Rattlesnake bite aftermath pics

[boyRacer]

Motherf*cker, I'm such a pussy, I think I'm going to stay indoors even more. 😱

Anyway, seeing the muscle like that sorta looks cool without blood all over the place.

 

[ValkyrieofHouston]

Those are some pretty amazing pictures! Wow, poor guy. Viper bites are a very serious matter no doubt.

 

[Taggart]

It's amazing to me that organisms produce toxins like that. I know it is due to evolution (the snake with the venom a zillion years ago was more successful than the one without). It still blows my mind that nature could produce a mutation like that!

 

[yosuke188]

I thought the first pic just showed an amputated arm, then I realized it was still attached 🙁

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: tk109
That's insane. I would have never imagined it could have turned out that bad! Makes me take those rattlesnakes way way more serious now.

The thing is I think it's probably that bad because it was on a very small arm of a 13 year old. And I'm also betting he didn't suck out any of the venom at all so it just sat in there and spead through his entire arm wreaking havoc.

The "cut and suck" method is no longer recommended. It only causes more problems in the end (usually infection).

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: Xanis
Thanks for those nasty-ass pictures btw. :disgust:

what did you expect, two fairies dancing in a bed of flowers? 😛

Swollen and discolored skin with rash looking things everywhere... not a lack of skin.

 

[Nab]

sad story 🙁

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Kaervak
Some of the coolest pictures I've ever seen.

Agreed. Very cool to see the muscle structure exposed like that...

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: Nab
sad story 🙁

I'd say it's actually fairly happy, given the updates at the end about recovering ~90% of the use of his left arm a year after surgery. That and he lived, which is always a plus.

 

[SSP]

God DAAAAMN!

:Q

 

[speg]

Awesome. Man that would suck to go through when you were 13... Glad he made a nice recovery!

 

[IAteYourMother]

I don't think all dback rattlesnakes will end like that, I suspect his was far worse than what others might experience. but maybe not.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I bought a snakebite kit once. All that was inside was a body bag.

 

[everman]

It's just an arm without skin, pretty interesting actually. This must have been worse than the usual, was it?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Mike

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles

Originally posted by: KK
I had no idea that their bite was this destructive.

That doesn't seem like the "norm", I'd wager he was unlucky; some rattlers are more potent than others, and defensive strikes aren't usually with full venom - this case might have been different, and different people (or their bodies rather) react differently to such things. We also don't know much about any 1st aid.

Well, I think the thing here was the fact that it was 5+ hours before this kid got to any hospital. Then he had to be transfered to another hospital. I think time was the biggest factor, but I am sure all of those you mentioned play a roll as well.

True, I'd agree that time was a pretty big factor, but there are many cases where rattle snake bites aren't necessarily fatal or even gruesomely disfiguring like this case.

The boy was fairly young - only 13. We don't know why the snake bit him (he doesn?t say anything about provoking it or hearing the warning rattle the snakes give to try and ward off attackers before even having to resort to defensive striking)

I find it unlikely he was just bitten right out of the blue unless he really startled it (which seems unlikely because he was merely sitting on a rock with his hands at his side...)

The post I made was an attempt to disarm the OP (as well as others who view this thread) from assuming all rattle snake bites end up causing such damage as they certainly do not.

Just think of it this way - some people are deathly allergic to a single bee sting. The sting injects venom just as poisonous snakes inject venom. This boy very well could be more susceptible to the effects of the venom than your average person - combine that with being young and the time it took to receive proper care (and possibly no first aid) and you get such destructive results.