It's been a long time since I blogged in this one. It's almost an year since we got back to Palamu region, in a smaller place than before, where I'm much more accessible to those who could benefit from my skills.
I thought an incident which happened few days back in one of the peripheral dispensaries that I serve deserves a documentation.
At around noon, a group of villagers reached this place with an middle aged lady who apparently had a snakebite early in the morning. It was already 6 hours past. She showed no symptoms nor signs of any envenomation.
To make things easier, they had brought the snake along.
It was an easy identification. A Common Kukhri.
After the bite the patient had tingling sensation at the bite site, by which the villagers concluded that it was a venomous snake bite. A 'snake expert' in the village confirmed the same explaining that snakes with bands are poisonous and all the more colorful the snake, all the more venomous.
A 'jhad phuk' was called. He agreed to flush out the poison for a princely sum of 5000 INR, which the family readily agreed on.
So, here was a family who had already spent 5K INR and wanted me to treat her for envenomation.
I told the family that there was no symptoms and signs of envenomation, which I don't expect from a non-venomous snake. The family was absolutely sure that the snake they brought was the culprit.
I told them to throw off the dead snake into the heavily forested area nearby and go back home.
Couple of them appeared not much convinced. There was talk on taking her to another 'jhad phuk'. They carefully packed the snake into a bottle and was off for a second opinion.
I thought an incident which happened few days back in one of the peripheral dispensaries that I serve deserves a documentation.
At around noon, a group of villagers reached this place with an middle aged lady who apparently had a snakebite early in the morning. It was already 6 hours past. She showed no symptoms nor signs of any envenomation.
To make things easier, they had brought the snake along.
It was an easy identification. A Common Kukhri.
After the bite the patient had tingling sensation at the bite site, by which the villagers concluded that it was a venomous snake bite. A 'snake expert' in the village confirmed the same explaining that snakes with bands are poisonous and all the more colorful the snake, all the more venomous.
A 'jhad phuk' was called. He agreed to flush out the poison for a princely sum of 5000 INR, which the family readily agreed on.
So, here was a family who had already spent 5K INR and wanted me to treat her for envenomation.
I told the family that there was no symptoms and signs of envenomation, which I don't expect from a non-venomous snake. The family was absolutely sure that the snake they brought was the culprit.
I told them to throw off the dead snake into the heavily forested area nearby and go back home.
Couple of them appeared not much convinced. There was talk on taking her to another 'jhad phuk'. They carefully packed the snake into a bottle and was off for a second opinion.
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