Snake Bites
What snakes in your area are poisonous?
What are snake bites?
Many different species (kinds) of snakes live in different parts of the world. Only some of these snakes are poisonous, but you should treat all snake bites as poisonous.
The bites of a snake can cause little or no swelling where the bite happened or bad swelling where the bite happened. These should be treated differently. It is very important that you should, if possible, identify the snake to help with treatment
How can you tell that someone has been bitten by a snake?
He or she may have:
- puncture marks (like holes) in the skin severe (very bad) pain, redness in a lightskinned person, and
- swelling nausea and vomiting
- visual disturbances (i.e. he or she cannot see properly)
- difficulty breathing, and in bad cases, the casualty may stop breathing.
Your aims:
- Reassure the casualty.
- Prevent the spread of poison.
- Try to get urgent medical help.
- Prevent infection.
Remember your gloves!
Your actions:
Help the casualty lie down, with the affected part lower than the heart. It is very, very important to keep the casualty as still as possible – any movement will make the poison spread more quickly.
Reassure the casualty to make the chance of shock less and slow down the heart rate. If necessary, treat for shock (see Unit 9).
Gently wash the bite with soap and water if available, and pat dry with a clean swab.
If the bite is on a limb, wrap a bandage or any available strips of material around the limb above the wound, starting from near the wound and bandaging up the limb, so that the bandage is pressing gently on the whole limb above the wound. Be careful not to rub the wound.
Use triangular or broad-fold bandages, and splints if available, to stop the casualty from moving the limb.
Get medical help as soon as possible.
Remember to keep checking the casualty’s vital signs and writing down (or remembering) what you found and what you did, so that you can report this to any health worker who takes over from you.
DO NOT:
- Do not cut the wound
- Do not suck the wound
- Do not use a tourniquet or tight bandage to stop the poison from spreadingDo not suck the wound
- Do not shock the person with electricity
- Do not apply (put) or inject chemicals or medicines to the wound
- Do not use ice on the wound.
