Chapter IV 



FIRST AID 



INTRODUCTION 



Poisoniiio; from snake venom is a merlical 

 emergency wliirli requires immecliate attention 

 ami till' exercise of considerable jiidirment. De- 

 layed or inadequate treatment for venomous 

 snakel)ite may liave lia<ric conse(iuences. On tlie 

 other hand, failui'c to dilVei'enl iati> lielween Iiites 

 of venomous and non\enomous snai<es may lead 

 to use of measures which l)rin<r not only discom- 

 fort to the indi\idiial liul may |irodu<-e deleteri- 

 ous results. It is essential (hat the one res]ionsil)lc 

 for tivatment establish wliether oi- not envenoma- 

 iton has oi'curred hefore treatment is started. As 

 was pointed out in Chapter III, a venomous 

 snake may bite and not inject \enom. Also, some 

 persons bitten by non\eu(imous snakes become 

 excited and even hysterical. These emotions may 

 2:ive rise to disorientation, faintness, dizziness, 

 rapid respiration oi- hy perxciit ilal ion. rapid 

 ]iulse. and even primary shock — ;dl sym])toms 

 and sisi'ns which may occur follo\vin<>: envenonia- 

 tion. The hospital corpsuiaii should keep this syn- 

 drome in mind when called upon to ti'eat a ])(>rson 

 bitten by an iniideni ilied snake. 



Most cases of snake venom poisoninii' in \avy 

 and Marine Corjis i)ersonne1 have occurred in tlie 

 presence of other service personnel. In most in- 

 stances hospital corpsmen have been able to 

 render the necessary initial first aid measures. 

 However, in an occasional case no medically 

 trained person may be available or the victim 

 may be alone. As the success or failure of treat- 

 ment may depend on irhen first aid is started, 

 this chajiter has been i)i'epared to acquaint all 

 Navy and IMarine Corjis personnel with the ))rob- 

 lem of snake venom jioisoninc: i^nd the first aid 

 measures that need to be carried out in the event 



3. 

 4. 



If 



that poisoninfj occurs distant from a hos]iital, 

 <loctoi'. OI' medical coi-psman. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Treatment, to be elleciive, nuist be instituted 

 iunnediately followinji the l)ite and must in- 

 cbule measures: 



1. To retard absorption of the venom: 



2. To remo\e as nnich venom as possible from 

 the wound : 



To neutralize the venom: 

 To jirevent or reduce the etl'ects of the 

 venom: and 



To prevent complications. includin<r second- 

 ary infection, 

 a victim of snakebite finds himself alone, a 



numbei- of factors nnist be considered. He will 

 need to determine whethei- or not the snake is 

 venomous and. if venomous, the severity of the 

 poisoninjj:. He will need to consider how lontr 

 it may be before help will i-each him. Or, per- 

 haps, he will need to weiph the advantages of 

 walkinjr to (he nearest friendly troop facility, 

 hospital, or town. If he decides to move he will 

 need to determine how fast and for how lonjf a 

 period he may walk. These and other variables 

 make it diflic\dt to pive consistent advice on what 

 to do under such circumstances. Each case must 

 be considered sejiarately. The victim should srive 

 careful thought to all of these matters before 

 makinjr a decision as to the wisest procedure to 

 follow. He should remember not to panic and 

 not to overly exei't himself. He should make 

 every effort possible to obtain assistance, without 

 jeopardizinir his mission. 



With these things in mind the following con- 

 siderations .should be followed, in so far as pos- 



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