Snakebite first aid
Snakebite — first aid & prevention
A snakebite is a medical emergency, but stay calm — most bites in India are not fatal if you act correctly and reach a hospital quickly. The only real treatment is anti-snake venom (ASV), which is given in hospital, so the single most important thing you can do is get the person to a hospital that has ASV without delay. No home remedy, herb, or first-aid trick can replace antivenom.
Suspected snakebite — keep the person calm and still, and take them to the nearest hospital with anti-snake venom right now.
What to do — first aid (Do it R.I.G.H.T.)
- 1
Reassure
Reassure the person and keep them calm. Most snakebites are not deadly, and even venomous bites take time to act — there is time to reach hospital. Panic and rushing around speed the spread of venom, so calm, slow breathing helps.
- 2
Immobilise
Keep the person completely still and immobilise the bitten limb with a splint and sling, exactly as you would for a broken bone — movement pumps venom around the body. Do NOT tie anything tightly around the limb. Gently remove rings, bangles, anklets, watches, and tight clothing near the bite before swelling sets in.
- 3
Get to hospital
Transport the person to the nearest hospital that stocks anti-snake venom (ASV) immediately, by vehicle or stretcher — do not let them walk if it can be avoided. Note the time of the bite. If the person vomits or becomes drowsy, lay them on their left side (recovery position) to protect their breathing.
- 4
Tell the doctor
Tell the hospital staff everything: the time of the bite and any symptoms — drooping eyelids, blurred or double vision, trouble breathing or swallowing, bleeding from the bite or gums, drowsiness, or fast-spreading swelling. If the snake was seen, describe it; show a phone photo only if one was taken from a safe distance. Never delay treatment to identify or find the snake.
What you must NEVER do
- Do NOT apply a tourniquet or tie a tight band, rope, or cloth around the limb — this is dangerous and does not stop venom.
- Do NOT cut, slash, or incise the bite wound.
- Do NOT try to suck out the venom — not with your mouth and not with any suction device or 'venom extractor'.
- Do NOT apply ice, heat, chillies, herbs, chemicals (like potassium permanganate), cow dung, or so-called 'snake stones' / 'black stones' to the wound.
- Do NOT give alcohol, aspirin, or blood-thinning painkillers; only plain paracetamol is acceptable for pain.
- Do NOT wait for a traditional healer, ojha, or jhad-phoonk — this wastes the time that antivenom needs. Go straight to hospital.
- Do NOT try to catch, handle, or kill the snake — you risk a second bite, and it is not needed for treatment.
- Do NOT wash, rub, or scrub the wound vigorously.
Signs the bite is serious (needs antivenom now)
- Neurotoxic signs (cobra/krait): drooping eyelids (ptosis), blurred or double vision, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and limb weakness.
- Haemotoxic signs (vipers): persistent bleeding from the bite, gums, or nose, blood in the urine or vomit, and easy bruising.
- Local signs: rapidly spreading swelling, severe pain, and blistering around the bite.
- A 'painless' bite that happened during sleep (common with kraits at night) which later causes vomiting, abdominal pain, drowsiness, or paralysis — treat it as a real bite even if no fang marks are obvious.
- Drowsiness or fainting, falling blood pressure, or passing little or no urine.
At the hospital
Doctors will examine the person and watch closely for signs of envenoming. For viper-type bites they often do a simple bedside '20-minute whole blood clotting test' (20WBCT) — a little blood is left in a dry glass tube and checked after 20 minutes; if it does not clot, the blood has been affected by venom. If the person is envenomed, they are treated with polyvalent anti-snake venom (ASV), the same antivenom that covers India's 'Big Four' snakes. Neurotoxic bites may also need a ventilator (breathing support) until the venom wears off. Under India's national programme, ASV and snakebite treatment are provided free at government hospitals — which is exactly why reaching a hospital fast saves lives.
Preventing snakebite
- Wear covered shoes or boots and use a torch after dark, especially when walking in fields, on village paths, or during the monsoon when snakes are most active.
- Sleep on a raised cot under a mosquito net tucked in under the mattress — this is one of the best protections against night-biting kraits, which can bite people sleeping on the floor.
- Keep the house and yard free of rubble, woodpiles, tall grass, and rats — rodents attract snakes looking for food.
- Before reaching in, check shoes, bedding, woodpiles, grain stores, and dark corners, ideally with a torch and a stick.
- Never handle, tease, corner, or try to kill a snake — most bites happen this way. If you see one, stand still or back away slowly and let it leave.
- Store food grain in sealed containers and seal gaps in walls and floors so snakes and rodents cannot enter.
Snakebite in India
India carries the world's heaviest snakebite burden — the Million Death Study estimated roughly 46,000–58,000 deaths a year, most of them in rural areas and during the monsoon, often affecting farmers and people working or sleeping outdoors. About 90% of medically important bites come from the 'Big Four' snakes: the Indian (spectacled) cobra, the common krait, Russell's viper, and the saw-scaled viper — and India's polyvalent ASV is made to treat all four (other species matter regionally too). In 2024 the Health Ministry launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming in India (NAPSE), aiming to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 through a 'One Health' approach, and snakebite has now been declared a notifiable disease so every case can be reported and acted on.
Sources
This is general first-aid education and prevention guidance, not a substitute for emergency medical care or professional medical advice. If a snakebite is suspected, treat it as an emergency and get the person to a hospital with anti-snake venom immediately.