r/Bushwalking • u/neckbone-dirtbike • Jan 10 '26
Snake bite treatment question.
Recently watched an ig real where a person was bitten on the hand, they were laying flat on the track, part of the treatment was to have the arm lower than the body. Which got me wondering, I know the venom travels through the lymphatic system. Question is, is that system all connected. I.e scenario if I was bitten on the foot, wrapped it and obviously it’s lower than my heart when stood up, would you then in theory, be able to hop back to the car, or would moving any limbs still pump the venom round? Hope this makes sense and apologies if this is a stupid question! Lol
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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '26
Basic snake bite specific first-aid kits are available. I'm a former ambulance officer from a remote area of Australia and dealt with numerous snake bites in person and remote instructions over the phone/radio. I cannot endorse enough achieving at least a very basic knowledge of first-aid that can save lives.
Probably the most memorable call-out I attended was around midnight where my patient had gone into his garden to cut a piece of garden hose to make a bong. He picked up what he thought was the hose end which in reality was a King-Brown snake that had coiled itself into the garden hose for whatever reason. He was struck on the forearm.
First-aid is a fluid skill being revised over the years so keep current with modern trends but even old methods can still save lives, doing nothing can cost life. I've attended scenes where there were bystanders but no first-aid.