EMERGENCY

Animal Bites

  • Box jellyfish
    • Can cause sudden cardiac death
    • remove tentacles and put vinegar on
    • Ice for pain, opiates
    • May need CPR, oxygen, inotropes
    • IV antivenom
  • Irukandji
    • Small, can get through nets
    • Back, abdominal and muscle pains
    • Chest pain, sweating, anxiety, impending doom, headache, nausea, vomiting
    • Wash sting with salt water, remove tentacles
    • Hot water immersion
    • No vinegar
  • Bluebottle
    • Intense local pain, linear red eruption
    • Systemic effects are rare
    • Remove/wash with sea water (not fresh water)
    • Hot water for 20 minutes – (vinegar not helpful)
  • Snake bite
    • Clinical
      • Local effect
      • Nausea, vomiting, headache, abdo pain, diarrhea diaphoresis, collapse
    • Complications
      • Coagulopathy -V ICC – most important in Aus
      • Neurotoxicity
      • Myotoxicity – rhabdo
      • Acute kidney injury
    • Treatment
      • Pressure bandage over the bite site and whole effected limb (within 4 hours)
      • Discuss with toxicology
      • Immobilize limb and patient
      • Analgesia
      • Assess for envenomation – give antivenom if indicted (no need after 12 hours)
      • consider removing bandage if well and normal lab markers
      • Continue regular monitoring, Antivenoms all have a risk of anaphylactic reaction – need to be in resuscitation setting
  • Funnel web spider
    • Big black spider and unwell — manage presumptively
    • Pain and bleeding at site
    • Localized neuromuscular toxicity
    • Other – autonomic, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, CNS
    • High risk mortality
    • Pressure bandage, immobilize until antivenom available
    • Anti-venom available if severe – not required after 2 hours
    • Monitor for 12-24 hours
    • Consider tetanus
    • analgesia
  • Red back spider
    • Significant pain and systemic effects, regional sweating, erythema, parasthesisa, abdominal/chest/back pain
    • Not usually fatal
    • Analgesia, ice/heat packs, tetanus
    • Don’t do pressure bandage
    • Pain can continue 5 days\

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