How You Can Treat Snake Bites At Home Before seeking Medical Attention

It would be shocking and scary if I told you that you presently have a snake in your house. It is creepy, but you know what? It is the truth. This is very possible, as research has found that most people live with snakes without their knowledge. Are you asking how? Let me try breaking it down further for you to better understand.

Animal Scientists discovered many years ago that there is a particular specie of snakes that can get through holes and openings, no matter how tiny. Do you imagine the possibility already? Follow me. It is very possible that something may have gotten in through that little opening in your kitchen window that you have always ignored. Or, do you not think something could have successfully slipped itself through the slightly open main door while your children were away, playing innocently? It is becoming more apparent now. Snakes can actually find their ways through any opening and get themselves into your house and stay unnoticed until you eventually find out. It happens that most people only discover they live with snakes three to six months after the snake’s arrival into the house.

How then do you prevent snakes, give a snake bite victim first aid treatment, and identify types of snakes in order to provide a proper description to the doctor for appropriate treatment? This article has an answer to all of it. Sit back while I take you through the journey of handling snake bites before seeing a doctor.

Home remedies that have been tested over the years have become helpful in the first aid treatment for snake bites. Having these things handy in your garden or kitchen would go a long way.

Follow me through this article and watch me unravel the benefits of giving first aid to snakebite victims.

Types of Snakes

We have two kinds of snakes, and they are

• Venomous
• Non-venomous

Identifying a snake immediately after a snake bite might seem impossible, as all that your brain would be interpreting at that moment is excruciating pains and numerous questions like, ‘am I going to die?’ ‘I need to see a doctor.’

However, being able to identify a snake during a snake bite incident would give the Doctor a clue on what treatment to offer, as there are incredibly venomous snakes that their bites require acute therapies, and even hospital admission. An example is the “rattlesnake.” For rattlesnake bites, every second count.

Differences Between Venomous and Non-venomous Snakes

Though every snakebite treatment should be handled as though it is a venomous snake bite, however, knowing the difference between the two could also go a long way in pinpointing and narrowing down what treatment needs to be given.

Identifying Venomous Snakes

Venomous snakes are snakes that carry poisons that can be extremely injurious to the health. They are very dangerous. Venomous snakes include;

• Rattlesnakes
• Vipers
• Adder
• Cobra

These venomous snakes have similar physical characteristics, and they include;

Triangular heads

Bright colors (though identification by color could be misleading sometimes)

A pit sitting between their eyes and nostrils on either side of the head

They have pupils that look like a slit in the center of their eyes

Specifically for rattlesnakes, there is always a rattling sound they make with their tails. It sounds like chains or babies’ toys are being clanged together.

Identifying Non-venomous Snakes

Non-venomous snakes include;

• Python
• Anaconda

The fact that the Anaconda and Python are non-venomous does not mean they are not dangerous. They have constriction strength and can coil around their prey, breaking their prey’s bones before swallowing them.

These non-venomous snakes have similar physical characteristics as well, and they include;

• Roundheads
• Round pupils (though there are exceptions to this; the coral snake, a very venomous snake in the United States has round pupils)

Symptoms of Snakebite

Some of these snakes live underwater, while some live on land. If you were in a field filled with grasses or a river, and you feel a sting on your any part of your body, the following are ways in which you can identify if the pain you felt was a snake bite or not.

• Two puncture wounds
• Bleeding and Change in skin color
• Swelling and pain around the puncture
• Convulsion and difficulty in breathing
• Numbness of the face
• Headache
• Weakness or even paralysis in some cases
• Thirst
• Vomiting
• Faint vision

First Aid Treatment for Snake Bites

After identifying that the sting you felt was from a snake, the next thing to do is quickly give first aid treatment to the victim before rushing to the hospital. First aid helps the victim buy more time. Keep the following in mind

• Calm the victim down, as panicking could increase the speed at which blood reaches the heart, and this is dangerous as the infected blood would reach the heart faster.
• Remove every form of constriction from the bite area, be it clothes or pieces of jewelry.
• With water and soap, clean the wound and then cover it with a dry dressing.
• Do not try sucking the venom out with your mouth.
• Do not raise the area of bite above the chest region.
• Do not use cut or a tourniquet in the area of the bite; these have been proven over time to be unhelpful and even harmful.
• Do not use ice on the surface of the bite.
• Do not give any medications unless under the directive of medical personnel.
• Do not try to capture the snake.
• Do not drink alcohol after a snake bite, it can worsen the condition.
• And most importantly, do not allow the victim to walk, transport them with a vehicle.

Home Remedy for Snakebites

• Lime: Bathe the wound immediately with the juice from a lime and a little water.
• Onions and salt: Mix onion juice with salt and apply the mixture on the wound’s surface. This mixture would irritate the skin and force the skin to discharge some fluids, including the poisoned blood. Chewing onions too immediately after the snake bite can also help reduce the speed at which the poison reaches the heart.
• Olive oil: Apply olive oil to the surface of the wound
• Bitter kola: This fruit has been proven to be very useful for suppressing and killing snake venom over centuries. All you need to do is;
• Chew about five to ten pieces of bitter kola. Research holds that you can urinate the poison out of your body. When you attempt to get rid of snakes in your home, throw bitter kola everywhere within and without the house. To also neutralize snake poison, bitter kola is very effective.

When to See a Doctor

You need to see a Doctor in all snakebite cases in order to prevent complications. First aid only buys you more time, it does not mean you should put a stop to treating the wound after first aid. Proceed to the hospital after first aid to seek for medical attention. Medications and appropriate drugs would be prescribed by the medical personnel. Do not give medications at home for snake bites without seeking the consent of medical personnel. Involving them would help reduce complications and fatality.

Preventing Snakes and Snake Bites

Prevention, they say, is better than cure. In most cases, snakes and snake bites are preventable, do one of the following, and live a life free of snakes.

• Throwing bitter cola around within your house and within the compound would help scare snakes away.
• Onions are very effective in scaring snakes away, sending them far away from your home.
• You can also spray chemicals within the compound to ward off snakes. Though some substances could be harmful to human health, you must take safety precautions while spraying them.
• Wear boots and thick clothing whenever you want to go to a farm, bush, or field.
• Avoid chasing of trying to kill a snake, except you can do so.
• Avoid holding or attempting to capture snakes. Leave them to go away.

In conclusion

Some snakes try to avoid humans, they attach when they feel threatened and need to defend themselves. Under no circumstance should assume that a snake is non-venomous, as wrong identification can be fatal and extremely harmful. Every snake bite requires medical attention, none should be treated wholly at home.

If you get in contact with a snake, leave it to walk away, be it that it bites you or not. This is one of the most enormous preventive measures from snake bites, as attacking the snake might turn out to be brutal or fatal for you.

If eventually, you fall victim to a snake bite, this article has within it richly explained details on how to identify snake bites. Identifying snakes bites could help the doctor determine what kind of treatment to be given to you.