How to Treat a Snake Bite

Steps

1. Although not likely to be life-threatening, bites from non-venomous snakes can still be painful and lead to infection.
2. Clean the wound carefully, and stay calm. Wash with clean water. Use an alcohol-soaked pad if one is available. Try not to Panic.
3. Treat the wound with an antibiotic ointment. Apply a thin coating of antibiotic ointment.
4. Bandage the wound. This will protect it and help to discourage infection. Pay attention to the wound as it heals for redness or streaking or other signs of infection.

1. These steps for treating venomous snakebites assume that you have no special equipment such as a snakebite kit and do not have immediate access to medical services.[1]
2. Get the victim away from the snake. Your first priority is to make sure that neither you nor the victim receive any additional snakebites.
3. Remove clothing or constricting items. Bites from venomous snakes can cause rapid and severe swelling. Remove clothing or jewelry from the area.
4. Minimize activity. Higher levels of activity will increase blood flow and increase the spread of venom through the body.
5. Do not cut the bite site or use your mouth to suck out the poison. These are likely to be ineffective and can increase the likelihood of infection.
6. Clean the bite site with soap and water. Cover the wound with a dressing.
7. Wrap the bite site with a tight elastic bandage. You can use something like an Ace bandage for this, or can fashion one from a stretchy shirt or other article of clothing.
   • The intent of this step is to slow capillary and venous blood flow (flow back to the heart), but permit arterial blood flow (away from the heart).
   • Check for a pulse below the overwrap. It should be present.
8. Splint the bitten limb to prevent motion. Keep a the splinted extremity below the level of the heart.
9. Keep the victim calm and protected from the environment. Let the victim rest until you can get him medical attention. If the victim is conscious, make him drink fluids.

Tips

• Most snakes are not venomous.
• Your best option is to avoid a snakebite. Take care in places where snakes are common.
• Watch your step in places populated by both humans and rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes shake their rattles to frighten away potential danger so they don't have to strike. But excessive hunting of rattlesnakes by humans has led to a change in their behavior in human-populated areas. Rattlesnakes in areas with a lot of people are unlikely to rattle at you, relying on their natural camouflage instead, which makes you more likely to step on one.

Warnings

• Do not attempt to cut open the wound and suck out venom, either with your mouth or a snakebite kit. This has not been shown to remove a significant amount of toxins and may lead to greater damage to skin in the area.[2][3]
• Even non-venomous snake bites may lead to infections.
• Do not attempt to catch the snake yourself for the medical team. There are professionals who are trained to catch snakes.

Things You'll Need

• Antibiotic ointment
• Wound dressing
• Elastic bandage

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ Survival, Evasion and Recovery - U.S. Military Field Manual FM 21-76-1 (1999)
2. ↑ Suction for venomous snakebite: A study of "mock venom” extraction in a human model - Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 43, Issue 2, Pages 181-186
3. ↑ Skin Damage Following Application of Suction Device for Snakebite - Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 48, Issue 1, Pages 105-105

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Treat a Snake Bite. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.