Boy, six, survives snake bite after 6-hour-long battle

TRICHY: It was a miraculous escape for a six-year-old

boy

who was bitten by a venomous snake and brought to the Pudukkottai government medical college in an unconscious state on Wednesday. Doctors managed to revive him after a 6-hour-long struggle between life and death.

Pandimeena, 30, of Parambur village in Illupur said that she had lost hope of saving her son, A Madan, after seeing him unconscious. While playing at home, the boy told her that he was bitten by a snake following which she rushed him to a nearby primary health centre. He was later shifted to Pudukkottai government medical college on the instructions of the doctors there.

The paediatrician at the government medical college and hospital, Pudukkottai, K M Senthil Kumar, said that the parents had brought the boy to the hospital in a critical condition. “He was unconscious, his heartbeat was less than 40 and breathing was reducing. He was bitten by either a cobra or krait that are neurotoxic, which means the nervous system is affected,” said the doctor. As the venom injected by the snake into his blood stream started affecting the nervous system, he was put on ventilator (artificial respiration) support.

“Since we were sure on observing his clinical features that the boy had a neurotoxic snake bite, we administered him ten units of antivenom immediately. Within 6 hours, he regained spontaneous respiration. Eight units of antivenom was administered again and he was saved,” said Dr Senthil. Since the venom was affecting the nervous system, medicines were administered to stimulate his nervous system. “We could avoid damage to the brain nerves. The parents brought him just in the nick of time as more delay could have adversely affected his vital organs,” said Dr Senthil.

Cobra and krait are neurotoxic and their venom affects the nervous system. On the other hand, hemotoxic snakes like russell’s viper affect the viscosity of the blood leading to profuse bleeding if left untreated. “While snake bite is common among children and adults in Pudukkottai, they need to be brought on time,” said the dean of Pudukkottai medical college, Dr S Saradha, while terming snakebites as common in Pudukkottai. She said that at least 10 such cases, especially of children, were received every month. The number of adults bitten by snakes was even more, she said.