Woman almost loses arm after green snake pit viper bite
A teenage girl almost lost her arm after being bitten by a green pit viper snake in Loei, the Isaan province of Thailand. She said she got 90 stitches and was under the treatment for one year and five months.
A 19 year old girl, Kanyarat, posted a video of her 1.5-year-long treatment on TikTok on September 15. The post’s headline read…
“This is what the green pit viper gave me. One year and five months of treatment. Ninety needles and a permanent scar.” Watch the video here.
Kanyarat responded to netizens in the comments section saying that her arm would’ve been cut off if she didn’t get to the hospital in time.
She explained to netizens that a lot of her skin cells died due to snake venom and needed surgery to cut out the dead cells.
The video recorded the treatment processes she went through. Kanyarat got 30 stitches from the first time in theatre, another 40 stitches from the second visit to the surgery, and a final 20 stitches from the third surgery.
The video also showed the month-by-month recovery stage. The teenage girl is now fully recovered and she can move her arm and fingers as normal. However, the snake bite has left a huge scar that will be with her forever. She said she is thinking of getting a tattoo to cover it.
Kanyarat told the media that she was bitten on the middle finger of her left hand in April last year while swimming with friends in Huay Nan Prai Reservoir in the Na Haew district of Loei.
The doctor told her that the venom spread so deeply that some parts of her arms needed to be cut off. Kanyarat remained in hospital for 12 days and continued visits to a doctor’s surgery for aftercare treatment.
Green pit viper snake attacks are common in Thailand and deadly. The venom immediately flows into a victim’s blood system. After being bitten, the wound and body of the victim swell.
A veterinarian from the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, Taksa Vesarach, recommends that anyone who gets bitten by a green viper to loosen their clothes, and belts and take off accessories such as rings because the body will swell. Taksa added that tourniquets must not be used because they can cause permanent disfigurement.
After being bitten, a victim should clean the wound with clean water and see a doctor as soon as possible.
