What should you do if you're bitten by a venomous snake?

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The western rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), also known as the diamondback rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper found in western North America, from southern British Columbia to Mexico.
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▼  Getting bitten by a venomous snake can be very scary, and can lead people to react in exactly the wrong way: Maybe they panic, try to catch or kill the snake, or apply ice or a tourniquet to the wound, which can be disastrous in certain situations.
So, howshoulda person respond to a bite? And what happens in the human body when a person is bitten by a venomous snake?
"The first thing to do is get away from the snake — don't try to capture it, that's just going to provide the potential for more people to get hurt," said Dr. Nicholas Kman, professor of emergency medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
"And then, they should immediately seek medical treatment, because these symptoms can progress rapidly. We watch for redness, swelling, blistering, warmth and then signs of nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and low blood pressure," Kman told Live Science. "If we start to see those, we administer the antivenom."
While snakes typically shun humans and only bite only when they feel threatened, nearly 3 million people worldwide are poisoned every year after experiencing a venomous bite. Only a fraction of these bites are fatal, but toxins in snake venomcan trigger serious medical emergencies that occur within hours; they can cause organ failure, uncontrollable bleeding, severe tissue destruction and paralysis that may restrict breathing, according to the World Health Organization(WHO).
With some types of snakes, like rattlesnakes, redness and pain at the bite site develop within minutes, while with other venomous snakes, such as copperheads, the symptoms may take longer to appear, Kman said.
Before the patient reaches a medical facility, the wound should be kept clean and the affected limb should be elevated to reduce the effects of the venom. If the victim or a bystander has a fitness tracker, they can use it to monitor heart rate, Kman said.
After being bitten, remaining calm and still can also help to slow the venom's spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.
What not to do (▪ ▪ ▪)

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