According to the local tabloids two children have died in
the first week of July from separate incidents of snake bites.
Both were bitten by “a black snake”, but no specific
species was mentioned, although one snake was very small and
one over a meter long. Unfortunately neither child was immediately
taken to a medical facility after the bite. Late treatment
could have cost them their lives. Besides this, one boy was
actually “playing” with the meter long snake when
both he and his friend were bitten. (I would probably bite
as well if you were to swing me around by the tail). So the
lesson we learn from these unfortunate incidents is:
l Seek medical attention immediately after being bitten by
the snake, regardless of whether you feel fine or not (especially
if you don’t know what kind of snake it was, or whether
the snake had actually envenomated).
· Very small, young snakes can be more dangerous than
mature snakes. They do not have as much control on how much
venom they release, so they release ALL of it.
· Teach you children / staff well. LEAVE SNAKES ALONE.
· Train yourself, your staff, & children in first
aid.
We also see in local papers that Sanglah frequently does not
have any anti-venom in stock. The Bali Reptile Park however
does have the general snake antivenin, as well as a specific
Cobra antivenin. So my suggestion if you have a snake bite
victim would still be to go to medical facility, but contact
the Reptile Park as well to see if they can help you with
the serum.
There are over half a dozen kinds of venomous snakes that
are native to the island of Bali. All snake will attempt to
avoid biting humans, but many will do so in defense if deliberately
provoked or accidentally disturbed. The most obvious way to
treat a potential snaked bite then, is to avoid being bitted
in the first place.
The message here is quite clear. Leave snakes alone where
possible and never try to taunt, catch or kill a snake. Should
you have the misfortune to have been bitten by one of these
creatures there are several first aid treatments that you
can implement until medical attention is available. Remember
that:
· While snakes will not always “envenomate”
(inject poison) when they bite, it must be assumed that they
did. (Some snake venom will cause little immediate effect,
but may cause life threatening reactions minutes or hours
after the bite).
· While not all snakes have a venomous bite, it must
be assumed that the snake is venomous unless the species of
the snake is known (for example pet snakes that have benign
bites such as the ever popular python).
· Never waste time on snake identification or looking
for first aid equipment. Get to a medical facilty ASAP.
The principal of first aid for snake bite is firstly to avoid
distribution of the venom, and secondly to reduce chance of
infection at the puncture site. Here are some common sense
first aid tips to remember should you or yours ever have a
nasty encounter:
1. Allow bite to bleed freely for 15-30 secs.
2. Cleanse and rapidly disinfect area with Betadine (assuming
you’re not allergic to iodine).
3. If the bite is on the hand, finger, foot or toe, wrap leg/arm
rapidly with 3” to 6” crepe bandage past the knee
or elbow joint immobilizing it (you can improvise by using
a sarong, scarf, towel or other piece of wide fabric). Leave
the area of fang marks open. Wrap the bandage no tighter than
you would for a sprain. Make sure pulses in the ankle or wrist
are present.
4. Apply hard direct pressure over bite using a gauze pad
or clean piece of fabric. Soak gauze pad in betadiine solution
if available. Strap gauze pad tightly in place with adhesive
tape
5. Immobilize bitten extremity, use splinting if available.
6. Try to stay calm and do not cause the victim to panic.
Panic states will raise the victim’s heart rate causing
faster distribution of the venom.
7. If possible, try and keep bitten extremity at heart level
or in a gravity-neutral position. Raising it above heart level
can cause venom to travel into the body. Holding it down,
below heart level can increase swelling.
8. Go to nearest hospital or medical facility as soon as possible
9. Try and identify, kill and bring (ONLY if safe to do so)
of fending snake. This is the least important thing you should
do. Visual identification/description usually suffices.
10. Bites to face, torso or buttocks are more of a problem.
Apply pressure with a betadine soaked pad to the bite and
seek medical attention immediately.
11. If the victim has been injected with a “neurotoxin”
(nerve poison) that is characteristic of the cobra or Malayan
krait, it may be necessary to assist the victims breathing
by performing mouth to mouth resuscitation until such time
as the victim can be given assistance at a medical facility.
* Note: If you do not have betadine or gauze pads do not waste
time looking for them. The most important message here is
to get to a medical facility A.S.A.P.
To view the full information on snakebite please go to the
Bali Advertiser website www.BaliAdvertiser.biz. For excellent
snake and visual identification information please go to http://www.toxinology.com/
Bali Reptile Park
Gianyar : 299 344
Tabanan : 829353
“Kim Patra is a qualified Registered Nurse and Midwife
that has been living and working in Bali for almost twenty
years. She now runs her own private practice and medical referral
service from her Kuta office. Kim is happy to discuss any
health concerns with you and she may be contacted via e-mail
at info@chcbali.com or Hp. 081 2366 0000”.
