First Aid treatment for Snake bites

Summertime is time for the not-so-friendly neighborhood snakes to lurk in your gardens, and knowing about snakebite first aid treatment adds an extra edge in case you or someone you know gets bitten as you trek the mountains on vacation or spend your leisure time in your backyard.

Snakes could be of two types – Non-Venomous and Venomous, the latter we will be talking about here. Unless you are an Ophiologist, having vast knowledge about snakes, I would suggest, all snake bites should be treated as life-threatening.

Symptoms of venomous snakebite?

Before jumping into the first aid treatment of snakebite, let’s first understand the symptoms that one may have on being bitten. Depending on the type of venom, snakebites can produce different manifestations. The symptoms can be divided based on the type of snake into two groups:

Elapidae group of Snakes: This includes snakes like the Cobras, Krait, Mamba, Death Adders, etc, and can produce neurotoxic venoms. They are physically characterized by permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Common symptoms include:

• Double Vision
• Dropping of Eyelids
• Inability to Open Mouth or protrude the tongue
• Inability to Swallow
• Inability to hold the neck straight
• Muscle weakness
• Difficulty in breathing
• Paralysis

Viperidae Group of Snakes: This includes snakes like Russell’s viper, Saw Scalded vipers, and other vipers. They produce venoms that are hematotoxic - venom that destroys blood cells, leading to bleeding features, as well as cytotoxic (cell destroying – causing damage of the muscles at the site where bitten). Often sometimes neurotoxic features as described above could also be seen. Common symptoms include:

• Bleeding from Gums, nose.
• Coughing up of Blood
• Passing of blood in stool, urine, or vomitus
• Bleeding in the eye
• Blood in tears
• Bleeding in any internal organ

First Aid Treatment of Snakebite

Coming to the first aid treatment for snakebite, the first and foremost thing to do is inform the emergency helpline number of your place for an ambulance to carry you or the affected person to the hospital, and till the ambulance arrives, do the following:

• Reassurance: Try not to panic, or try to calm down the person who has been bitten if he has been panicky.
• Remove any jewelry or tight-fitting clothing from around or near the bite site as there might be constriction if swelling develops.
• Gently wash the bite site with soap and running water and cover the site with a sterile dressing.
• Immobilize the bitten limb by applying a splint, as movement can cause dispersion of venom
• Tourniquet Application: This is only helpful in neurotoxic snake envenomation. The correct way to apply is by using a crepe or elastic bandage and wrap the entire limb that has been bitten. The pressure to be applied must be precise – about 40-70mmHg in the upper limb and 50-80mmHg in the lower limb. A crude way is that it should not be so tight, that you are not able to feel the pulse.
• Resuscitation in case the person deteriorates which includes CPR (You can search YouTube to see how to perform a CPR)
• Transport to the local hospital once the ambulance arrives and further treatment.

DO NOT incise and try to suck the venom out, as you might have seen in movies, as those strategies were not found to be effective, but rather increases the chance of infection and swelling.

DO NOT waste time consulting traditional healers.

DO NOT attempt to catch the snake and transport it for identification, rather, if possible try taking digital photographs from a safe distance, which may assist in identification and treatment decision by experts in hospital.

Well, if you do the above, the survival chances after being bitten by a highly venomous snake increase by many folds. Remember, in case of doubt, all snakes should be considered venomous and the first aid treatment for snakebite to be applied as written above.

Bonus Read: “My friend was bitten by a pit viper but he survived without any first aid or hospital treatment” – this is a case of a dry bite.  About 25% of cases of pit viper bites and a higher number of other snakebites (75% in case of sea snakes) are dry bites i.e. no venom is released, probably the snake didn’t deem it necessary to waste its venom and just bit to scare you. But you never know whether the bite was dry, so be cautious even if it was!