Sad news
Yesterday MDA (Israeli Medical Emergancy teams) declared a man in his fifties dead after he had been bitten by a snake on the agricultural beach close to the Chokuk beach on the Kinneret
The severe heat at present in Israel is causing snakes and other additional insects, likely to endanger lives to come out of their hiding places and attack humans who surprise them when passing by their haunts. Yesterday (21.6) close to 21:00 MDA teams rushed to a call for a man who had been bitten by a snake on the agricultural beach close to the Chokuk beach on the Kinneret. The MDA team, headed by Paramedic, Taleb Abdallah and senior medic Ariel Kriger with 5 additional team members administered medical treatment to a man in his fifties who lives in the center of the country. He was on holiday with his family in a tent on the edge of the Kinneret, collapsed after being bitten by a snake on his hand. The members of his family saw a large snake disappear and did not manage to photograph it or see the type. The MDA medical team gave medical care and carried out advanced CPR for approximately one hour on the victim, whilst giving him medication. In the end they were forced to declare him dead.
How can one prevent bites?
In backyards: Take precautions to wear high shoes and long trousers. Remove rocks, stones and items not in use in order to reduce the number of places where a snake or scorpion may hide. In addition, make sure to mow the lawn regularly.
On outings in the field: Shake out the tent, and the sleeping bag before going into them for the night. In the morning shake out your clothes before putting them on, and shake out your shoes very well. Pay attention do not put your hand into your shoes, as a snake or scorpion may be hiding there. Turn the shoes upside down to shake them out.
How should one behave when bitten by a snake?
Calm the injured person down and make him lie down, completely still in order to reduce as much as possible the spread of the poison in the body.
Support the injured limb and take care not to move it, in order to prevent the spread of the poison.
Call MDA on the 101 emergency number immediately. The Paramedics at the MDA Dispatch Centre will give you immediate help on the phone. They will give clear instructions on what to do until the arrival of a medical team at the site.
Do not suck the snake poison out of the victim's body!
Do not place a tourniquet on the area of the bite.
Do not cool the bite area down. Cooling the area can cause the damage to increase.
Do not give alcoholic drinks to the victim.
Describe the pattern on the back of the snake. Do not attempt to catch the snake, but only try to photograph it so that the medical team will know which care is the best to give the victim as quickly as possible.
How should one act if stung by a scorpion?
In Israel today, about 21 types of scorpions can be found which are life threatening to humans. The dangerous ones are the yellow scorpions or the black scorpion with a long tail. The poison of the scorpion is very active and immediately attacks the nervous system.
Scorpion stings are characterized by very sharp pain in the area of the sting, fast pulse, restlessness, and swelling to the injured area, redness, sweating and vomiting.
One should act in the following manner in the case of a scorpion sting:
Support the injured limb and calm the victim down as much as possible.
Immediately call MDA on the emergency 101 number, listen to the instructions of the Paramedics in the Dispatch Centre until the arrival of the MDA team on the scene.
Yesterday MDA (Israeli Medical Emergancy teams) declared a man in his fifties dead after he had been bitten by a snake on the agricultural beach close to the Chokuk beach on the Kinneret
The severe heat at present in Israel is causing snakes and other additional insects, likely to endanger lives to come out of their hiding places and attack humans who surprise them when passing by their haunts. Yesterday (21.6) close to 21:00 MDA teams rushed to a call for a man who had been bitten by a snake on the agricultural beach close to the Chokuk beach on the Kinneret. The MDA team, headed by Paramedic, Taleb Abdallah and senior medic Ariel Kriger with 5 additional team members administered medical treatment to a man in his fifties who lives in the center of the country. He was on holiday with his family in a tent on the edge of the Kinneret, collapsed after being bitten by a snake on his hand. The members of his family saw a large snake disappear and did not manage to photograph it or see the type. The MDA medical team gave medical care and carried out advanced CPR for approximately one hour on the victim, whilst giving him medication. In the end they were forced to declare him dead.
How can one prevent bites?
In backyards: Take precautions to wear high shoes and long trousers. Remove rocks, stones and items not in use in order to reduce the number of places where a snake or scorpion may hide. In addition, make sure to mow the lawn regularly.
On outings in the field: Shake out the tent, and the sleeping bag before going into them for the night. In the morning shake out your clothes before putting them on, and shake out your shoes very well. Pay attention do not put your hand into your shoes, as a snake or scorpion may be hiding there. Turn the shoes upside down to shake them out.
How should one behave when bitten by a snake?
Calm the injured person down and make him lie down, completely still in order to reduce as much as possible the spread of the poison in the body.
Support the injured limb and take care not to move it, in order to prevent the spread of the poison.
Call MDA on the 101 emergency number immediately. The Paramedics at the MDA Dispatch Centre will give you immediate help on the phone. They will give clear instructions on what to do until the arrival of a medical team at the site.
Do not suck the snake poison out of the victim's body!
Do not place a tourniquet on the area of the bite.
Do not cool the bite area down. Cooling the area can cause the damage to increase.
Do not give alcoholic drinks to the victim.
Describe the pattern on the back of the snake. Do not attempt to catch the snake, but only try to photograph it so that the medical team will know which care is the best to give the victim as quickly as possible.
How should one act if stung by a scorpion?
In Israel today, about 21 types of scorpions can be found which are life threatening to humans. The dangerous ones are the yellow scorpions or the black scorpion with a long tail. The poison of the scorpion is very active and immediately attacks the nervous system.
Scorpion stings are characterized by very sharp pain in the area of the sting, fast pulse, restlessness, and swelling to the injured area, redness, sweating and vomiting.
One should act in the following manner in the case of a scorpion sting:
Support the injured limb and calm the victim down as much as possible.
Immediately call MDA on the emergency 101 number, listen to the instructions of the Paramedics in the Dispatch Centre until the arrival of the MDA team on the scene.