Dangers of searching revisited

We had one more snake bite victim who got bitten just because she did not look at where she was putting her hand. Being a adolescent girl in a rural Indian household, she was doing her chores as part of the routine of her household. 

Arti was in charge of rolling out rotis every day morning. 

It was just another routine day which ended up being a nightmare for her and the family. For along with the wooden slab and rolling pin, which were used to flatten the lumps of wheatflour dough, was a krait which must have been attracted to the cool environment of the wood in a hot Indian summer. 

Arti put her hand into the pile of vessels which also contained the wooden slab and rolling pin. The bite was not painful. She did not develop symptoms immediately. First it was a difficulty in keeping her eyes open, which was followed by a funny sensation in the throat. 

It was dawn when she was bitten, but by the time she reached us it was late evening. Her condition was so bad that she could hardly breath. She needed mechanical ventilation. 

However, she was lucky to be weaned out within 48 hours. 

Well . . .  another warning about putting your hands into spaces without looking if there is danger lurking. 

Arti with her parents just before discharge . . . 

Photos Post . . .Snake Bites

The cobra which had bitten a lady. I insisted on seeing the snake after the relatives told me that a viper had bitten her. And I was sure it was either a krait or a cobra. I was not surprised when they brought the snake in. The 10 cc syringe was put in to show the actual size. Amazing . . . .isn't it? That people find it quite difficult to identify snakes . . . 

Well, here the relatives had identified the snake correctly. A common krait . . .

A viper bite of the hand. We had to do extensive fasciotomy of the hand.
The young girl has recovered well . . .