Snake bites: stay still, remove rings and watches, rush to a hospital with antivenom — no cutting, no suction, no tight binding

There is no cost involved. The main expense is knowing in advance which nearby hospitals stock antivenom. The real challenge is resisting the urge to treat the wound yourself.

The original WHO text contains three sentences. One sentence is 'Immediately immobilize the bitten body part completely and promptly transport to the nearest medical facility for treatment'. Another sentence is 'Avoid using a tourniquet and avoid cutting the wound'. There is also a sentence stating 'Treat with appropriate antivenom specific to the local snake species'. 'High-quality antivenom is the most effective treatment for preventing or reversing most of the toxic effects of snakebites'. Globally, approximately 8.1 to 13.8 million people die from snakebites every year, and the number of people suffering amputations and permanent disabilities is about 3 times the number of deaths. According to the snakebite treatment guidelines from China in 2024, it is estimated that there are 25 to 28 million cases of venomous snakebites in the country every year, with those bitten mostly being people above 50 years of age. Hospitals in the Yangtze River Basin and 11 southern provinces admitted 40817 patients with snakebite injuries over a period of 2017 to 2021 years, with 23 deaths during hospitalization (0.06%)

WHO. 动物咬伤 实况报道. https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/animal-bites ; WHO (2023). 蛇咬伤中毒 实况报道. https://www.who.int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/snakebite-envenoming ; Lai R 等 (2024). The Chinese guideline for management of snakebites. World Journal of Emergency Medicine 15(5):333-355：「An estimated 250,000–280,000 cases of venomous snakebites occur in China each year, affecting mainly patients aged ≥50 years」. https://doi.org/10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2024.076 ; Yan S 等 (2026). Clinical epidemiology of snakebite envenoming in hospitals 11 provinces of Yangtze River Basin and southern regions of China. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases：「withdrawal (4346, 10.65%), and death (23, 0.06%)」. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013247

Take a photo of the snake if you can, but do not try to catch it. Do not drink alcohol, do not run, do not attempt to suck the venom out with your mouth, do not apply ice, and do not use a tourniquet to restrict blood flow until the limb turns purple. There are no official statistics for the number of snakebite deaths nationwide in China. While the hospitalization mortality rate in those 11 provinces looks low, more than ten percent of patients discharge themselves before completing treatment, and their subsequent outcomes are not included in the statistics.