Skip to content
Life Guide U.S. essentials
English

If bitten by a snake, sit down and keep still, take off rings and watches, get to a hospital quickly for antivenom, and don't cut, suck or tie tightly

  • High value
  • Evidence B
  • Buys life
  • Free
  • Takes minutes
  • Some willpower

In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

In plain words

Sit down and keep still, and immobilize the bitten limb. First take off rings and watches, since swelling is coming. Get to a hospital with antivenom as quickly as you can, since antivenom is the only thing that can reverse most of the venom's effects. Don't cut the wound open, don't suck it with the mouth, don't apply ice, and don't tie it with a cord until it turns purple. Don't drink alcohol and don't run. If you can take a photo of the snake from a distance, do so, and don't try to catch it.

Cost

Free. Find out ahead of time which nearby hospital has antivenom. The hard part is holding back from treating the wound yourself.

What you get

The original from WHO has three sentences. One is "immediately and completely immobilize the bitten part of the body and get to the nearest medical facility quickly." One is "avoid tourniquets, and avoid cutting the wound." Another is "treat with the appropriate antivenom for the local snake species." "High-quality antivenom is the most effective treatment for preventing or reversing most of the toxic effects of snakebite." Each year about 81,000 to 138,000 people worldwide die of snakebite, and the number who suffer amputation and permanent disability is about 3 times the number of deaths. China's 2024 snakebite treatment guideline estimates that there are 250,000 to 280,000 venomous snakebites a year in China, with the bitten mostly aged 50 and over. Hospitals in 11 provinces in the Yangtze River basin and the south treated 40,817 snakebite patients from 2017 to 2021, and 23 (0.06%) died in hospital

Notes

If you can photograph the snake, do so, and don't try to catch it. Don't drink alcohol, don't run, don't suck with the mouth, don't apply ice, and don't tie with a cord until it turns purple. There is no official count of snakebite deaths nationwide in China. The in-hospital death rate in those 11 provinces looks low, but more than one in ten patients left the hospital on their own before treatment was done, and what happened to them later is not in the figures.

Evidence grade
B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
Sources
  1. WHO. 动物咬伤 实况报道. https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/animal-bites
  2. WHO (2023). 蛇咬伤中毒 实况报道. https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/snakebite-envenoming
  3. Lai R 等 (2024). The Chinese guideline for management of snakebites. World Journal of Emergency Medicine 15(5):333-355：「An estimated 250,000–280,000 cases of venomous snakebites occur in China each year, affecting mainly patients aged ≥50 years」. https://doi.org/10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2024.076
  4. Yan S 等 (2026). Clinical epidemiology of snakebite envenoming in hospitals 11 provinces of Yangtze River Basin and southern regions of China. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases：「withdrawal (4346, 10.65%), and death (23, 0.06%)」. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013247

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 29. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer