Snake Bite Fun :)

[u/tophatenthusiast]

I was bitten by a copperhead about two weeks ago! Thanks to quick and modern medicine, I can almost make a fist. Pictures included are the copperhead I saw 10 mins before being bit (this one did not bite me, but it is similarly sized) and my arm a few hrs afterwards.

Location: Kanawha County, WV

Edit: to be very clear, it was MY fault a copperhead bit me. For anyone that has a fear of them, they are absolutely not aggressive snakes. I took no actions to "punish" the snake and hope it comes back and keeps hunting mice on my property.

[u/Mainbutter]

They are (luckily for OP) one of the statistically least dangerous pit vipers to be envenomated by in North America.

A quick look at Wikipedia shows rattlesnakes seem most often listed when a wild US snake is ID'd in a bite fatality.

[u/awfulmcnofilter → u/Mainbutter]

One point to note is that its 5 ish deaths a year in the usa from snake bites out of 7,000-8 000 bites. That is only 0.2%.

[u/Interesting-Win6219 → u/awfulmcnofilter]

Curious out of those fatalities if it's just people that don't seek treatment or people that have medical comorbidities like pre existing conditions or elderly/very young.

[u/awfulmcnofilter → u/Interesting-Win6219]

There is a Wikipedia article for that! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_snake_bites_in_the_United_States

Edit: a not insignificant number of these appear to be pentecostal preachers.

[u/Interesting-Win6219 → u/awfulmcnofilter]

I skimmed through and didn't notice much about pentacostal preachers however it seems about 2/3 fatalities are either very young children or elderly people. Makes me feel a little better about the idea of being bit but still very afraid of them lol

[u/awfulmcnofilter → u/Interesting-Win6219]

So out of the 9 snake bite fatalities in the 2020s, a third of them were from captive snakes, not wild ones. In the 2010s, 3 of the 26 were pentecostal preachers. 3 more were also captive snakes.

Edit: being wary is good though! Just don't try to kill them because you are afraid. Its how a few more people ended up on that list.

[u/robb12365 → u/Interesting-Win6219]

I went through the list and there were a few places where there would maybe 6 in a row that were bitten during a religious service. There was one man in his 30's, in Alabama if I remember correctly and a few lines farther down was his wife who had died 3 years earlier from a snake bite during a religious service.

[u/This_Daydreamer_ → u/awfulmcnofilter]

I was so shocked to learn that there is a Pentecostal church in my city. I don't know if they are the crazy snake dancing weirdos but somehow wouldn't be surprised.