I was bitten by a snake! What should I do? What should I do?

Life is not just about the immediate, but also about unknown surprises or shocks.

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Chongqing is a city with many mountains and a well-known hot city. In summer, everyone likes to go to the high-altitude mountains to cool off. Although the mountains are cool and the ecology is good, there are also many snakes, insects, rats and ants! If fate is right, it is not impossible to encounter a green snake or a white snake!

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were bitten by a snake? Suck it with your mouth? Drain the blood with a knife? Drink alcohol to disinfect and build up courage?

——Brother, I think you have watched too many martial arts dramas!

So when we encounter a snake or are bitten by a snake, what should we do besides staying calm and seeking help? How can we tell whether the snake is poisonous or not? How can we prevent snakes, insects, rats and ants from invading us?

Don’t be impatient, let’s first understand when and where snakes appear!

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High risk factors for accidents

Time factor: Except for hibernation, the rest of the time is the peak season for snakes (April to October each year), especially before and after rains, in the morning and evening.

Location factors: It can appear not only in remote rural areas and forests, but also in green parks, communities, or various grass cages in the city.

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First aid · 3 tricks

Back to the original question, what should you do if you are bitten by a snake?

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01Identify the murderer

The heads of venomous snakes are mostly triangular and relatively large, with cheek pits and upturned snouts. The snakes' bodies are brightly colored and patterned, with enlarged hexagonal scales on their spines. Their tails are short and thin, and their front half can stand upright. They often actively attack humans and animals.

After being bitten by a venomous snake, the wound has two rows of small tooth marks and two symmetrical larger and deeper tooth marks at the top. There are local bleeding, ecchymosis, blisters, blood blisters and even necrosis. There is also obvious swelling, pain and numbness around the wound, and systemic symptoms are also obvious.

PS: Even if you can't tell whether it's a venomous snake or not, it doesn't matter. You must stay calm and remember the features of the "murderer". If possible, please take a photo of the "murderer". This is not for you to seek revenge in the future, but to help doctors identify whether the snake is venomous or not, and prescribe the right medicine, because different snakes require different anti-venom serum.

02Self-healing

Self-healing does not mean that you really need to handle it yourself. All wound treatment should be handed over to professional doctors! You should:

① Stay calm, do not run around, sit or lie down, so as not to speed up blood circulation and cause deeper poisoning.

② If you are bitten by a snake in an urban area, go to a nearby hospital with snake bite treatment facilities as soon as possible. Do not treat the wound yourself first.

③ If you are in the wild, first rinse the wound with clean water (such as mineral water, purified water). If conditions permit, use a bandage, rope or tear the clothes into strips, tie it near the poisoned part, and the tightness should be suitable for inserting a finger!

④ Raise the injured limb to reduce blood return.

03Find a doctor

Since time is of the essence for snake bites, it is recommended to go to the nearest county or township hospital for treatment, rather than to a large city hospital with better medical conditions. Doctors in these hospitals often deal with snake bites and have more experience.

First Aid · 6 Don'ts

In addition to the "3 tricks" of first aid I just taught you, there are also the "6 don'ts" of first aid, please remember them!

① Do not let the injured person do strenuous activities. Strenuous exercise will accelerate blood circulation and promote the spread of toxins in the body.

② Don't suck it with your mouth. This is not true love and is unreliable! Because the oral mucosa is very permeable, snake venom can be directly absorbed into the blood of the sucker through the oral mucosa, causing the rescuer to be poisoned as well.

③ Do not squeeze the wound. The wound from a snake bite is very small, and squeezing it will not expel the toxin, but will instead promote the toxin to enter the bloodstream.

④ Do not use a knife to cut the wound to bleed. This practice will increase the wound area, increase the risk of infection, and make it difficult to treat the wound later.

⑤ Don’t drink alcohol to “disinfect” or boost your courage. Drinking alcohol not only does not boost your courage, but it accelerates blood circulation and speeds up the absorption of toxins.

⑥ Don't apply herbs randomly. Herbal medicine is just a legend in the martial arts world, and it is easy to infect the wound. The only way recognized by the medical community to cure snake venom is to go to the hospital and inject anti-snake venom serum!

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Avoid snakes · 4 methods

In addition to the "do" and "don't" mentioned above, if you want to avoid being bitten by a snake, the best way to nip the danger in the bud is to avoid it! After all, as the saying goes, "If you can't afford to offend, you can at least avoid it!"

① Take the main road or the road with many pedestrians. When climbing a mountain, the road with many pedestrians is easier to walk, with fewer obstacles, and the probability of encountering snakes is lower, which is safer.

② Wear boots and long pants when hiking. When walking in places where you can't see your feet clearly, don't go barefoot or wear sandals. It's best to wear hiking boots and long pants to get an extra layer of protection and prevent encounters with snakes.

PS: Snakes often hide or rest in places that are out of sight (such as bushes or tall weeds). They are usually in a hidden and motionless state, which not only allows them to avoid natural enemies, but also allows them to quietly wait for prey. Don't think that a static snake is a dead snake, and don't approach or touch it.

③ Avoid hiking alone in remote areas. Hiking in groups makes more noise and is easier to drive away snakes and other animals. If you are bitten by a snake, your companions can help take photos of the snake, identify the type of snake, and help with treatment.

④ Do not use snake repellents or equipment. Because they are not effective at all, some commonly used snake repellents, such as realgar, mint, cloves, and ammonia, have not been proven to have the effect of repelling snakes. Snake repellent devices produced by some manufacturers, such as solar vibration wave snake repellents, have not been found to be effective. Brian, a snake expert at the University of Queensland, said: "Snake repellents are useless. On the contrary, they give people a false sense of security."

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Tang Hao, PhD, associate chief physician, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Army Specialty Medical Center, has more than ten years of clinical experience in the treatment of critical trauma, sepsis, intra-abdominal hypertension, intra-abdominal infection and other diseases.

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