How to treat bites from venomous animals?
In daily life, people inevitably encounter many animals. Most are harmless, but many are harmful and even contain toxic substances themselves. What should you do if bitten by a venomous animal? The following introduces several first-aid methods for common bites from venomous animals:
First aid for spider bites:
In daily life, people often see spiders and may find them terrifying. However, only some spiders pose a dangerous threat to humans. Two of these venomous spiders are the black widow and the brown recluse. If bitten by a brown recluse or a black widow:
1. If the wound is on an arm or leg, you can apply a gentle bandage above the wound to slow or even stop the spread of venom. Ensure the bandage is not tied too tightly, as this would impede blood circulation in the arm or leg.
2. Apply a cool compress to the wound. You can use a cloth soaked in ice water, or add ice cubes to the cloth.
3. Seek medical care. For victims of a black widow bite, hospitals will administer antivenom. For victims of a brown recluse bite, doctors will typically use corticosteroids for treatment.
First aid for bites from venomous insects:
The hot summer has arrived, and mosquitoes and insects are starting to appear in our living areas. What should you do if bitten by venomous mosquitoes or insects? The following are some emergency methods for reference.
If bitten by venomous mosquitoes or insects, you can repeatedly apply cooling oil, medicated balm, or safflower oil to the affected area. If you have a three-edged needle, you can also first prick to release blood, squeeze out the yellowish fluid and venom, and then apply the aforementioned medicines for a better effect. If stung by a scorpion, hornet, or bee, be sure to first pierce the sting site with a sharp needle, squeeze the swelling to expel as much venom and fluid as possible, then wash the wound with alkaline water, or apply soap water, baking soda water, or ammonia. If no needle is available, you can also mix flour into a paste with kerosene and apply it to the affected area to detoxify, relieve itching, reduce swelling, and alleviate pain. Alternatively, grinding two aspirin tablets into a powder and mixing it with cool water into a paste to apply to the affected area is also effective.
However, if a leech bites you, do not panic and pull forcefully. You can slap it hard with your palm or the sole of your shoe. After intense slapping, the leech's sucker and jaws will naturally release. Leeches are very afraid of salt; sprinkle some salt on it or drop a few drops of salt water, and it will immediately contract and fall off.
Additionally, in folk remedies, you can mash scallion leaves, scallion bulbs, or garlic into a paste and apply it to the affected area. You can also repeatedly apply fresh milk to the sting site, or use fresh prickly pear, washed and destemmed, mashed into a paste and applied to the wound. These methods all have antibacterial, anti-itch, detoxifying, pain-relieving, and anti-swelling effects. If you usually catch scorpions or hornets, you can soak them in liquor for later use. If someone is stung, applying the prepared liquor to the wound is also very effective.
First aid for bee stings:
After being stung by a bee, its stinger will remain in the skin. You must use a sterilized needle to remove the embedded stinger, then firmly pinch the stung area and repeatedly suck with your mouth to draw out the venom. If there are no medicines available, you can thoroughly wash the affected area with soap water, then apply some vinegar or lemon.
In the event of shock, while notifying the emergency center or on the way to the hospital, be sure to maintain a clear airway and perform first aid measures such as artificial respiration and cardiac massage.
Precautions
After being stung by a venomous bee, applying ammonia to the affected area is basically ineffective because the histamine in bee venom cannot be neutralized by ammonia.
Wasps are venomous, but bees are not. After being stung by a bee, you must also first remove the broken stinger. The difference in treatment from a wasp sting is that you can apply ammonia, baking soda water, or soap water to the wound.
If there are no symptoms 20 minutes after being stung by a bee, you can rest assured.
First aid for fish gallbladder poisoning:
1. Digestive system: Nausea and vomiting, dull and cramping abdominal pain, diarrhea, pain in the liver area, liver enlargement, and jaundice.
2. Urinary system: Back pain, oliguria, edema, proteinuria, and microscopic examination of urine shows casts and red blood cells, leading to even kidney failure.
3. Circulatory system: Blood pressure first rises then falls, heart has a gallop rhythm, shock.
4. Nervous system: Clouded consciousness, delirium, restlessness, convulsions, and even coma.
First aid:
1. The patient should lie in bed for quiet rest, with dedicated supervision. Drink plenty of water and have a low-protein, low-salt diet.
2. If there is edema, temporarily restrict salt and water intake.
3. Severe cases require immediate hospitalization for emergency treatment.
First aid for mad dog bites:
As people's living standards improve, dogs have become pets for some people. Little do they know that dogs can spread a terrifying disease—rabies. Sometimes cats can also transmit this disease. This is because after a dog is infected with the rabies virus, it becomes a mad dog, becoming restless day and night, running around and barking randomly, and biting anyone it encounters. After the rabies virus invades the human body, if not treated in time, the mortality rate is almost 100%. Therefore, it is very important to prevent rabies and provide on-site first aid.
