Quick-Reference: First Aid for Venomous Bites & Stings
Always put your own safety first. Then:
- Call 000 immediately (Australia). If overseas, use the local emergency number.
- Keep the casualty calm and still.
- Deliver the right technique below for the type of venom.
- Attend a formal first-aid course to practise these skills and stay up to date.
1. Neurotoxic Venoms (paralysis of breathing muscles)
Examples: blue-ringed octopus, funnel-web spider, taipan snake, cone snail
Advice:
- Apply a firm, broad bandage (10–15 cm wide) over the bite or sting site, then wrap up the limb as far as you can reach.
- Splint or support the limb to keep it still.
- Call 000 (or have someone else do so) before starting CPR whenever possible.
- Watch breathing closely. If it slows or stops:
- Position both hands in the centre of the chest.
- Push hard and fast—at least 5 cm deep (but no more than 6 cm) for adults; for children and infants, press down by about one-third of the chest’s depth.
- Maintain a rate of 100–120 compressions per minute, allowing the chest to fully recoil and keeping pauses under 10 seconds.
- After 30 compressions, give 2 rescue breaths: tilt the head back, lift the chin, pinch the nose, seal your mouth over theirs, and blow steadily until the chest rises.
- Continue cycles of 30 compressions to 2 breaths until paramedics arrive or normal breathing returns.
2. Hemotoxic Venoms (damage blood cells and vessels)
Examples: brown snake
Advice for Australian snakebites:
- Apply a firm pressure-immobilisation bandage (10–15 cm wide) over the bite site, then wrap up the limb.
- Splint the limb and keep the victim calm.
- Monitor for swelling, bruising or bleeding under the skin.
Note for non-Australian viper bites (rattlesnakes, Eurasian vipers):
- Do not apply a firm pressure bandage.
- Simply splint and immobilise the limb without tight wrapping.
- Seek medical help immediately.
3. Cytotoxic Venoms (local cell death)
Examples: white-tail spider, some ants
Advice:
- Clean the wound gently with soap and water.
- Cover with a loose sterile dressing—no tight bandage.
- Elevate and immobilise the limb.
- Watch for severe, disproportionate pain or rapidly increasing swelling—these may signal compartment syndrome and need urgent medical attention.
- Seek medical help if redness, pain or swelling worsens.
4. Jellyfish Stings
Examples: box jellyfish, Irukandji
Advice:
- Pour household vinegar over the sting for at least 30 seconds to stop nematocysts firing.
- Remove tentacles with gloved hands or a towel.
- Rinse with seawater (never fresh water).
- Call 000 if the victim feels faint, has difficulty breathing or shows any signs of collapse.
- Be ready to start CPR (see section 1) if breathing stops.
This summary follows Australian Resuscitation Council and St John first-aid guidelines (late 2024/early 2025). Always train formally, follow local protocols, and call 000 for any bite or sting in Australia.