It might sound like frequent sense – don’t take a snake to a hospital.
But Queensland well being officers have issued the weird warning after a regarding rise in snake-bite victims bringing the reptile accountable to emergency departments.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service is urging locals to cease the alarming pattern after a number of cases in recent months of sufferers arriving with a snake in a plastic container.
Among them was one person who introduced in a particularly venomous jap brown snake.
The chew victims had mistakenly believed bringing the snake would assist hospital employees determine the reptile and what antivenom to make use of.
“We are not wildlife professionals and therefore are not trained to identify a snake even if you bring it to us,” Bundaberg Hospital’s director of Emergency Medicine Adam Michael stated.
“Bringing snakes to the emergency department puts not only you but also our staff and other patients at risk.”
Almost 100 individuals, some victims as young as one, have been handled for snake bites within the Wide Bay district, north of Brisbane, already this yr.
“We have seen several individuals arriving with live snakes following snake bite incidents, posing serious safety risks to themselves, healthcare providers, and other patients,” Michael stated.
“Such actions not only endanger lives but also hinder timely treatment.”
Health care employees say they’re really in a position to determine if a affected person wants antivenom with out seeing the reptile accountable.
“We can determine if you need antivenom, and if so, which antivenom, by using clinical signs, blood tests, and snake venom detection kits, which we have at the hospital,” Michael stated.
“Attempts to catch or kill snakes put you and others at much higher risk of bites.”
Michael urged people who find themselves bitten to stay calm, keep away from cleansing or transferring the affected space and apply a agency stress bandage. They ought to name an ambulance or get to a hospital ASAP – and keep away from the snake.
“Most snake bites occur because someone has gone out of their way to interact with that animal,” Michael stated.
– AAP
