[pct-l] Man dies from rattlesnake bite in East San Diego County

[abiegen at cox.net]

Ernie wrote:

>The snake bite cause the man's death. 
>You can argue over the details, including what will be listed in the death 
>certificate, but the man likely would be living today if he had not been bitten 
>by the snake. 
>The same applies to automobile accidents. If a man were involved in a head-on 
>collision and bled to death before paramedics could arrive, the newspaper 
>headline would likely say: 
>Man dies from head-on automobile collision in East San Diego County 
>It wouldn't say 
>Man dies from internal bleeding caused by severed artery precipitated by 
>automobile collision.

Well, you could also say that birth caused his death if you want to go back far enough. ;-} If he had never been born, he never would have met the snake, never had the heart attack, so on and so on.

I do hike regularly with a friend who was bit by a rattler here in Santa Barbara while climbing up a creek bed. Got to a hospital where they argued with him about whether it was a snake bite or not for some time - it only got one fang in. Meanwhile his leg turned black and it was a year before he could walk properly again. he did get two units of anti-venom, which is far below the recommended dose. Apparently it is expensive and has a shelf life.

As someone who has eaten a rattler and not been eaten or even bit in response, I consider myself lucky. Human - 1, Rattlers - 0. But in all fairness we have not had a rematch yet.

TrailHacker
"When my feet hurt, I can't think straight"
Abraham Lincoln