iStockphoto / Ken Griffiths
Mark Pelley is better known as the ‘Snake Hunter‘ in Australia and he’s fortunate to be alive after recently suffering a nearly lethal venomous snake bite from a tiger snake.
The Snake Hunter has since recovered following multiple organ failure in the hospital and he’s now turning his near-death experience into a teaching moment. He was a guest this week on Sky News Australia where he actually brought THE tiger snake that put him in the hospital.
Pelley also used the opportunity to discuss what to do after suffering a venomous snake bite and whether it is important or not to collect the snake or even know the snake breed that caused the bite. Which, according to him, it isn’t actually important to know the snake species after suffering a venomous snake bite because hospitals can perform a venom test.
After being bitten by a venomous tiger snake on his hand, Mark Pelley was immediately hospitalized and his body began shutting down. He was unable to keep his eyes open or form sentences, and he was actually given multiple doses of antivenom after his body didn’t respond to the first dose.
The Snake Hunter says due to the nature of his bite, the tiger snake’s venom traveled straight into his circulatory system which allowed it to travel extremely fast to his brain and vital organs. He was quickly transported to the hospital but says there was ‘some confusion’ with the antivenom.
What happened was, he and his family had captured the tiger snake which looks extremely similar to a brown snake, another highly venomous species in Australia. So he was first administered antivenom for a brown snake bite. At this point in the interview, Mark Pelley explains what would’ve happened had he not brought the snake.
What To Do After A Venomous Snake Bite
Pelley then explains what to do following a bite. He says “it’s actually not important to know what snake you’ve been bitten by. But in my case, I knew exactly what it was being a snake catcher. My daughter also had seen the snake and she’s a snake catcher as well.”
“If you’re bitten by a snake, don’t try and capture it and try to bring it into the hospital or try to identify it. Because (the hospital) can do a venom swab test or they can just give you both antivenoms.” As an American, this all sounds wildly expensive to me…
He goes on to explain what happened with his venomous snake bite and the antivenom. Saying “in my case, I was bitten by a tiger snake and because the venom went straight to my blood I was feeling the effects very fast. When I didn’t respond to the first vial of antivenom for the tiger snake bite they tried to give me brown snake antivenom and that’s what happened.”
It is wild to imagine this snake hunter sitting in the hospital bed with his body literally shutting down and trying to argue with the medical staff about the antivenom and the snake species. Ultimately, his recovery took several days and it looked brutal. He documented a lot of it on social media, including the immediate aftermath of the bite:
– His pupils are dilated to 9mm.
– He couldnt’t talk, breathe properly and the hospital asked me to discuss him possibly go on ventilation.
– 2 doses of antivenom.
– No taste, Numb hands, Eyes closed and Can’t see.
– no blood clotting and started haemorrhaging severely.
– multi organ failure.
– incredibly drowsy and weak.
– muscle damage and nerve damage.
– heart irregularities
– he needs antibiotics for follow up infections.
In a recent Instagram post, he says he is finally back in the gym 17 days after the bite. Frankly, it feels like a miracle the recovery is happing so swiftly after his body nearly shut down following the tiger snake bite.
And while his advice for what to do following a venomous snake bite is sound, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a much more exhaustive wiki on how to handle a bite. First and foremost, they recommend seeking medical attention as quickly as possible.
They also advise remaining calm as an increased heart rate can allow venom to travel faster in the body. The CDC also advises taking a photograph of the snake if possible which can help in identification of the snake and treatment of the bite. So while the Snake Hunter is correct that you don’t need to know the species, it certainly helps with the speed of treatment.