2024-07-08 18:50:15
According to Violeta Radžiūnienė, head of the Children’s Emergency, Intensive Therapy and Consultation Department of the Vilnius City Clinical Hospital, this year, in the last couple of weeks, as many as three children went to the hospital due to snake bites.
Benediktas Jonuška, formerly a pediatric surgeon at the Republic Šiauliai Hospital (RSHL). lrytas.lt told about a boy who had to spend a week in medical care after being bitten by a snake.
“The patient applied on time, the necessary treatment was provided. It was necessary to stay in the hospital until there was a need to conduct tests and the intoxication finally ended”, explained B. Jonuška. The full article can be found here.
Bites from poisonous snakes are relatively rare in Lithuania, because only one poisonous snake lives in our country – the viper. On average, about 60-70 cases of snakebite are registered in medical institutions in Lithuania per year, but there is not a single case that ended in death.
“A snake bite is not fatal for a healthy adult, but for children (due to their small weight), the elderly or allergic persons, it can cause serious health problems, severe allergic reactions of the body.
Treatment for snakebites and related allergic reactions depends on the severity of the reaction. Mild symptoms can be treated with antihistamines (anti-allergic), painkillers, and more severe cases may require intensive medical care,” says the doctor.
“Roasted” by a viper, a snake or a willow?
Most often, a snake bite is painful, specific bite marks are visible to the naked eye. The differences between viper, snake and rattlesnake bites can be recognized by several signs. A viper bite is characterized by two points about a centimeter apart (two teeth marks). Snakes usually leave several smaller marks of a “different pattern” because they have many small teeth. The bite of an acorn leaves very small and hard-to-notice marks because it has no teeth.
It is known that the symptoms that appear depend on the amount of poison and the time of the bite: for example, in early spring, the concentration of viper venom accumulated after winter is significantly higher, and the reaction of the body after being bitten is likely to be strong. A snake that has recently hunted for food and injected poison into its prey can “bite” a person who has bitten or frightened it, but not inject at all or inject a very small amount of poison – “bite dry”. Then there is usually no redness or swelling at the bite site, a slight pain is felt.
First aid for snake bite
One of the essential tips to help prevent snake bites is to be alert, careful, avoid risky places: tall grass, forest, moss, piles of stones. If you are going to the forest to pick berries or mushrooms, wear protective clothing: high boots, long pants, look under your feet.
If a snake bites your hand, you should take off your rings and watch as soon as possible, because it will be more difficult to do it when your hand is numb.
“If you have a cold pack or a colder product – add it to the bite site; if possible – disinfect it. If a viper bites a limb, lift it up. Until you come to the doctor, if you have it, it is recommended to give medicine for pain and allergies,” says Violeta Radžiūnienė.
The doctor warns not to tighten the bite site in any way, because then the poison will accumulate only in the damaged area and after release, the poison will enter the body very quickly. Do not suck poison – because we will suck out very little poison, and if there are sores in the oral cavity, we can harm ourselves.
Allergic reactions after a snake bite
Snake venom can cause an immediate immunological reaction that manifests itself in skin rashes, swelling and itching. The poison travels further through the bloodstream and lymph, and the swelling can spread. It is important to know that swelling of the tissues occurs not only on the outside, but also in the internal tissues, so depending on the location of the bite, if, for example, the snake stung the neck, head or face area, breathing may even be disturbed. After a viper bite, both an increase and a decrease in blood pressure are possible.
Other typical allergy symptoms may occur: nausea, vomiting. If the patient has chronic diseases, the poison, entering the bloodstream, activates them.
For example, with diabetes, blood glucose levels can start to “jump”.
Regardless of the type of snake bite, it is necessary that the child or adult be examined by a doctor. Upon arrival at the treatment facility, the doctor observes the patient and, if necessary, prescribes the necessary treatment. In very rare, exceptional cases, the patient needs to be injected with a specific serum (antidote).
2024-07-08 18:50:15