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SYDNEY - A toxicologist has outlined the best treatment for snake bites, a day after an eastern brown caused the death of a Sydney teenager.
In the medical journal Australian Prescriber, Dr Geoff Isbister, a toxicologist with the New South Wales and Queensland Poisons Information Centres, said that treatment includes the patient remaining completely still.
It is believed the 16-year-old boy's trek for help with a friend in hot conditions may have advanced the spread of the snake's deadly venom through his body.
Between 500 and 3000 snake bites occur each year in Australia, Isbister estimates, causing between one and four deaths. No matter what the snake, every bite should be treated with extreme caution. "Many snake bites do not result in an injection of venom, but whether this has occurred cannot be immediately determined so patients must be kept under observation."
Patients should apply a broad bandage, and remain completely still. The bandage should only be removed once the patient is in a hospital stocked with antivenom. The bite should not be washed so the area can be swabbed to detect the venom.
- AAP
