Latest news with #snakebite
ABC News
a day ago
- Health
- ABC News
King brown snake bite far from medical help 'terrifying' says survivor
A woman says she is grateful to have survived her "worst nightmare" after being bitten by a highly venomous snake in a remote community in Western Australia's far north. Ngaanyatjarra Wangkatjungka woman Catherine Ridley was around a campfire with family late on Friday night in Yakanarra community, 2,400 kilometres north of Perth, when she felt something bite her toe. "I didn't know what it was and all I knew is it was something. It didn't feel right and it was a bad bite," she said. "I screamed and chucked the blanket and ran [and got a torch] and I yelled out to my son and his partner. Her family killed the snake and identified it as a king brown, or mulga, a highly venomous snake common in the Kimberley region. "My partner's son put me on a bed because I needed to lay down and stay calm. They got me all settled and secured until they could work out a plan," Ms Ridley said. Yakanarra Community School principal Brendan Hodge said it was around midnight when he got a knock on the door, alerting him someone had been bitten. "They already laid her down and already wrapped up the snake bite, I placed some pressure bandages up her leg and we spoke to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who took it from there," he said. "A baby king brown [is] by all reports more venomous than a mature king brown. This definitely was only a baby king brown. "We certainly were quite concerned." Common symptoms of king brown bites include pain and swelling, nausea and vomiting. While the RFDS were contacted immediately they were unable to land at Yakanarra due to "safety concerns", citing the airstrip did not have adequate lighting for night operations. Ms Ridley said she was driven more than 70 kilometres by her partner, and then an ambulance to Fitzroy Crossing airport where the RFDS was waiting to transport her to Broome Hospital. "I was scared and feeling very anxious. When you have a snake bite you can't have those feelings of being anxious, you gotta be calm," she said. "I was starting to get nervous, it was so late. There's all sorts of things that can happen, like a flat tyre. Anything can happen between leaving the community and meeting the ambulance. "Then there's the [phone] reception. if there's no reception, how are you going to contact someone in the night? All that was running through my mind." Ms Ridley has now been discharged from Broome Hospital in a stable condition. While Ms Ridley said being bitten by the snake was her "worst nightmare" she was grateful to everyone who helped and was a warning to others in remote areas to remain vigilant. "It's the distance, things can happen, and that's in the nature — there's snakes, spiders, and we have to be prepared for that sort of stuff," she said. "I just want to send a message to families and friends in all those Aboriginal communities to be aware. It's warming up now and snakes are out and about." While it was the first snakebite Mr Hodge had responded to during his three years in Yakanarra, he said snakes were commonly sighted in the community. "In the school area we have seen quite a few snakes. Over the last three years luckily we have no snake bite incidences," he said. "Everyone in the community is very snake aware. It just is what it is when you're living remote.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Outer Banks EMT bitten by venomous snake while walking dog
NAGS HEAD, Va. (WAVY) — A Dare Country EMT is recovering after being bitten by a venomous snake last weekend. Ethan White told 10 On Your Side he was walking his dog with his fiancée on a trail in Nags Head Woods Preserve last Saturday morning when it happened. 'I like, kind of went off the trail to tie my shoe, and I bent over and never saw it until I was bitten on the hand, and I kind of like, staggered backwards,' White said. 'It's kind of like when you cut yourself with a sharp knife. You don't notice it, [then] it'll start throbbing later.' White snapped a picture of the snake, which doctors believe is a cottonmouth. His fiancée rushed him over to the nearby hospital, where a long road to recovery officially began. He said he initially had an allergic reaction to the type of antivenom they gave him, so they had to take a different approach. 'They sent me to Norfolk, and where I got, I think, four treatments of CroFab, which is another type of antivenom,' White said. 'There, I did two days in the ICU (intensive care unit) and one day in a med surg unit, and I got released.' The advanced EMT and former volunteer firefighter is usually on the other end of these types of situations. He is now been at home working to get better since the bite, and is seeing a hand specialist Friday to figure out a treatment plan going forward 'At the moment, I can articulate the base joint, and then the rest of it doesn't really move,' White said. 'Depending on what they find there will be whether or not we go in for surgery, or we kind of let it run its course.' His mom started a for the first responder as he works through this time. It's raised over $12,000 so far, and White said he is grateful for the support. 'The community has really come together and really helped me and my family out a lot during this process,' White said. 'So, I don't have enough words to say thank you,' White said. He is currently studying to become a paramedic, but he said this snake bite won't slow him down. 'I will say one of our chiefs has one less a finger, and he does his job to a T,' White said. 'So I'm sure if worse comes to worst, I lost a finger, I'd probably still be able to find ways to do the job.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
29-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
One year old 'wonder boy' wey bite cobra snake to death
