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
Want to read more?
Already have access? Log in
or
3-month trial offer for £5.25/month
Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
- Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
- RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
- NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
- Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
- A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe
Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days.
Buy now
Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more
