A renowned scientist, a deadly snakebite, and a diary that documented it (2025)

There are a few species of colubrids that are venomous. What is surprising to most people is that the common garter snake is mildly venomous. The venom doesn't really affect humans like their more venomous cousins, but if their bites do manage to break the skin enough to mix in their saliva, it contains venom that has a mildly neurotoxic effect. This can cause swelling, bruising, and numbness in the affected area. Such a bite is often described as a "bee sting".

There was a comical snakebite study published in the 1980s that found something like: 90% of victims were men. Of those, 90% had spotted the snake, walked away, then decided to reengage. Of those, 90% were bitten on the hand. And of those, 90% had been drinking.

The exact percentages escape me, but I found the thrust of the argument illuminating.

Interestingly over 99+% of snakebites in North America are treated with the same anti-venom family. At least here it’s basically not necessary to go get a picture of the snake if you found yourself or a friend bit by one in the wilderness.

One of the very very few authorized flights on 9/12/2001 was for a herpetologist bit by an Australian snake in Miami. The standard anti venoms nearly every hospital has wouldn’t work so they had to learjet it in from San Diego.

I remember watching a documentary in the late 1990s or early 2000s about a man getting bitten by a venomous snake at a research center.

IIRC, he was a herpetologist and after calling 911, he took a voice recorder with him so that he could record the symptoms of the bite until he was treated at the hospital. Unlike the OP subject, he survived.

[delayed]

"Urination at 12:20 AM mostly blood, but small in amount. Mouth had bled steadily as shown by dried blood at both angles of mouth. "

But let's not go to the hospital where I can get any sort of treatment whatsoever. Mind you, this was before hospital prices would bankrupt you too.

Instead, I think this is the simple human mechanism to say I've made it through yesterday and I'll make it through today.

I remember doing a not dissimilar experiment to see what all the surfers were complaining about regarding bluebottle jellyfish stings. I picked up a carcass and smeared it on my arm for a minute or so, then spent the rest of the afternoon observing the results. After the expected burning sensation (I have been burnt a number of times) died down I then received an ache in my armpit which I put down to my lymph nodes working overtime, after which I had a low grade headache for the rest of the day. I totally accept that this was not equivalent to having a bluebottle's trailing stingers wrapped around my abdomen as a surfer might, but still an interesting excursion.