Symptoms of bites of poisonous snakes

The snake's bite, poisonous or not, usually causes horror in the victim, often with vegetative manifestations (eg, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, diarrhea, sweating), which are difficult to distinguish from systemic manifestations of poisoning.

The bites of non-venomous snakes cause only local symptoms, usually cause pain and leave 2-4 rows of scratches from the snake's upper jaw at the bite site.

Symptoms of poisoning can be local, systemic, coagulopathic, and combinations of these options are possible depending on the degree of poisoning and the variety of snakes.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]

Yamkogalovaya snake

Approximately 25% of the bites of the Yamkogolovaya snake are dry (do not inject poison), and no systemic manifestations develop. Local symptoms are traces of teeth and scratches. If the poison was injected, then within 30-60 minutes at the site of the bite and surrounding tissues there are swelling, erythema, or ecchymosis. Edema progresses quickly and can involve the entire limb within a few hours. Possible lymphangitis, with further increase and soreness of regional lymph nodes. In the bite zone, the temperature rises. With moderate poisoning and severe conditions, the appearance of ecchymoses around the site of the bite for 3-6 hours is characteristic. The most pronounced ecchymoses develop after bites of green and rhombic rattlesnakes, water shield-moss; a green rattler of the prairie, a wood rattlesnake and a striped rattler. Less often, the ecchymosis is manifested with the bites of the copper-clad shimmer and the rattlesnake Mojave. The skin around the bite may seem tense and change the color. Bulls, serous or hemorrhagic, with mixed contents usually appear at the site of the bite within 8 hours. The edema from a bite of the North American rattlesnake is usually limited to the skin and subcutaneous tissues, although with severe poisoning the edema spreads into the subfascial tissues, causing a compartment syndrome (defined as increase in intrafacial pressure> 30 mm Hg) for an hour. After poisoning with venom rattlesnake around the bite in most cases develops necrosis. The effect of the poison on the soft tissue reaches a peak for 2-4 days.

Systemic manifestations of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, sweating, anxiety, stun, spontaneous bleeding, fever, arterial hypotension and shock. Some victims of bites of rattlesnakes feel a rubber, peppermint or metallic taste in their mouth. The venom of most North American serpentine serpents leads to small changes in neuromuscular conduction, including general weakness, paresthesia and muscle twitching. In some patients, changes in mental status are possible. The poison of the rattlesnake Mohave and rhombic rattlesnake can cause serious neurologic disorders, shortness of breath. Poisoning by a rattlesnake can lead to various changes in coagulation, including thrombocytopenia, an increase in MHO or APTT, hypofibrinogenemia, an increase in the concentration of fibrin degradation products, or a combination of these disorders, forming an ICE-like syndrome. In most cases, thrombocytopenia can be asymptomatic or, against a background of multicomponent coagulopathy, manifest as spontaneous bleeding. For victims with coagulopathy, hemorrhages at the site of a bite or on the mucous membranes, hematemesis and blood in the stool, hematuria or a combination of these signs are characteristic. Ht rises rapidly as a result of hemoconcentration. Later, Ht can decrease due to fluid refund and blood loss from an ICE-like syndrome. In severe cases, a rapid decrease in Ht can cause hemolysis.

Coral snake

Pain and puffiness are minimal or absent, often transitory. The absence of local symptoms can be mistaken for a dry bite, which contributes to a false sense of security, both in the patient and in the doctor. Weakness in the bitten limb can become apparent in a few hours. Systemic neuromuscular manifestations can occur after 12 h and include general weakness and drowsiness; change of consciousness, euphoria and drowsiness; paralysis of the cranial nerves, causing ptosis, diplopia, blurred vision, dysarthria and dysphagia; increased salivation; muscle lethargy, respiratory distress syndrome, or respiratory failure. By the time when the effects of neurotoxic venom manifest, they are already difficult to prevent, and they last up to 3-6 days. Patients without treatment can die from stopping breathing. They are shown with artificial ventilation.

[10], [11]