Snake bite

Depending on where you live (or choose to vacation), you may or may not have a hard time avoiding snakes. But if you're going to be in snake territory, there are some useful tips to avoid getting bitten:

Always be careful where you put your hands and feet. Don’t reach into unknown spaces and holes, or underneath objects without first being sure a snake isn’t hiding underneath.

Don’t lie down or sit down in areas where there might be snakes.

Wear high-top leather boots when walking through or working in areas with dense vegetation.

Do not attempt to capture, handle or keep venomous snakes.

If you’re going camping, take extra care around swamps and other places where snakes typically live.

If you come across a snake, slowly back away from it and avoid touching it.

First and foremost, seek immediate medical attention. This means call 911 or emergency services as soon as you can, because even if the bite isn’t that painful initially, you still need to treat it as if it’s potentially life-threatening. Properly identifying the snake can help with the treatment, though it’s very difficult to do so. Also be sure to take the following steps immediately:

Remove any jewelry or watches, as these could cut into the skin if swelling occurs.

Keep the area of the bite below the heart in order to slow the spread of venom through the bloodstream.

Remain still and calm. If you can, roll over to your side and rest in the recovery position. Moving around a lot will cause the venom to spread faster through the body.

Cover the bite with a clean, dry bandage. Try to use a pressure immobilization bandage if you can. This type of bandage should be tightly wrapped around the bite. Then, wrap another bandage around the entire limb, so that it’s immobilized.

While these are all useful precautionary measures, the ultimate treatment for a snake bite is antivenom. Try to get the victim of the bite antivenom as quick as possible. Knowing the size, color and shape of the snake can help your doctor determine which antivenom is best for that particular situation.

Fun fact: Antivenoms are created by immunizing horses or sheep with the venom of a particular snake. Their blood serum (the watery part of the blood) is then processed, as it will contain antibodies capable of neutralizing the effects of venom. There are antivenoms that treat bites from a specific type of snake (monospecific antivenoms) and also those that treat bites from a number of snakes found in a particular geographic region (polyspecific antivenoms).

The antivenom will be given either in an injection or through an IV (through a needle in the arm), so that it can take action as quickly as possible. While either of these methods may produce side effects, they’ve proven to be the most effective. One of those side effects is serum sickness disease, which can appear four to 10 days after receiving the antivenom. If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should contact your healthcare provider or doctor to ask about serum sickness disease:

Rashes.

Itching.

Joint pain.

Fever.

Kidney failure.

Swollen lymph nodes.