Buying a red-tailed viper by himself, the boy was bitten by a dangerous snake

Buying and raising poisonous snakes by yourself leads to snake bites

The patient’s mother said that her daughter loves to raise animals. However, somehow, I hid it from my parents and ordered 3 red-tailed vipers on the internet to keep at home. I put the snake in a box and hid it in the closet and took it out to take care of it every day.

Around 3:30 p.m. on May 3, 2022, when the child changed the cage for a snake in his own room, he was bitten by a snake.

Fortunately, after being bitten by a snake, I informed my family, after checking for 3 snakes, the family took the child to the National Children’s Hospital for emergency.

“I just thought he just loved to learn about animals online and never thought that he could buy this snake and take it home so easily,” the patient’s mother was scared.

Dr. Le Ngoc Duy – Head of Emergency Medicine and Poison Control, National Children’s Hospital said: The patient was admitted to the hospital in a conscious state but tired, although he had just been bitten by a snake, his right hand was swollen, bruised and bleeding. Pointing, 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, anti-inflammatory and antibiotics to prevent wound infection… Now 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.

The red-tailed viper is extremely venomous

According to Dr. Duy, the red-tailed viper is one of the most venomous snakes. Its level of toxicity is second only to the king cobra. Especially, when pregnant, the mother snake has a higher venom than normal.

In snake venom there are more than 20 different components, moreover, the bite of this snake often bleeds a lot and swells very quickly.

When bitten by a red-tailed viper, the victim may experience phenomena such as bleeding that is difficult to stop, blood clotting disorders, edema, necrosis, cardiovascular collapse, which can cause rapid death (due to anaphylaxis) or leave serious sequelae.

In our country, ornamental snakes are very diverse and abundant and are sold at online pet stores. Instructions on how to raise snakes at the store are also quite simple, just equip a box with a lid, design a cave, put a tray of water inside.

However, unlike dogs, cats, and birds, which are familiar pets, raising snakes poses many risks and dangers, especially for young children who buy and raise snakes themselves.

“First of all, snakes are carnivorous animals that often suffer from parasitic diseases such as worms, flukes, ticks, skin diseases, oral fungus that are easily transmitted to humans when they come into contact with snakes on a daily basis. , snake’s food is gecko, mouse… intermediate animals that cause human diseases like plague are very dangerous to humans.

Especially for young children, when raising venomous snakes such as red-tailed vipers, they can be bitten and endanger their lives”, Dr. Duy analyzed.

TS recommends that parents should regularly take care of their children and explain to them that they should not let children keep snakes as pets in the house to avoid affecting the health of the owners and their loved ones.

First aid when bitten by a snake

According to Dr. Le Ngoc Duy, when children are bitten by a poisonous snake or suspect that a venomous snake has bitten, it is necessary to perform first aid measures properly such as:

– If bitten by a poisonous 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. painful swollen head.

– 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;

– Stay 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 start swelling; 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.

“People should not use garo bandages to cut the bitten area, this way both hurts the victim and hinders blood circulation to the extremities causing necrosis. Do not arbitrarily apply cold compresses, apply chemicals, apply leaves … on the affected area. Remember the color of the snake so that the doctor can easily identify the type of snake to treat,” emphasized Dr. Duy.