After being bitten by a mad dog, there is generally a latent period of 3-4 weeks, which can even last for several years in some cases. The danger is that some mad dogs are in the latent stage of the disease without showing any symptoms, but the deadly virus is already present in their saliva. Once bitten by such a dog and failing to seek medical attention in time, it is extremely dangerous. The poisoning symptoms are as follows:
(1) Limb paralysis, generally leading to death 5-7 days after onset.
(2) The bite site is often irregular, with varying depths, causing bleeding and swelling.
(3) Spasms of the respiratory and swallowing muscles occur, leading to difficulty breathing and swallowing, and "hydrophobia" (fear of water) appears.
(4) Hyperreflexia. Muscle spasms in the limbs and trunk, even rigidity, eventually leading to paralysis and death.
First aid:
(1) Wash the wound
Immediately flush the wound continuously with 20% soap water or clean water for at least half an hour; then apply 70% alcohol to the wound and bandage it. If there is no water source on-site, you can use mineral water (in an emergency, urine can be used) to wash the wound. This can minimize the absorption of the virus.
(2) Inject rabies vaccine
The injection should be given as early as possible, generally within 24 hours of being bitten by a dog. Because after vaccination, it usually takes at least 15 days to produce antitoxin. This is very beneficial for neutralizing the rabies virus in the patient's body. The method is one injection per day, with injection sites being the abdomen, buttocks, subscapular area, and thighs, alternating for subcutaneous injection, for a total of 14-21 injections.
(3) Inject rabies immune serum
This is an active antibody. It can directly neutralize the virus in the body and works synergistically with the rabies vaccine, completely eliminating the rabies virus and thus providing a preventive effect.
First aid for rat bites:
Rat bites occasionally occur, mainly in infants. This is because infants' skin and muscles are delicate and carry a strong milky scent, which easily attracts rats. At the same time, infants have no ability to defend themselves, so they are often bitten by rats while sleeping soundly.
In adults, it often occurs when chasing a rat. The rat may bite when cornered or when it has been caught. After being bitten by a rat, the following symptoms may appear:
(1) Local symptoms
The bite wound from a rat is small, but local symptoms of infection such as redness, swelling, pain, and heat may occur.
(2) Systemic symptoms
Such as general fatigue, recurrent fever, and swollen lymph nodes.
First aid:
(1) Clean the wound
Immediately rinse the wound with clean water, promptly squeeze out any dirty blood from the wound, and then disinfect with hydrogen peroxide.
(2) Local treatment
Take fresh mint leaves, wash them, crush them to extract the juice, and apply it to the affected area to relieve pain, itching, and swelling.
First aid for venomous snake bites:
When traveling in the wild, people may encounter many wild animals. What should you do if bitten by a venomous snake?
1. Stay calm
Do not panic and run around for help, as this will accelerate the spread of venom. Try to identify the characteristics of the snake as much as possible. Do not let the victim consume stimulants like alcohol, strong tea, or coffee.
2. Apply a tourniquet immediately
Use a tourniquet to tie 5-10 cm above the wound on the side closer to the heart. If no tourniquet is available, you can use a towel, handkerchief, or a torn cloth strip. When tying, do not make it too tight; you should be able to fit one finger underneath. The principle should be to stop venous and lymphatic flow without obstructing arterial blood flow (different from a tourniquet used to stop arterial bleeding). Loosen it for one minute every two hours. The previous concept was to loosen for 30 seconds to 1 minute every 15-30 minutes, but the clinical situation determines the actual need. If the swelling around the wound expands rapidly, check if the bandage is too tight. The application time should be shortened, and the relaxation time increased to prevent tissue necrosis.
3. Wash and incise the wound, and suck appropriately
Before making an incision, you must first clean the wound with physiological saline, distilled water, or clean water if necessary. After cleaning, make a cross-shaped incision on the wound with a sterile blade, and use a suction device to suck out the venom. The rescuer should avoid sucking the venom directly with their mouth, as this may cause poisoning if there are wounds in the mouth. Take snake venom tablets (e.g., Nantong Jidesheng snake venom tablets) orally, or dissolve the tablets in water to form a paste and apply it around the wound.
4. Seek immediate medical attention
Unless it is certain to be a non-venomous snake bite, it should be treated as a venomous snake bite and taken to a medical facility with serum for further treatment.