WITH the warm weather continuing for WA, St John Ambulance is advising people to be vigilant when outdoors with snakes continuing to be active.
There have been plenty of snake bite incidents reported in rural WA already this summer, with one recently at Williams and another person having a lucky escape after being bitten by a death adder at Tom Price.
Fortunately in both these recent cases, that involved children, they were dry bites, meaning there was no venom infection.
St John State Operations Centre general manager Phil Martin said if anyone was bitten by a snake they should call triple zero (000) immediately.
“Traditionally we attend to more cases of snake bites in spring and early summer with 104 people treated for snake bites last financial year,” Mr Martin said.
“Australia has around 100 snakes that are venomous and although there are only 12 species whose venom can kill, all snake bites should be treated as potentially life threatening and treated as a medical emergency.
“While waiting for paramedics to arrive, keep the patient still and calm, lay them flat and wrap a bandage over the site of the bite, then apply a pressure bandage – starting from the fingers or toes and wrap upwards as far as you can go.”
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Mr Martin said snake bite symptoms included difficulty breathing, speaking or swallowing, headaches, impaired vision, nausea and drowsiness,.
“It’s important to keep a close eye on the patient until the ambulance arrives,” he said.
“If you intend to travel or venture out in the great outdoors we would recommend you learn some basic first-aid, or at the very least, arm yourself with a first-aid kit that includes a first-aid guide and items such as pressure bandages.”
- To find out more about first-aid for snake bites visit stjohn.com.au