November 26, 2007
DORIS Hunn did everything wrong after she was bitten by a brown snake.
The 74-year-old Beerwah woman was walking outside to feed her chooks when a 60cm brown snake reared its head from underneath some leaves and bit her on the toe.
She had no idea what to do and she didn't feel any pain. Luckily she rang her son, Derek, who phoned 000 on her behalf. That call saved her life.
What to do if you are bitten by a snake
"Soon after that my husband and son arrived and the ambulance officers but already I had the bite washed out with water, which I didn't know you weren't meant to do," she said.
"It made it very difficult for doctors to identify the type of snake venom."
Mrs Hunn began vomiting and had cramps in her stomach.
Half her body became paralysed, and she is now in a wheelchair.
Mrs Hunn, who was bitten late last year, is not alone when it comes to mishandling snake bites.
Dr Jonathan Knott, acting head of research at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's emergency department, yesterday presented findings into preventable deaths from brown snake bites at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine at the Gold Coast.
Dr Knott's team reviewed the 24 fatal brown snake bites from January 1979 to December 2003.
Half the victims were Queenslanders and most, 71 per cent, were men. They were aged between two and 75, and all died between August and April, mostly in the warmest months.
They found that there were many reasons for the deaths, including failure to apply pressure immobilisation bandages, delayed or ineffective application of the bandages and delay in seeking medical help.
"A pressure-immobilisation bandage was applied in 13 cases," Dr Knott said.
"However, 10 had delayed applications and eight delayed further medical attention."
Antivenom was used in 58 per cent of cases. In 87 per cent of deaths, the victims were unconscious before they reached hospital, Dr Knott said.
"Some people are complacent with snake bites and think generally people don't die, but they can if they don't do the right things," Dr Knott said.
"Australia has very good antivenom, and people need to know how to do basic treatment of snake bites."
Caption: WOULD you know what to do?: Doris Hunn with husband Herbie after she was bitten by a brown snake.
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DORIS Hunn did everything wrong after she was bitten by a brown snake.
The 74-year-old Beerwah woman was walking outside to feed her chooks when a 60cm brown snake reared its head from underneath some leaves and bit her on the toe.
She had no idea what to do and she didn't feel any pain. Luckily she rang her son, Derek, who phoned 000 on her behalf. That call saved her life.
What to do if you are bitten by a snake
"Soon after that my husband and son arrived and the ambulance officers but already I had the bite washed out with water, which I didn't know you weren't meant to do," she said.
"It made it very difficult for doctors to identify the type of snake venom."
Mrs Hunn began vomiting and had cramps in her stomach.
Half her body became paralysed, and she is now in a wheelchair.
Mrs Hunn, who was bitten late last year, is not alone when it comes to mishandling snake bites.
Dr Jonathan Knott, acting head of research at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's emergency department, yesterday presented findings into preventable deaths from brown snake bites at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine at the Gold Coast.
Dr Knott's team reviewed the 24 fatal brown snake bites from January 1979 to December 2003.
Half the victims were Queenslanders and most, 71 per cent, were men. They were aged between two and 75, and all died between August and April, mostly in the warmest months.
They found that there were many reasons for the deaths, including failure to apply pressure immobilisation bandages, delayed or ineffective application of the bandages and delay in seeking medical help.
"A pressure-immobilisation bandage was applied in 13 cases," Dr Knott said.
"However, 10 had delayed applications and eight delayed further medical attention."
Antivenom was used in 58 per cent of cases. In 87 per cent of deaths, the victims were unconscious before they reached hospital, Dr Knott said.
"Some people are complacent with snake bites and think generally people don't die, but they can if they don't do the right things," Dr Knott said.
"Australia has very good antivenom, and people need to know how to do basic treatment of snake bites."
Caption: WOULD you know what to do?: Doris Hunn with husband Herbie after she was bitten by a brown snake.
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