Steps to handle snake bites

According to Dr. Le Xuan Duong - Emergency Department - 108 Central Military Hospital, the goal of first aid is to remove some of the venom and slow down its movement from the bite into the body. At the same time, protect the patient's life, prevent and treat complications early before the patient reaches a medical facility.

First aid steps to take: First, it is necessary to calm the patient, do not let the patient walk by themselves. The patient needs to be immobilized with a splint on the bitten leg or arm (because movement causes the venom to enter the body faster).

- Remove jewelry on the bitten leg or arm (because it can cause compression when the area is swollen). - Apply immobilization bandages to some types of cobras (banded kraits, banded kraits, king cobras, sea snakes and some common cobras), immobilization bandages to slow down the appearance of paralysis symptoms.

- Use elastic bandages, cloth bandages or make your own from towels or clothes. Bandage relatively tight but not too tight (you can still feel the pulse). Start bandaging from the toes and hands to the entire bitten leg or hand. Use a hard splint (splint, piece of wood, stick, piece of cardboard, etc.) to fix the bitten leg or hand.

- Do not apply pressure when bitten by a viper because it can make the wound worse. You can prick and wash the bite under clean running water with soap and then disinfect it.

- If the patient has difficulty breathing, perform artificial respiration (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or use on-site medical equipment such as a ball pump, portable ventilator, etc.). If there are signs of circulatory arrest, perform general resuscitation on the spot and wait for medical staff to arrive.

- Transport the patient by vehicle to a medical facility while maintaining pressure and immobilization, keeping the bitten area lower than the heart, if it is on the leg or arm, the arm or leg can be left hanging.…

- Note: Any case of snake bite, even if it is determined to be a benign snake, needs to be treated and monitored at the hospital as a case of venomous snake bite, at least for the first 12 hours. If it is delayed after 24 - 48 hours, the treatment results will be very poor or ineffective

Absolutely do not do: Tourniquet is a measure to completely block the artery. It is painful and very dangerous and cannot be maintained for long (no more than 40 minutes), the limbs are very susceptible to dangerous anemia. Many cases later have to amputate the limbs because of the tourniquet. In addition, when arriving at the hospital, the doctor removes the tourniquet, the poison will rush to the heart at the same time, causing the patient to go into shock, threatening his life.

- Injecting, cutting, or poking at the bite area: these measures are not beneficial, and clearly cause further harm to the patient (further damage to blood vessels, nerves, etc., and worsening the infection).

- Sucking out the venom, applying ice, using folk remedies, trying to catch or kill the snake...

To prevent snake bites, you need to: Wear boots, high-top shoes, and long pants, especially when walking at night; wear a wide-brimmed hat if walking in the forest or in areas with lots of vegetation; Do not catch, chase, or force snakes in closed areas; Do not live near places where snakes like to live...