What are the treatments for snake bites?

When people travel, they sometimes encounter snakes when they go to mountains or rivers. So what should they do if they are bitten by a snake? If it is a venomous snake, the toxin will enter the human blood through the wound. The consequences would be very serious. If you are bitten by a non-venomous snake, the wound will be like a pinhole. Next, let’s take a look at the treatment methods and precautions for snake bites.

1. Prevent the spread and absorption of venom

After being bitten by a poisonous snake, do not panic or run or move around, as this will cause the venom to spread quickly throughout the body. The injured person should sit down or lie down immediately, do it by himself or call for help from others, and quickly tie up the proximal end of the wound with any rope such as shoelaces or trouser belts that can be found. If a finger is bitten, tie the base of the finger; if the palm or forearm is bitten, tie the elbow joint; if the toe is bitten, tie the base of the toe; if the foot or calf is bitten, tie the base below the knee joint; if the thigh is bitten, tie the base of the thigh. The purpose of bandaging is only to block the venom from flowing back into the heart through the veins and lymph, but not to hinder the supply of arterial blood, which is different from the purpose of hemostasis. Therefore, the binding does not need to be too tight. The tightness should be controlled so that the arterial pulsation of the bound lower limb is slightly weakened. After binding, loosen it once every 30 minutes or so, for 1-2 minutes each time, to avoid affecting blood circulation and causing tissue necrosis.

2. Rapidly remove venom

Immediately rinse the wound and surrounding skin with cool boiled water, spring water, soapy water or 1:5000 potassium permanganate solution to wash away the venom on the surface of the wound. If there are poisonous teeth residues in the wound, they should be quickly picked out with a knife or other sharp objects such as broken glass. It is best to burn them with fire to disinfect them before use. Make a cross incision with the tooth mark as the center, deep to the subcutaneous tissue, and then use your hands to repeatedly squeeze from the proximal end of the limb toward the wound and around the wound to encourage the venom to be discharged from the cut wound. Rinse the wound with clean water while squeezing. The flushing and squeezing to detoxify should continue for 20 to 30 minutes. After that, if you carry a teacup with you, you can use cupping to treat the wound. First, light a small ball of paper in the teacup, and then quickly place the mouth of the cup on the wound, so that the mouth of the cup is close to the skin around the wound, and use the negative pressure generated in the cup to suck out the venom. If there is no teacup, you can also use your mouth to suck the wound to detoxify, but the mouth and lips of the sucker must be free of damage and cavities, otherwise there is a risk of poisoning. Spit out the venom immediately and rinse your mouth with clean water after sucking it out.

3. After detoxification is completed

The wound should be wet to facilitate the drainage of venom. It must be noted that snake venom is highly toxic and only a very small amount can be fatal, so you must never refuse to incise and detoxify the wound for fear of pain. If you have snake medicine with you, you can take it orally immediately to detoxify.

Through the above detailed introduction to the treatment methods of snake bites, people who like to travel must master certain prevention knowledge. This will be helpful in times of danger. It is important to note that if you find someone bitten by a snake, you must try to sit still and reduce the amount of exercise. To prevent toxins from entering the whole body through accelerated blood circulation.