Although the majority of the individuals are actually scared of snakes, the good news is that most of these creatures are non-poisonous. As a matter of fact, approximately 3,000 species of these reptiles reside on the planet, and only 500 of those happen to be venomous; moreover, deaths or perpetual disability is caused by only about 250 species.

Snakes do not prefer to dispense their venom since it is highly energy-expensive for them. While most like to inject venom into the bodies of the victims whom they consume, only some of them will dispatch poison into humans; in fact, about 50% of the bites are actually “dry” where no venom is injected. In general, there is very little chance of receiving a dangerous bite from a highly venomous snake.

For instance, although there are many poisonous species in Australia only a few will cause demise. Below, we have mentioned some essential information regarding how to survive a venomous snake bite.

Don’t Make Any Delay In Contacting Emergency Services 

Try not to drive to a hospital on your own and do not waste much time to observe whether you have any symptom of being poisoned. Time is of utmost importance in case you want to survive the bite.

It would be even better to request any buddy or any other familiar person to call the emergency services immediately. Your companion must stay connected with the emergency services since they can provide him or her with essential guidelines on how to take care of the bite. During this time, if your situation becomes worse, emergency services should send a helicopter for taking you to the nearest clinic which will be able to provide the required treatments.

Give A Description Of The Snake That Bit You

Emergency services will be in a position to locate the exact type of anti-venom provided an exact description of the snake is given to them. Consequently, either you or your friend must make it a point to give the emergency services an exact description of that particular snake which bit you.

It will be a smart idea if you can reveal the actual length of the snake, the thickness of its body, its color and whether it had slit style eyes or round eyes. As a matter of fact, watch out for a snake having a triangular-shaped head since it is quite common for the highly venomous snakes to have triangular heads. Moreover, make an attempt to take a photo of the serpent with the help of your friend provided the culprit is still hanging around. You might also slay the reptile if the situation demands.

You might be living in an area which is frequented by snakes and in that case, it will be a good idea to comprehend the ways to identify the various types of venomous reptiles in your locality. This will give you a far better chance of properly identifying the vermin in case you ever get bitten by a poisonous snake.

Remain As Still As You Can

Well, you are perhaps aware of the fact that a snake’s venom is going to be absorbed by the human body in case he or she moves faster and the venom will affect the human system quite quickly too. Therefore, make your best efforts to stay as still as feasible and consider obtaining emergency services to rescue you in case you happen to be in an area equipped with phone coverage.

Leave The Snake Bite Alone

According to some studies, your body’s circulation can be reduced using an ice pack and this will discourage the poison to spread throughout your system. Refrain from sucking the venom from your leg since it might worsen your condition.

Otherwise, you can always hold an ice pack against the bite in case you have an ice pack near you since the cold from the ice pack will reduce your body’s circulation and will help to discourage the spread of poison throughout the body. Bear in mind that the possibilities of your survival will increase to a great extent by keeping cool and waiting for the emergency services to come to your help.

Using Charcoal

Make it a point to place some dampened activated charcoal on the wound caused by the snake bite at the fang entry point without making any delay. If the holes left by the fangs of the serpent aren’t large enough for the charcoal to penetrate, it might be a smart idea to make a shallow opening on the marks. Make use of a bandage, a cotton fabric, medical tape, or any clean protective covering available to you to cover the bite. The activated charcoal must be pressed and held firmly to the spot of the injury and if required, make sure to dampen the charcoal once again.

According to some survival first aid specialists, it will be prudent to ingest at least a couple of teaspoons of activated and dampened charcoal powder after the wound poultice has been prepared. In case the charcoal isn’t comprehensively dampened, there is a possibility for the dust to trigger lung and other health diseases when inhaled.

Using A Tourniquet

There is a chance of imminent peril in case tourniquets are not properly used which might even result in the loss of a limb in the long run. However, tourniquets can also prove to be extremely beneficial in some situations. It is up to you to decide whether you should use a tourniquet when confronted with a deadly snake bite. Some of us believe that using a tourniquet will be just tight enough for slowing down the blood circulation without actually stopping it and this is going to enable snake bite treatments such as activated charcoal to give the desired results before the poison commences flowing in the body freely.

Echinacea Oil

Besides all these preventative measures mentioned above, Echinacea oil is likewise believed to be an essential first aid for a venomous snake bite. This oil has the ability to neutralize the poison and Native Americans were known to use it in the past. Echinacea oil is able to enhance our immune system for combating different types of infections. It is advisable to use a “large dose” of this oil after a snake bite and one must repeat this process for a few days every 6 hours. Make it a point to gargle the Echinacea oil in the mouth as long as you can so that it can be absorbed into your bloodstream.

It is very important to learn how to prevent any poisonous snake from exploring your property in case you live in a locality which is packed with these reptiles. Identifying copperhead snakes as well as other types of dangerous snakes is of prime importance and once they are identified, do not waste any time to get rid of them. Never allow a perilous serpent to hide on your property.

This article was originally published on the Loadout Room

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