Current snake bite management?

[Saz]

Was wondering if anyone knows the current recommendations for snake bite treatment (prior to professional help arriving)?

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Don't wash the wound (to allow venom swab), then pressure bandage the entire limb if on a limb. Stay calm & quiet.

Jamie

 

[Rlpreston]

As far as I am aware it is still mark site under and on top of bandage), bandage site, elastic bandage limb (toward body) as high as possible, splint/immobilise and keep patient calm.

 

[wildthings]

Also when you wrap, mark the bandage with a pen where exactly the bite is and also keep the bite victim as still as possible and the limb as still as possible.If non venomous bite wash thoroughly and if possible tendon or bone involvement, go to the doctor for antibiotic treatment

 

[Saz]

Thanks guys.

 

[Snowman]

And it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) "The best management is prevention"

 

[izzys1]

Just a bit of extra to what the others have said you first go over the bite site, then down to the end of the limb then back up the limb over the bite and continue to the end (usually armpit or groin)

 

[Bluetongue1]

Venom is transferred via the lymphatic system, which empties into the blood stream veins via the thoracic duct in the neck. So the object of snake bite first aid is to slow down the movement of fluids in the lymphatic vessels. The lymph vessels are very thin walled and contain no muscles. At regular intervals along their length they have simple one-way valves. These valves are shaped like pockets with three of them around the tube. They flatten down when fluid moves forward over them but quickly fill up when fluid moves backwards. The three filled pockets stop any back flow of fluid. Contraction of the body’s muscles plus elevation of limbs pushes the lymph through the vessels.

Forget about the pen marking the bite site - it is likely to waste valuable time. Use a small piece of cloth to cover the bite site and apply an elastic bandage, or equivalent, from above the digits, up the limb, over the bite site, to the end of the limb. Splint the limb to immobilise it and stop muscular contractions from squeezing lymph and toxins through the vessels. For the same reasons the bitten person should remain as inactive as possible.


Blue

 

[mungus]

In the old days, they suggested you suck the poison out of where the victim had been bitten.
2 mates of mine where hunting out in the middle of nowhere, when 1 was bitten on his old fella while going to the toilet by a brown !
He ran back into camp and told my other mate what had happened and asked what could he do to help him..........
My other mate replied " nothin buddy, your gonna die " :lol:

 

[Firepac]

I don't think marking the bite site would waste valuable time as it would be done after the PIB is in place if using a pen or other marker, or can be done using the tag end of the bandage whilst applying it. It gives the doctors a valuable guide to the location of the bite as they will leave the bandage in place (if effectively applied) but cut a hole in it and swab the skin as well as test the layer of bandage closest to the skin with the Snake Venom Detection Kit to determine the appropriate AV to use should the patient become symptomatic.

 

[-Peter]

Definitely don't wash the bite and I would forget placing a piece of cloth over the bite site unless its already handy. I would just get the bandage on, its hard enough doing that without holding something else in place. Start from the bite site and bandage downward towards the end on the limb and them back up as high as you can overlapping as you go. Don't cover the tips of the digits as this allows you to see how your blood flow is going. The bandage should be firm as with a sprain. To tight and you may cause injury as the bandage may be in place for several hours. Splint and lay down, call 000, try to relax. Unless you have anaphylaxis issues you should be okay and several hours of fun ahead of you. As an aside, go to the toilet before you get bitten so as you don't soil your pants though they will want a urine sample to compare to the swab sample. You will find its an issue on both counts. Go ahead and mark the bite site on the bandage, it's not like you have some other pressing event but don't go looking for a pen, just relax. From personal experience the marked site was appreciated by the medical staff.

 

[eipper]

The current First Aid for bites from Australian venomous snakes is the well established Pressure Immobilisation Bandaging technique. It works by compressing the lymphatic vessels in the subcutaneous tissue to stop the spread of snake venom from the bite site throughout the body. So if you either move about more than absolutely necessary or fail to administer the correct pressure, the method will not be as effective as it can be. Note that it requires limb splinting and patient immobilisation, as well as the compression bandaging, to be effective.

