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Lesson
Lesson 2. Snakebite: what not to do matters more
Learn a short first-aid protocol for a bite and the list of dangerous “folk” remedies that cripple people more often than the venom does.
Venom rarely kills. “Folk remedies” kill more often
Snakebite first aid
A viper bite is rarely fatal for a healthy adult. The real trouble starts when tourniquets and incisions come into play: the wrong “help” cripples more often than the venom.
DO: move away from the snake; sit down and calm down — panic speeds up blood flow and the venom; take off rings, bracelets, and your watch at once — the limb will swell; immobilize the bitten arm or leg as you would a fracture (a sling, a splint): the less it moves, the slower the venom spreads; drink water; if you can, photograph the snake from a distance; get to the hospital as fast as possible — if you're walking, move calmly, don't run.
DON'T: a tourniquet — viper venom destroys tissue, the tied-off limb dies, and that's the road to amputation; incisions — infection and cut blood vessels; sucking out the venom by mouth — it can't be sucked out, but you'll add germs to the wound; cauterizing — a pointless burn; alcohol — it widens blood vessels and speeds up the venom; running — the same.
Go to the hospital after any bite, even if it “hardly hurts”: the reaction to venom can build for hours, and a doctor's observation is part of the protocol, not excessive caution.
Lesson notes
Snakebite first aid
A viper bite is rarely fatal for a healthy adult. The real trouble starts when tourniquets and incisions come into play: the wrong “help” cripples more often than the venom.
DO: move away from the snake; sit down and calm down — panic speeds up blood flow and the venom; take off rings, bracelets, and your watch at once — the limb will swell; immobilize the bitten arm or leg as you would a fracture (a sling, a splint): the less it moves, the slower the venom spreads; drink water; if you can, photograph the snake from a distance; get to the hospital as fast as possible — if you're walking, move calmly, don't run.
DON'T: a tourniquet — viper venom destroys tissue, the tied-off limb dies, and that's the road to amputation; incisions — infection and cut blood vessels; sucking out the venom by mouth — it can't be sucked out, but you'll add germs to the wound; cauterizing — a pointless burn; alcohol — it widens blood vessels and speeds up the venom; running — the same.
Go to the hospital after any bite, even if it “hardly hurts”: the reaction to venom can build for hours, and a doctor's observation is part of the protocol, not excessive caution.