Do carry a compression bandages but very rarely see any snakes. Coil scraping and banging rocks and they're usually long gone.
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That's my theory as well -make enough noise and they hide the gold doesn't run away.
I come accross the odd death adder in the area I have been working, usually when I flip over a piece of bark with my coil. Never had one strike at the coil, 2 reactions, one is they stay still and think they are invisible, or they scoot, and yep, death adders can move quickly when they panic.
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In the snake bite directions on google etc. It states that you start the bandage from the lower end of the limb bitten. Toes and fingers. If the bite is on say, your knee, then bandage it from the toes to the groin. I feel that if you start below the bite, and bandage upwards, that you would be pushing the venom upwards in the lymphatic system toward your heart and brain. Sort of, like squeezing a half empty tube of toothpaste from the bottom up to get the remaining paste out of the bottom of the tube upto the spout. Wouldn't it be better to bandage it downward to push the venom lower, or keep it near the bite? I've asked two so called snake experts, and they haven't been able to give me a definitive answer. Can anyone on here help? wiley.
Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) advice is:
1. Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage (PIB) directly over the bite site first to restrict lymphatic flow.
2. Apply a further PIB, starting from the lower extremities (finger or toes) up the limb, to help immobilise the limb & assist to further restrict lymphatic flow.
3. Splint the limb to further immobilise.
The ARC say starting from the lower extremities (distally) can cause some venom movement. My thinking is this would be minimised by a well placed initial PIB, as recommended, over the bite area anyway. This method has been found to be more comfortable over a prolonged period.
The ARC also suggests it's the lesser of 2x evils as they say starting from the high point (proximally) & working down can cause distal oedema/fluid retention. This method has also be found to be too uncomfortable for prolonged use.
As an aside they also say that if you are alone & cannot get assistance to you that you should apply the initial PIB over the bite area to restrict lymphatic flow & movement as much as possible. This alone can stop lymphatic flow for around 10mins while moving. Ideally though you would apply the initial PIB, then the secondary PIB + splint (as best you can), don't move & wait for assistance.
Most sensible comment on PIB technique I have ever read. In the unlikely event I do get bitten, and if I have added a bandage to my kit, I will do it your way. If I don't have a bandage, I will rip.up my shirt or something...
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mbasko. Thanks heaps for that info. It answered every question I put up there. I'll feel a lot better out there now, knowing the correct action to take if it happens. wiley.
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davent. I'd do the same. shirt or something. But not my underpants, as they'd be full of piss and crap by then, and if I wrapped them around the bite site, I could be introducing toxins into what could have been a dry bite!
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Funny cause undies have elastic, I’ve got a mate who looks like Fred flint stone after a week in the bush, apparently flanno is angel tears on the bright white skin.
DON’T MOVE! Important information for Aussies and tourists.
That bite of summer has well and truly come early this year and with the heat, comes snakes. 3000 bites are reported annually.300-500 hospitalisations. 2-3 deaths annually.
Average time to death is 12 hours. The urban myth that you are bitten in the yard and die before you can walk from your chook pen back to the house is a load of rubbish.While not new, the management of snake bite (like a flood/fire evacuation plan or CPR) should be refreshed each season.
Let’s start with a basic overview. There are five genus of snakes that will harm us (seriously)
Browns, Blacks (pictured, in Tarkeeth Forest), Death Adders, Tigers and Taipans. All snake venom is made up of huge proteins (like egg white). When bitten, a snake injects some venom into the meat of your limb (NOT into your blood). This venom can not be absorbed into the blood stream from the bite site.
It travels in a fluid transport system in your body called the lymphatic system (not the blood stream).
Now this fluid (lymph) is moved differently to blood.
Your heart pumps blood around, so even when you are lying dead still, your blood still circulates around the body. Lymph fluid is different. It moves around with physical muscle movement like bending your arm, bending knees, wriggling fingers and toes, walking/exercise etc.
Now here is the thing. Lymph fluid becomes blood after these lymph vessels converge to form one of two large vessels (lymphatic trunks)which are connected to veins at the base of the neck.
Back to the snake bite site. When bitten, the venom has been injected into this lymph fluid (which makes up the bulk of the water in your tissues).
The only way that the venom can get into your blood stream is to be moved from the bite site in the lymphatic vessels. The only way to do this is to physically move the limbs that were bitten. Stay still!!! Venom can’t move if the victim doesn’t move. Stay still!!
Remember people are not bitten into their blood stream.
In the 1980s a technique called Pressure immobilisation bandaging was developed to further retard venom movement. It completely stops venom /lymph transport toward the blood stream. A firm roll bandage is applied directly over the bite site (don’t wash the area).
Technique: Three steps: keep them still
Step 1: Apply a bandage over the bite site, to an area about 10cm above and below the bite.
Step 2: Then using another elastic roller bandage, apply a firm wrap from Fingers/toes all the way to the armpit/groin. The bandage needs to be firm, but not so tight that it causes fingers or toes to turn purple or white. About the tension of a sprain bandage.
Step 3: Splint the limb so the patient can’t walk or bend the limb.
