Hospitals Tell Aussies Don’t Bring In Snake That Bit You

HOSPITALS TELL LOCAL AUSSIES DON’T BRING IN THE SNAKE THAT BIT YOU FOR ANTIVENOM

I loved visiting Australia, though I must say the flight time from the East Coast of the United States left something to be desired. I was only there a couple weeks, which was barely long enough to really get my time zones in order. But it also wasn’t quite enough time for me to get over my fear of local wildlife. For one, they were so utterly unfamiliar. And for another, so many of them are incredibly dangerous. And having visited two regions of Australia, I had plenty that was new to potentially fear. And snakes are a bit item among them. And that leads me to this missive, how hospitals in Australia are telling local Aussies to please don’t bring in the snake that bit you.

HOSPITALS LOOK TO AVOID EXTRA HAZARD AFTER ONE PATIENT BROUGHT IN A DANGEROUS SNAKE

It’s just as well this wasn’t on my radar when I visited years ago. I don’t particularly care for snakes, though I wouldn’t say I have a phobia. But somehow I’ve never been bitten by one, venomous or otherwise. And getting a snake bite Down Under could very well be more than just a minor nuisance in terms of breathing, localized necrosis and related various physical agony with long recovery time. Yet somehow someone bitten by a eastern brown snake (pictured above) brought it in to Bundaberg Hospital in Queensland a couple weeks ago. And the bitten Aussie didn’t have the snake very well secured, leaving medical staff fairly concerned. Just imagine a venomous snake getting loose in an ER. What could go wrong?

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GETTING SNAKE BIT IN AUSTRALIA HAPPENS 3,000 TIMES A YEAR, THOUGH FATALITIES ARE RARE

But 3,000 Aussies get bitten by snakes every year in Australia, with anywhere between 100 to 200 of those needing antivenom treatment. Somehow, fatalities are pretty rare. But the continent Down Under has about 140 species of snakes, 32 of them sea snakes, with 100 of the total being venomous. I don’t know about you, but those numbers are fairly scary. 12 of those 100 venomous could possibly kill you with a single bite if treatment was too slow to happen. If I ever go back, this will certainly be on my mind! But now I’m also left to wonder how many Americans took a rattlesnake with them to the hospital after it bit them.

Not too many, I’d hazard a guess.