Bitten by snake

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Snakes may be venomous to humans or non-venomous. Bites from non-venomous snakes like rat snakes will not kill. Such bites can cause pain and maybe inject some bacteria from the snakes mouth into your skin. Venomous snakes like the cobra, viper, mamba or krait inject venom when they bite. The amount of venom may vary form bite to bite; some bites may not inject any venom at all. Snake venom acts mainly by two mechanisms. It acts on blood to prevent clotting and to break down the blood cells. It also acts on the nerves and prevents conduction of impulses to the muscles eventually causing paralysis of vital muscles like the diaphragm. Other actions include destruction of muscle and other tissues. So if you get bitten by a venomous snake you will have pain at the site of bite. Over a period of time you will develop bleeding from the site of bite, bleeding from the mouth and nose, internal bleeding, blurring of vision, difficulty in breathing which may eventually lead to death. All this depends upon the type of snake that has bitten you and how much venom is injected. Effective anti-venom is available for most snakes which can save lives if injected in time. Patients should be taken to hospital immediately. In the meantime, you could tie a tourniquet on the limb that is bitten. It should be tied closer to the body than the bite, preferably over the thigh or the upper arm and released for a minute or so every 15 minutes to maintain blood flow to the limb. You should also keep the patient immobile, relaxed and reassured.