Do nots: Do not cut, incise or suck the venom. Do not EVER use a tourniquet. Don’t remove the shirt or pants - just bandage over the top of clothing.Remember movement (like wriggling out of a shirt or pants) causes venom movement. DO NOT try to catch, kill or identify the snake!!!
This is important. In hospital we NO LONGER NEED to know the type of snake; it doesn’t change treatment.
5 years ago we would do a test on the bite, blood or urine to identify the snake so the correct anti venom can be used. BUT NOW...we don’t do this. The new Antivenom neutralises the venoms of all the 5 listed snake genus, so it doesn’t matter what snake bit the patient.
Read that again - one injection for all snakes!
Polyvalent is our one shot wonder, stocked in all hospitals, so most hospitals no longer stock specific Antivenins.
Australian snakes tend to have 3 main effects in differing degrees. Bleeding - internally and bruising.
Muscles paralysed causing difficulty talking, moving & breathing.Pain In some snakes severe muscle pain in the limb, and days later the bite site can break down forming a nasty wound. Allergy to snakes is rarer than winning lotto twice.
Final tips: not all bitten people are envenomated and only those starting to show symptoms above are given antivenom. Did I mention to stay still?
Written by Rob Timmings - Kingston/Robe Health Advisory
Rob runs a medical/nursing education business teaching nurses, doctors and paramedics.
https://taswildlife.org/snake-bite-... to death is,should be refreshed each season.
That bite of summer has well and truly come early this year and with the heat, comes snakes. 3000 bites are reported annually.300-500 hospitalisations. 2-3 deaths annually.
Average time to death is 12 hours. The urban myth that you are bitten in the yard and die before you can walk from your chook pen back to the house is a load of rubbish.While not new, the management of snake bite (like a flood/fire evacuation plan or CPR) should be refreshed each season.
Let’s start with a basic overview. There are five genus of snakes that will harm us (seriously)
Browns, Blacks (pictured, in Tarkeeth Forest), Death Adders, Tigers and Taipans. All snake venom is made up of huge proteins (like egg white). When bitten, a snake injects some venom into the meat of your limb (NOT into your blood). This venom can not be absorbed into the blood stream from the bite site.
It travels in a fluid transport system in your body called the lymphatic system (not the blood stream).
Now this fluid (lymph) is moved differently to blood.
Your heart pumps blood around, so even when you are lying dead still, your blood still circulates around the body. Lymph fluid is different. It moves around with physical muscle movement like bending your arm, bending knees, wriggling fingers and toes, walking/exercise etc.
Now here is the thing. Lymph fluid becomes blood after these lymph vessels converge to form one of two large vessels (lymphatic trunks)which are connected to veins at the base of the neck.
Back to the snake bite site. When bitten, the venom has been injected into this lymph fluid (which makes up the bulk of the water in your tissues).
The only way that the venom can get into your blood stream is to be moved from the bite site in the lymphatic vessels. The only way to do this is to physically move the limbs that were bitten. Stay still!!! Venom can’t move if the victim doesn’t move. Stay still!!
Remember people are not bitten into their blood stream.
In the 1980s a technique called Pressure immobilisation bandaging was developed to further retard venom movement. It completely stops venom /lymph transport toward the blood stream. A firm roll bandage is applied directly over the bite site (don’t wash the area).
Technique: Three steps: keep them still
Step 1: Apply a bandage over the bite site, to an area about 10cm above and below the bite.
Step 2: Then using another elastic roller bandage, apply a firm wrap from Fingers/toes all the way to the armpit/groin. The bandage needs to be firm, but not so tight that it causes fingers or toes to turn purple or white. About the tension of a sprain bandage.
Step 3: Splint the limb so the patient can’t walk or bend the limb.
Do nots: Do not cut, incise or suck the venom. Do not EVER use a tourniquet. Don’t remove the shirt or pants - just bandage over the top of clothing.Remember movement (like wriggling out of a shirt or pants) causes venom movement. DO NOT try to catch, kill or identify the snake!!!
This is important. In hospital we NO LONGER NEED to know the type of snake; it doesn’t change treatment.
5 years ago we would do a test on the bite, blood or urine to identify the snake so the correct anti venom can be used. BUT NOW...we don’t do this. The new Antivenom neutralises the venoms of all the 5 listed snake genus, so it doesn’t matter what snake bit the patient.
Read that again - one injection for all snakes!
Polyvalent is our one shot wonder, stocked in all hospitals, so most hospitals no longer stock specific Antivenins.
Australian snakes tend to have 3 main effects in differing degrees. Bleeding - internally and bruising.
Muscles paralysed causing difficulty talking, moving & breathing.Pain In some snakes severe muscle pain in the limb, and days later the bite site can break down forming a nasty wound. Allergy to snakes is rarer than winning lotto twice.
Final tips: not all bitten people are envenomated and only those starting to show symptoms above are given antivenom. Did I mention to stay still?
Written by Rob Timmings - Kingston/Robe Health Advisory
Rob runs a medical/nursing education business teaching nurses, doctors and paramedics.
https://taswildlife.org/snake-bite-... to death is,should be refreshed each season.
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Yes I always carry a snake kit see about 20 to 30 a year have had some close calls about 1 a year as I do mowing and slashing nearly stepping on them. mostly brown and the odd red belly back
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