In the event of a bite:

1 Remain Calm

2 Make the area safe by enclosing the snake back into its cage.

3 Call for help to anyone available in earshot, and grab the first aid kit.

4 Remove any rings, watches or jewellery from the bitten limb

5 If no one is available apply the pressure immobilisation bandage to the affected limb, if another person is present get them to ring 000 after applying the Pressure immobilisation Bandage technique to you.

6 If no one is available call 000 yourself. Have your snake bite protocol information with you and call the emergency department of your nearest hospital and let them know you are coming (via ambulance).

7 With a permanent marker circle the bite site on the bandage and take note of the time of the bite.

8 When you meet paramedics give them any information they ask for including past history, allergies and if you are on medication or under the influence of or taken any substances.

It is also important not to drink any alcohol or wash the bite site. Any venom present around the bite site will be swabbed and tested to tell the medical staff which type of antivenom may be required.

 

[Blackstik]

You no longer bandage from the bite site to the end of the limb and back up as some have stated. Start at the end of the limb and work your way up, over the bite and continue towards the body.

 

[eipper]

Blackstik,
the reason for this change was people had trouble with the concept and change was implemented only for ease of remembering how to do it. There is no way I would follow the start at the end version myself.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Thanks Blackstik.

Marking the site with a pen or other marker is no longer recommended either. The small piece of cloth, which can be a pocket torn from a shirt, or something similar, is now recommended. It will no doubt absorb any traces of venom and will therefore be used with the Venom Detection Kit.

Remiss of me to leave out the do nots....
Do NOT cut, suck or wash the bite site.
Do NOT bandage any tighter than for a sprain. You should easily be able to fit two fingers under the bandage.
Do NOT leave jewellery or close-fitting bands on the affected limb.
Do NOT drink alcohol.
Do NOT elevate the affected limb.
Do NOT move at all if possible.

As the blood is still supplying fluid to the tissues but the lymph vessels are unable to drain it, you will get swelling of the extremities of the affected limb. Hence the recommendation to remove jewellery.

If the bandage is too tight, not only will it restrict lymph movement but it will also restrict blood flow. Cells that are deprived of oxygen for long enough will die. Where the blood is totally stripped of all oxygen it turns a very dark red colour, which when viewed through the skin, appears greyish blue instead of the normal pink. Digits on a bandaged limb that begin to turn a dark or bluish colour indicate that the bandage is on too tight and it needs to be adjusted.

Blue

 

[Firepac]

Bluetongue1, apologies I think I misunderstood your first post. I believe you meant don't mark the bite site itself, ie the skin, which I fully agree with. I was referring to marking the outside of the bandage to show the approximate location of the bite.

 

[eipper]

Here you go

avru is the body that historically that's gives the advice to the doctors and nurses.

AVRU - First Aid

 

[wildthings]

I refreshed my first aid and sports first aid last year ( I'm the first aid for my boys footy teams) and both courses still teach to bandage down then up leaving just the tips of the fingers uncovered and the marking of the bandage is purely for the doctors so that they don't need to remove the entire bandage to do a swab

 

[Blackstik]

Blackstik,
the reason for this change was people had trouble with the concept and change was implemented only for ease of remembering how to do it. There is no way I would follow the start at the end version myself.

Well I was told by a St Johns instructor that the reason for the change was simply it made little to no difference bandaging from the bite to the end and back again, and to be honest, I'm going to go by what the pros tell me to do.

- - - Updated - - -

Here you go

avru is the body that historically that's gives the advice to the doctors and nurses.

AVRU - First Aid

Sorry if it seems like I'm stirring you up, but it says at the bottom that was last updated in Dec 2006...

St Johns ambulance's snake bite treatment is here:

http://www.stjohn.org.au/images/stjohn/information/fact_sheets/FS_snakebite.pdf

 

[Wild~Touch]

I'm with eipper on this one

Google Clinical Toxinology - Australian Snakebite....current to 2013

For me and mine this is the way to go

Cheers
Sandee