Snake Bite Treatment

Apply a broad pressure bandage firmly over the bite and up the limb, splint the limb so it cannot move, and keep the person as still as possible. Movement moves venom.

Do not use a tourniquet. Do not cut the bite. Do not try to suck out venom. Do not wash the bite, because the venom on the skin can help identify the snake. And do not go looking for the snake.

Call 000. SURVIVAL recommends proper first aid training alongside any KIT, because this is a technique worth having done with your hands rather than only read about.

HOW TIGHT IS THE RIGHT TIGHT

This is the part people get wrong, and it is the reason the SMART Bandage exists.

The SMART Bandage has a pictogram printed along its length. As you stretch it, a rectangle becomes a square, and when it is a square you have the correct tension. You can see it rather than guess. It was designed in Australia and developed with snake safety experts SSSafe.

It is 2 metres long and 10cm wide and weighs about 120 grams. It is recommended to carry at least two so they can be applied above and below the bite, and it doubles as a compression bandage for sprains and major wounds.

IT IS NOT JUST SNAKES

The same pressure immobilisation technique is the first aid for funnel-web spider bite and cone shell sting.

That is worth knowing if your trips end at the coast. It is not the treatment for redback bite, and it is not the treatment for a marine sting like a bluebottle or box jellyfish, which are handled differently.

WHAT A SNAKE BITE KIT ACTUALLY CONTAINS

The SURVIVAL Snake Bite KIT carries a SMART Bandage, a splint to immobilise the limb, a tick removal spoon, an emergency blanket for shock, and a whistle so you can bring help to you.

It is built in 600D ripstop Oxford polyester with a water-repellent coating, YKK external zips and reinforced composite D-rings, and it clips to a belt, a pack or MOLLE. It earns its place on trips that have nothing to do with snakes, because a splint and a compression bandage cover a lot of ground.

WHO SHOULD CARRY ONE

Anyone walking, camping, touring, working or living where there is grass, scrub, rock or water. That is most of this country.

The Snake Bite First Aid Bundle pairs it with a Compact KIT and a Wallet. The Outdoor Bundle (Gen 8) pairs it with a full KIT for the vehicle or camp.

Also see Hiking, Camping and Rural.