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EVENING NEWS (Norwich, UK) 14 July 03 Snake drama: Man moments from death
Patrick Bobbin and the puncture marks in his leg after he was bitten by an adder.
A snakebite from an adder left a single father-of-two fighting for life after he suffered a devastating allergic reaction to a normally harmless venom.
Patrick Bobbin, 47, of Knapton near North Walsham, says he is lucky to be alive after being struck in the leg by the snake as he carried out his work as a landscape gardener at a client's home in Mundesley.
He was barely conscious and could have been minutes from death when he received a life-saving injection of adrenaline from a paramedic.
Every year, around 20 people are bitten by adders, Britain's only venomous snake, and most suffer no adverse affects whatsoever. The last time someone died from an adder bite was in 1975, and 10 people have lost their lives after bites in the past 100 years.
Mr Bobbin, who has full custody of his children Chris, 17, and Georgina, nine, had been strimming an area of long grass at around 3.20pm on Thursday when he saw a creature dart from the grass and felt a "snapping" sensation on his left foreleg.
Within minutes he felt his lips and tongue tingling and was covered in an itchy rash. His breathing became more laboured and he started to feel faint and disorientated - all classic symptoms of anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction which can be life-threatening.
With his son Chris, Mr Bobbin managed to get back to his home in Knapton where his mother, Olive Bobbin, who lives next door to her son, contacted the local GP surgery and spoke to one of the East Anglian Ambulance Service's community paramedics, Mark Eardley.
"As soon as I realised what was happening, I knew I had to get to this man straight away. When I saw him, it was obvious that he was a very sick man indeed, although he seemed very calm, especially for someone who could be dying," said Mr Eardley.
"In 20 years as a paramedic I have never seen an adder bite or any kind of snake bite. Normally you would expect adder venom to be about as powerful as a bee or wasp sting, but in this case Patrick was severely allergic to the bite which is what caused the problem."
After two injections of powerful adrenaline, Mr Bobbin's condition began to improve and he was able to be taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for further treatment. After an overnight stay, he was discharged the next morning.
"It seems unbelievable that it happened. One minute I was strimming the garden, the next I was on the floor unable to walk, unable to see and finding it hard to breathe; I realised then that I had probably been bitten by a snake, but I thought I'd be OK after a while," said Mr Bobbin.
"I have never felt so ill in my whole life. I think I might have panicked if I had realised how ill I was, but I felt as if I was in a dream world. Lots of what happened is a blur; all I could think about was if my kids would be all right and about a stupid row I had had with a friend."
He added: "I have had a very lucky escape, thanks to Mark. I've never been scared of snakes but I think I'll watch my step next time I'm cutting long grass."
Snake drama: Man moments from death

a newspaper not going hysterical about the danger of adders to people.

However,describing the venom as "normally harmless" and stating that most people bitten by adders suffer no harm whatsoever is going way too far the opposite way, and could lead to dangerous complacency.

Cheers,

Wolfgang
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EASTERN DAILY PRESS (Norfolk, UK) 15 July 03 Snake-bite victim thanks paramedic
Patrick Bobbin and the puncture marks in his leg after he was bitten by an adder.
A landscape gardener says he owes his life to a paramedic after being bitten by an adder.
Patrick Bobbin suffered a major allergic reaction after the snake bit his leg as he cut long grass in a garden at Mundesley.
The 47-year-old from Knapton, near North Walsham, struggled to see and breathe after the attack. But an eight-minute dash by paramedic Mark Eardley provided the drugs to stave off the potentially life-threatening reaction.
"Without Mark I would not be here," said Mr Bobbin.
The allergic reaction kicked in within minutes – at first itching arms and tingling tongue, then trouble walking.
Mr Eardley said: "If Patrick had not had prompt treatment he may not have made it."

There is a photo of the bite at the URL link
Snake-bite victim thanks paramedic

If u give the article a bit of thought you will realise it makes totally no sense....

Firstly i would not say that the Bite of a Vipera berus is comparable to a bee sting at all !

Then.. he was bitten and got a allergic reaction.. that sounds fine.. so I assume venom must have entered his body/blood stream..

But is someone trying to tell us the adrenaline got ridd of the venom aswell ? It explainable that the guy was releved of the allergic reaction by the next day (or even within hours) .. but hey... where are the symptoms of the snake venom ?? No severe swelling ? A normal Vipera berus bite will leave you in Hospital for a few days at least even without allergy... So where did his Symptoms go ??

Makes no sense to me...

Maybe I have overseen something ?

Maybe... it was a dry bite.. and he's that allergic to adder saliva? That's horribly unlikely, isn't it.

>>Then.. he was bitten and got a allergic reaction.. that sounds fine.. so I assume venom must have entered his body/blood stream..
>>
>>But is someone trying to tell us the adrenaline got ridd of the venom aswell ? It explainable that the guy was releved of the allergic reaction by the next day (or even within hours) .. but hey... where are the symptoms of the snake venom ?? No severe swelling ? A normal Vipera berus bite will leave you in Hospital for a few days at least even without allergy... So where did his Symptoms go ??

If you are prone to allergies, then very small amounts of venom may be enough to send you into shock very rapidly. A good %age of adder bites result in pretty minimal symptoms (minor swelling etc.) but not much more, but the quantity of venom may be enough to cause the anaphylaxis. Since the bite was on a fairly thick part of the body (as opposed to a finger), mild swelling owuld not be all that obvious.

Of course, the story could be hogwash from start to finish, but I don't think one can discount it completely.

Cheers,

Wolfgang
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