Art & Science Previous Next

Effects of snake envenomation: a guide for emergency nurses

Stephen McGhee Clinical instructor, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, United States

Alan Finnegan Ministry of Defence professor of nursing and head of the academic department of military nursing, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham

John M Clochesy Director of faculty mentorship and assistant dean of the doctoral programme, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, United States

Constance Visovsky Associate dean of student affairs and community engagement, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, United States

Stephen McGhee and colleagues explain how practitioners should care for people bitten by snakes, including those not native to the UK, and how to recognise the effects of different forms of venom

Only one species of venomous snake, the adder, is indigenous to the UK, but many people keep venomous snakes as pets and others travel to places, such as the United States, where a wider variety of venomous snakes can be found. Emergency nurses should therefore be prepared to treat bite wounds caused by venomous and non-venomous snakes. This article offers an overview of the most common forms of envenomation in the UK and makes recommendations for the clinical care of people who have sustained snake bites.

Emergency Nurse. 22, 9, 24-29. doi: 10.7748/en.22.9.24.e1406

Correspondence

stephenmcghee@health.usf.edu

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 08 December 2014

Accepted: 16 December 2014

Keywords :

Snake bite - adder bite - venom - envenomation