Two High-Profile Australian Snakebites in April 2012

A kindergarten teacher in Flagstaff Hill, South Australia was bitten on the ankle inside the children’s play area. Flagstaff Hill is a built-up area, which highlights just how common snakes are.

The teacher should be congratulated: after being bitten, she first thought of the children, clearing them from the area. A colleague then settled the teacher, laying her down and immobilising the leg before calling an ambulance.

The teacher was later released from hospital without needing antivenom treatment.

The second story is more chilling: a Victorian woman was bitten while driving her car! The snake is believed to have crawled into the car through an open window or door. Once bitten, the woman didn’t panic. She grabbed the snake behind the head and threw it out of the vehicle. She applied a torniquet to the leg and drove home, by which time she had developed a headache and throbbing in her leg. She was later released from hospital after several hours of observation.