Tuesday 22 May 2012

Adder Bite

We are seeing more adders in the hills at the moment, so it seemed a good idea to get some advice on what to do in the very rare event that someone is bitten. What follows is based on detailed information provided by one of our Emergency Responders, Sam Harding. His full document is available for download at the end of this post.

For most people, an adder bite is little worse than a severe bee sting. But symptoms may include

  • severe pain at the location of the bite

  • swelling, redness and bruising at the location of the bite

  • nausea (feeling sick), vomiting, diarrhoea

  • itchy lumps on the skin, swelling of the lips, tongue and gums

  • breathing difficulties with wheezing

  • mental confusion, dizziness or fainting

  • irregular heartbeat

If someone is bitten

  • Do not panic and try to remain calm. Snake bites, particularly those that occur in the UK, are rarely serious and very rarely fatal

  • Keep the bitten body part as still as possible, this will prevent the venom spreading around your body. You may want to secure the bitten part with a sling. However, do not make sling or splint so tight that it restricts the blood flow

  • Try to remember the shape, size, and colour of the snake

  • Remove jewellery and watches from the bitten limb

Sam's advice is to contact the emergency services even if the bite is 'dry' - that is, no poison seems to have been injected. The problem with snake bite is that the patient may go into shock, and even suffer anaphylaxis - that is, a severe allergic reaction - some time after the event. It is particularly important to contact the emergency services if the victim is a child as, the smaller the body volume, the more concentrated the venom is in the bloodstream.

Sam's document (PDF, 790KB) is available for download here.
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous26 May 2012 at 10:49

    To say that an adder bite is no worse than a sting is utter nonsence, it can be potentially fatal ,I have been bitten twice, the last time I was 12 hours in my tent ,and could not move for the pain , my Doctor said that I was lucky to be alive, lets hear no more amateur advice ,on adder bites

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  2. Jon26 May 2012 at 15:01

    From the NHS website; "Adder bites can be painful but they are rarely serious. About 7 out of 10 adder bites only result in pain and swelling in the area that has been bitten. Since records began in 1876 there have only been 14 reported deaths as a result of adder bites, with the last death occurring in 1975."

    The main point made in the blog entry was, however, that emergency medical advice should be obtained as soon as possible IN ALL CASES since different people react in different ways to a bite. At the same time, a balance has to be struck: the more a victim worries about an adder bite, the more likely there are to be problems.

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