An unnecessary Russell’s Viper bite on the tongue due to live snake worship and dangerous first aid emphasise the urgent need for stringent policies

Senthilkumaran, S., Arathisenthil, S. V., Williams, J., Williams, H. F., Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, P., Patel, K. and Vaiyapuri, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-6517 (2022) An unnecessary Russell’s Viper bite on the tongue due to live snake worship and dangerous first aid emphasise the urgent need for stringent policies. Toxins, 14 (12). 817. ISSN 2072-6651 doi: 10.3390/toxins14120817

Abstract/Summary

India suffers the highest incidence of snakebite envenomation (SBE) in the world. Rural commu-nities within India and other countries have long-held cultural beliefs surrounding snakes and SBE treatments, with snake statues present in numerous Hindu temples. While most cultural be-liefs are well respected and do not affect anyone, some people worship live venomous snakes without any safety precautions. Moreover, they practice various inappropriate first aid and tra-ditional treatments that exacerbate SBE-induced complications. We report an unusual case of SBE on the tongue of a patient who was bitten while worshipping Russell’s viper following the advice of an astrologer based on the appearance of a snake in the patient’s dream. Following the bite, the tongue was deeply incised by the priest as a first aid to mitigate SBE-induced complications. The patient suffered profuse bleeding and swelling of the tongue resulting in difficulties in intubating them. The patient regained consciousness after antivenom administration, intranasal ventilation, and blood removal from the mouth. The tongue underwent extensive surgery to restore movement and function. This report advises caution to those undertaking the extremely risky practice of worshipping live snakes and emphasises the urgent need to develop and enforce policies to miti-gate such actions and educate rural communities.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/109037
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Biomedical Sciences Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > School of Pharmacy > Division of Pharmacology
Publisher	MDPI
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