Dis one year old boy don turn local celeb afta tori comot say im bite poisonous cobra snake to death for July 24. Little Govind Kumar bin dey play for im family garden for Mohchi Bankatwa for Bihar state India, wey dey close to border wit Nepal wen im see di snake. "Im mama bin dey work for di back garden,' na so im grandma Matisari Devi tok. "E catch di snake and use teeth bite am. We come notice say na cobra snake" na so Govind loose consciousness dat time, im family rush am go local hospital. "Wen we admit di child, im face bin swell up especially im mouth side," na wetin Dr Kumar Saurabh tok. Im be di doctor wey treat Govind for Goment Medical College for Bettiah wey be capital of Bihar. E tok say dat same day im also treat anoda pikin wey cobra snake bite. Say both pikins now dey healthy. Dr Saurabh explain say though di two cases dey harmful to humans, one dey much more dangerous. "Wen cobra bite human, im venom dey enta human bloodstream and cause neurotoxicity wey dey affect our nervous system. Dis fit lead to death," na so e tell BBC. "Wen humun bite cobra, di poison go reach our digestive system. Di human body go neutralize am and di poison go pass through." Na wetin Dr Saurabh tok. E add say e for dey worst if to say di pikin get bleeding points for im digestive tract. India na home to nearly 300 snake species and more dan 60 of dem get venom and cobra dey considered as one of di most dangerous among dem. Dem don mark di kontri as 'di snakebite capital of di world" and di rate of death by snakebites don increase due to di Monsoon season. World Health Organization (WHO) estimate say around 81,000 to 130,000 pipo dey die sake of snake bites worldwide evri year. Between 2000 and 2019, average of 58,000 pipo dey die of snake bites for India per year according to WHO. But di number of deaths wey snakebite cause for di kontri still dey widely underreported sake of lack of access to medical care for areas wia di incidents dey happun, according to India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Malay Mail
29-07-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Indian toddler bites three-foot cobra to death after snake coils around his arm
KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — A two-year-old boy in India has shocked his community after he bit a cobra to death when it coiled around his arm while he was playing outside, according to the Daily Mail. Govinda Kumar was in the yard near his home in Bankatwa village, in Bihar's West Champaran district, when the venomous snake lunged at him and wrapped itself tightly around his hand. Relatives said the toddler had earlier thrown a piece of brick at the snake. In response, the cobra attacked—only for Govinda to bite its head, killing it on the spot. 'When we saw the snake in the child's hand, everyone rushed towards him, but in the meantime, he already bit the snake, killing it,' said his grandmother, Mateshwari Devi. Govinda reportedly lost consciousness soon after and was rushed to a local health centre, before being transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) in Bettiah. Doctors confirmed the snake died from injuries to its head and mouth, believed to be caused by the boy's bite. Dr Surab Kumar, who is treating Govinda, said the venom did affect the child, but 'not fatally' and that 'timely treatment saved Govinda's life.' The child is currently in stable condition and remains under close observation. Anti-allergy medication has been administered, and doctors are monitoring him for any delayed effects of the venom. The Telegraph reported that doctors were initially sceptical and verified with the boy's parents multiple times to ensure the child had not been bitten.
The Independent
29-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘Killed it on the spot': Toddler bites cobra to death after it coiled around his hands
An infant in the northern Indian state of Bihar reportedly bit a cobra to death after it coiled around his hands. The one-year-old boy, identified only by his first name Govinda, bit the cobra while he was playing at his home in the small town of Bettiah near the Indo-Nepal border, according to local news reports. "When we saw the snake in the child's hand, everyone rushed towards him, but in the meantime, he already bit the snake, killing it on the spot," the child's grandmother told local news. After biting the snake, the boy fainted and was rushed to a primary health care centre for initial treatment, after which he was taken to the town's Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH). 'The boy, Govind Kumar, was referred here yesterday by the primary health centre close to his village where he was rushed by family members after he fainted soon after chewing on the live snake,' hospital superintendent Duvakant Mishra told Indian Express. The venom's effects were reportedly mild, only knocking the boy unconscious, but not fatal. "Timely treatment saved Govinda's life," Saurabh Kumar, a doctor of the government hospital, told the Times of India. "The child's condition is currently stable and treatment is being administered under the supervision of doctors. The medical team is treating the child, providing continuous medication, and he is under observation,' Dr Kumar said. Govinda reportedly is being closely monitored at GMCH Bettiah with treatment for poisoning expected to start if he started showing any symptoms, according to local news reports. India has around 300 species of snakes, including 60 highly venomous snakes such as the Russell's vipers, kraits, and the saw-scaled viper, which are responsible for most of the bite-related deaths. The Indian cobra completes this list of the "big four" species responsible for the most snakebites in India. The country recorded over a million snake bite deaths in just two decades from 2000-19, according to a study published in 2020 in the journal eLife. More than two-thirds of the recorded deaths came from eight of India's 28 states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
