem a little more likely.

I agree, particularly since the pattern some young copperheads can look very copperhead like (or very water snake like for that matter).

Cheers
Bryan
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Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry
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Australian Venom Research Unit,
University of Melbourne
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Population and Evolutionary Genetics Unit,
Museum Victoria
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http://www.venomdoc.com

I of course have no idea what this man got envenomated by but I do know that in this part of the country that if it has the "Agkistrodon" pattern and the snake is small (3 feet or less) its gonna get called a copperhead. Likewise, if its large its a Cottonmouth.

In Fact, the people here (in general) think that "spreadin adders" are as deadly as cobras and must be killed on site. (Thats Eastern hognose for you who dont speak redneck)

It does get kinda frustrating around here... I see a LOT of snakes... mostly dead hacked up ones or roadkill... they even will go off road to get the 4 foot racer cause its black and must be poisonous. But the wives here will wreck a Yukon to avoid a furry cute little squirrel. Go figure.

Scott