What would you do in a snake bite?
Here are 4 options, choose the action that you think is correct :
- Tie a tight cloth or rope over the bite mark.
- Cut the bitten area with a sharp object, like a knife or blade.
- Suck the venom (poison) out from the bitten area.
- Keep the bitten area still, without moving it, and tie a bandage over it.
It is important to know if you are using the right method or not. Or else your actions could potentially harm the patient.
We will tell you what a snake bite is, what venom is, and why a patient can die from a snake bite. What is its treatment, and what is anti-venom? And if someone in front of you gets bitten by a snake, what should you do?
Who’s at risk of Snake bite?
Snake bites will not occur as long as you don’t tease or provoke the snake.
Snake bites are more common in places where people live in high-priority areas such as farmers, and construction workers, and areas for hiking and trekking are also at risk of snake bites.
Common species of snakes?
There are many snake species, with over 300 identified in India alone. However, the 4 most common species that cause the highest number of fatalities are:
- Cobra
- Russell’s Viper
- Saw-Scaled Viper
- Krait
Generally, snakes bite only when they are disturbed. However, the Krait is known to bite even sleeping individuals, posing a high risk to those sleeping on the ground or working in construction. A Krait bite often leaves no visible mark, bleeding, or pain in the bitten area.
What happens when a snake bites?
To understand what happens during a snake bite and why it can be fatal, it’s important to know about venom.
Snake venom contains numerous enzymes that cause cell death in our bodies. This venom, once injected, can cause local tissue death and, upon entering the bloodstream, can reach and affect other organs, leading to cellular death in those areas too.
The symptoms resulting from a snake bite can be categorized as follows:
- Local Symptoms: These refer to the immediate effects experienced by a patient at the location where the snake bite occurred.
- Systemic Symptoms: These occur due to the venom entering the bloodstream and affecting the body.
In terms of local symptoms, the bite site often shows fang marks. Swelling, bleeding, and pain are common at this spot.
While a bite from a Krait snake might leave no visible mark, a Cobra bite typically results in significant swelling and tension at the site.
This can lead to the cessation of blood flow in the area, causing it to become extremely tense and potentially start decaying or breaking down. In some cases, especially with Cobra bites, surgical intervention or even amputation of the affected limb may be necessary.
Signs and Symptoms when a snake bites
When the venom from a snake bite enters the body, various symptoms can manifest. The patient might experience dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, tingling in the hands and feet, and fever. These are general symptoms.
However, it’s important to understand that different snake bites can cause different types of symptoms.
Snake venoms are usually of two main types:
- Neurotoxic: which means their venom affects the brain.
- Cardiotoxic: This means the venom impacts the heart.
Neurotoxic Venom
In cases of neurotoxic venom, snakes like kraits and cobras are usually involved.
Once this venom enters the bloodstream, it starts to paralyze muscles. As a result, the patient will begin to see everything as blurry. Gradually, they might experience diplopia, which means seeing double, as the venom affects the muscles controlling the eyes.
Then, the patient will start having difficulty eating. Speaking will become challenging. Gradually, tingling and weakness will develop in their hands and feet.
Eventually, the venom will affect the muscles responsible for breathing. The patient will struggle to breathe, which can ultimately lead to death.
Cardiotoxic Venom
In the case of cardiotoxins, the patient’s blood pressure starts to drop. They may experience dizziness, and their kidneys may begin to fail. Internal bleeding can occur in various places.
Spots start to appear on different parts of the body. Eventually, the patient may go into shock, which can lead to death.
Treatment of Snake Bite
ASV, or Anti-Snake Venom, is administered to patients.
The key point is that the sooner the ASV anti-venom is given to the patient, the better their chances of survival.
What exactly is ASV anti-venom?
As the name suggests, it’s used to counteract snake venom. This involves extracting venom from snakes and then processing it.
The processed venom is then injected into animals such as horses, sheep, or goats. As these animals react to the venom, their immune systems produce antibodies against it.
These antibodies are collected from the animal’s blood or serum and used to make the anti-venom for humans.
These antibodies when injected into humans work by binding to the venom from the snake bite, neutralizing it.
Therefore, the faster the anti-venom is administered to the patient, the quicker it will neutralize the venom, minimizing its impact on the patient.
Species used for making ASV (Anti Snake Venom):
This ASV (Anti-Snake Venom) is prepared specifically for these four types of snake species: Cobra, Russell’s Viper, Saw-Scaled Viper, and Krait. These species are known for bites that most commonly result in fatalities.
Management of Severe Symptoms
If a patient is already affected by the toxin and then arrives at a hospital, how is the treatment administered?
The treatment is given based on the symptoms observed in the patient.
If the patient starts experiencing paralysis or has difficulty breathing, they are placed on ventilator support.
If there is bleeding from the patient’s body, efforts are made to stop the bleeding. If the blood pressure is high, medication to reduce blood pressure is administered.
If the patient is going into shock, they receive organ support. This entire treatment continues until the effects of the venom have left the body.
Neurotoxins, which are poisons that affect the brain, generally do not lead to patient fatality. This is because patients are placed on ventilatory support and typically survive once the venom’s effects are neutralized in their bodies. They are then removed from the ventilator and recovered.
Most deaths occur due to vascular toxins or cardiotoxins. These are more dangerous as they can cause bleeding to start, and lead to kidney failure, and managing such conditions becomes increasingly difficult.
What should we do as First Aid?
What you should or shouldn’t do if someone near you gets bitten by a snake:
1. Reassurance to patient:
First, reassure them that 70% of snake bites are from non-venomous snakes. Of the 30% that are from venomous snakes, only about half inject their venom.
So, in total, only about 15% of snake bites result in venom entering the body.
2. Immobilize the patient:
You need to immobilize the patient immediately. Lay them down and immobilize the limb that has been bitten using a splint.
A splint can be made from any rigid material like a wood stick, tied with rope, to ensure that the limb or area doesn’t move, similar to how we immobilize a fractured bone with a cast.
3. Take to Hospital:
Have the patient lie flat and rush them to the hospital immediately. The quicker you get the patient to the hospital, the higher their chances of survival.
What we shouldn’t do in a snake bite
It’s crucial to know what not to do in case of a snake bite:
1. Do not take the patient to alternative healers like witch doctors or shamans for treatment. Such practices are not helpful.
2. Quickly take the patient to the hospital and do not let them walk.
3. Do not cut the area where the snake bite occurred or attempt to suck out the venom.
4. Avoid tying a tight rope or cloth around the bitten area. This can cause harm to the patient, including reducing blood supply to the bitten area, leading to further damage.
5. Do not give alcohol to the patient. Consuming alcohol can accelerate the spread of venom in the blood, worsening the patient’s condition.
6. Identifying the species or type of the snake is not necessary.
The ASV (Anti-Snake Venom) given to the patient is usually made to counteract the venom of the four most common venomous snake species, so the specific species of the snake does not make a significant difference.
How To Avoid? Snake Bite Precautions
By following these tips, we can prevent many snake bites:
- Avoid sleeping directly on the ground. Those who do should use a mosquito net, which can prevent snakes from reaching their bed.
- If you’re going hiking or trekking, wear long boots. Alternatively, carry a simple stick and tap the ground in front of you as you walk, to encourage any snakes to move away.
- Stay away from areas under rocks, garden bushes, or where paddy straw is stored, as these are common hiding places for snakes.
- Do not play with snakes to show off or for entertainment purposes.
Please share in the comments if this information was helpful to you. Did you answer the question asked at the beginning correctly, or was it incorrect? Or perhaps, did it enhance your knowledge in some way?
I hope you all remain healthy and happy.