Snakes belong to class Reptilia. Not all snakes are poisonous, nor are all snake poisons lethal to men. Even if they are, efficacy of the poison depends whether the snake has previously caught a prey and emptied poison sacks, the size of the snake, age and size of the man, location of the bite, etc.

Snakes use the poison above all to overcome the prey, but it has digestive function, as well. Since snakes swallow their prey in one piece, the poison serves to start the digestion process in the mouth. For that reason the poison is, in fact, a water solution of various enzymes, toxins and other proteins.

FIRST AID IN THE CASE OF SNAKE BITE

Only two species of for men poisonous snakes live in Croatia that: horned viper and common adder. In Medvednica area we can find only horned viper. Common adder is often misplaced with non poisonous smooth snake ( Coronella austriaca ) which has similar colors and ornaments.

APPEARS IN NATURE PARK MEDVEDNICA:

•  horned viper :

•  non poisonous Smooth snake (often misplaced with common adder):

DOES NOT APPEAR IN NATURE PARK MEDVEDNICA:

•  common adder (common and black form)

Bite signs

At the place of the bite one can see two small wounds made by snake teeth. Sometimes only one can be seen. The very bite does not mean the snake has injected the poison. In as much as 22% of proved bites, signs of poisoning did not exist.

Signs of poisoning (not all have to be distinct):

• Dizziness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pain and swelling at the place of the bite
• Swelling of lymph nodes at the groin after a bite in the leg, or armpit after a bite in the arm.
• Shock is the most dangerous effect of the bite.

PROCEDURE:

• Bitten person has to lay still.
• Immobilize leg or arm where the bite wound is. In that way you can slow down spreading of the poison in the organism.
• Transport the person to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.
  DO NOT tie off the bitten limb.
  DO NOT cut the wound.
  DO NOT suck out the poison.
  DO NOT put ice on the bite wound.

MOST IMPORTANT: Although snake antiserum can be bought in pharmacies, NEVER INJECT THEM TO ONESELF OR OTHER PERSON WITHOUT PROPER MEDICAL SUPERVISION!!!! Persons sensitive to serum can form a reaction of fast hypersensitivity (anaphylactic shock), which can be lethal if its symptoms aren't soon reduced. Therefore, injection of antiserum ("antidote") without medical supervision can be more dangerous than poisoning symptoms themselves . Snake antiserum is a special medical preparation which can be given only in hospitals under strict medical supervision!

It has to be mentioned that poorly performed first aid can only worsen the state of a bitten person.

It is often thought that it is good to cut the wound and suck out as much poison as possible. This can be done only by a trained person, because cutting the wound only increases bleeding, and if, for example, unsterile knives or razors are used, infection of the wound can occur.

Some authors propose placing a bandage to prevent spreading of the poison. Such a bandage has to be tight enough to slow down spreading of the poison, but not to disturb blood circulation. Since it is difficult for an inexperienced person to determine what is “strong” enough to stop the poison, and “loose” enough to let the blood flow, it is not recommended to bandage the wound. Too tight bandages can severely worsen the state of the bitten part of the body and cause gangrene.

Very serious poisonings are rare and lethal cases almost unknown if treatment is performed in 6 to 10 hours after the bite. As a matter of fact, lethal cases caused by snake bite are so rare, that in the areas where horned viper is a common animal more people die from natural disasters (earthquake, floods) than snake bite.

Snake should not be caught, because results of the hunt are most often additional bites .

Here most bites occur in spring and summer when snakes are most active. Horned viper is dangerous especially at the end of August when it climbs trees and shrubs (1 to 1.5 m high) in search for young birds, i.e. prey, when people can accidentally disturb them.

Taken over form web pages:
http://public.srce.hr/hitna-pomoc/prva/zmijski.htm http://public.srce.hr/botanic/cisb/doc/fauna/zmije/ugriz.htm