If someone has been bitten, call 000 now. Every snake bite in Australia is treated as potentially life-threatening, and a bite should be assessed by a doctor even if the person seems perfectly well.
The three things that matter
Australian snake venom travels through the lymphatic system, not the bloodstream, and lymph only moves when muscles move. That single fact is why the technique works and why the instructions look the way they do.
- Keep them still. Stillness does more than anything else you can do.
- Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage.
- Get them to hospital. Call 000 — do not drive them yourself if an ambulance can come.
Walking to the car is movement. Keep the person lying down and bring help to them.
Pressure immobilisation, step by step
- Move the person away from the snake and help them stay calm. Do not try to catch or kill it.
- Call 000.
- Remove rings, watches or anklets from the bitten limb before swelling starts.
- Bandage over the bite. Use a roller bandage 10 to 15 cm wide directly over the bite site.
- Bandage the whole limb. With a second bandage, start just above the fingers or toes and work upward, as high up the limb as you can reach — regardless of where on the limb the bite is.
- Firm, not tight. The Australian Venom Research Unit describes it as about as tight as you would bandage a sprained ankle. You should not be able to slide a finger easily between the bandage and the skin. Leave fingers or toes uncovered so you can check circulation.
- Splint the limb so it cannot move. Anything rigid works — a branch, a rolled magazine, a piece of timber. Bind it firmly along as much of the limb as possible.
- Write down the time of the bite and the time the bandage went on. Mark the bite site on the outside of the bandage, or photograph it before you cover it.
- Keep them lying still until the ambulance arrives.
Leave the bandage and splint on. The treating doctor decides when they come off, because removing them releases venom into the circulation. If the person deteriorates and the bandages have been removed, reapply them.
Bites that are not on a limb
- Hand or forearm — bandage from the fingers as far up the arm as possible and splint to the elbow. Do not put the bent arm in a sling; that can act as a tourniquet at the elbow.
- Trunk — apply firm pressure over the bite if you can do so without restricting chest movement. Keep them still.
- Head or neck — no bandaging. Keep them still and wait for the ambulance.
What not to do
- Do not wash the bite. Venom left on the skin and clothing helps the hospital identify which snake it was and which antivenom to use.
- Do not remove clothing. Moving the limb to undress someone spreads venom. Bandage over the top of it.
- Do not cut or incise the bite.
- Do not try to suck the venom out.
- Do not apply an arterial tourniquet.
- Do not try to catch, kill or photograph the snake. Identification is done at the hospital from a venom detection kit, not from your description.
If they become unresponsive
Check breathing. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR and keep going until the ambulance arrives — see the DRSABCD action plan. If they are unresponsive but breathing normally, use the recovery position.
Keep a bandage where you will actually need one
Pressure immobilisation needs length — generally two bandages for a leg. A standard workplace kit may not carry enough. If you work, walk or live anywhere with snakes, check what is in your kit before you need it.
This is a summary of what is taught in class, not a substitute for training. Skills like this are assessed practically for a reason — reading about them is not the same as having done them. In a real emergency, call 000.
Learn it properly
Pressure immobilisation is taught and practised in HLTAID011 first aid including CPR. Best First Aid Training runs it at Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool. We also supply first aid kits and supplies.
Sources: Healthdirect Australia, Snake bites; Australian Venom Research Unit, University of Melbourne, Pressure immobilisation first aid.
The same technique, a different animal
Pressure immobilisation is also the first aid for a funnel-web or mouse spider bite — but not for a redback, which must not be bandaged.
