Buying a viper as a pet, a 13-year-old boy has an emergency because of a snake bite

06/05/2022 14:33 GMT+7

The patient is a 13-year-old boy from Hanoi. According to his mother, her son loves to raise animals and sometimes learns about animals online. Two weeks before being admitted to the hospital, the child hid from family members and ordered three vipers online to raise at home.

Around 3:30 p.m. on May 3, 2022, when the child changed the cage for the snake in his own room, the process of moving the snake, the child used an iron rod to grab the snake to another box, but while closing the box to raise the snake, he was bitten by a snake. to the index finger.

After the accident, the child ran to report to his family and was rushed into the room to check, when he found 03 snakes that he bought online in a box and hidden in a closet. After the accident, the family immediately took the child to the National Children’s Hospital for emergency treatment.

“I just thought that my child just loved to learn about animals online and never thought that my child could buy this kind of snake and take it home so easily” – the patient’s mother is still shocked. To share.

TS.BS Le Ngoc Duy – Head of Emergency Department of Poison Control, National Hospital of Pediatrics said: The patient was admitted to the hospital in a state of consciousness but tired, although he had just been bitten by a snake, his right hand was swollen, bruised and bleeding. index finger bleeding, pain…

Doctors from the Emergency Department of Poison Control – National Children’s Hospital have determined that the patient’s injury was caused by a venomous snake bite. Through questioning, it was known that the red-tailed viper was bitten by a red-tailed viper, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. little boy holding as pet biting right index finger.

Immediately, the patient was treated by doctors with anti-viper venom serum, anti-inflammatory and antibiotics to prevent wound infection…

Currently, after 1 day of active treatment, his health is gradually stabilizing. It is expected that some children can be discharged from the hospital in the next few days.

Image of a baby boy snake.

According to TS.BS Le Ngoc Duy, when a child is bitten by a poisonous snake or suspected of being bitten by a venomous snake, it is necessary to take proper first aid measures such as:

If bitten by a venomous snake, immediately call the nearest emergency number to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment with a specific antivenom serum, especially when the wound has fangs or signs of discoloration, starting painful swelling.

Snake bite wound.

While waiting for the help of medical staff, first aid steps should be taken when bitten by a venomous snake to slow down and limit the venom entering the body, such as moving the victim out of range of the snake. snake; keep calm and limit movement, preferably immobilize the bitten limb with a splint, to slow the spread of the venom; remove jewelry and loosen tight clothing to avoid putting pressure on the wound to begin to swell; position the bitten area below heart level, such as lying down, even while being transported to the hospital; clean the wound with soap and physiological saline; Use a clean, dry gauze pad to cover the bitten area.

Attention: do not use gauze bandage to tighten the bitten area, this way both hurts the victim and hinders blood circulation to the extremities causing necrosis. Do not arbitrarily apply cold, apply chemicals, apply leaves … on the wound. Remember the color of the snake so that the doctor can easily identify the type of snake to treat.

Phuong Thuy