Snake Bite First Aid: How to Apply the Pressure Immobilisation Technique

Outdoorsia

6 days ago

3 min read

Australian snake bite first aid is different from everywhere else in the world - and different from what movies taught you. No sucking, no cutting, no tourniquets, no washing. One technique, done early and done firmly, is what matters. This is it, as set out in the national resuscitation guidelines.

Red-bellied black snake coiled in grass beside water in Australian bushland.

Read it before you need it.

This article is general information, not a substitute for first aid training. Do a course that covers snake bite - it's a few hours that could save a life.

What to Do in the First Five Minutes

1. Stop

The person must rest and stop all movement immediately. Movement pumps venom through the lymphatic system - stillness is treatment.

2. Call Triple Zero (000)

Every suspected snake bite gets an ambulance - even if the person feels fine, even if there's no visible mark. Bites can be painless with no puncture visible.

3. Bandage

Apply the pressure immobilisation bandage (below) as soon as possible.

4. Keep them still, calm and watched

Reassure them, keep them under constant observation, and do not walk them out. Help comes to the patient.

If they collapse and stop breathing normally

Start CPR immediately. There is no risk to the rescuer from venom.

How to Apply a Pressure Immobilisation Bandage

Over the bite first

Use a broad elasticised bandage, 10-15 cm wide, over the bite site as soon as possible - elasticised beats crepe; torn clothing works if there's nothing else. You can bandage over clothing.

Then the whole limb

Bandage from the fingers or toes and work upwards as far as you can reach. It should be firm and tight - you shouldn't be able to easily slide a finger under it.

Splint it

Splint the limb, including the joints either side of the bite, so it cannot move. For an arm, add a sling. Immobilise the whole person, not just the limb.

Mark it and leave it on

Mark the bite site on the outside of the bandage if you can, note the time, and do not remove the bandage - it stays on until hospital.

Bites not on a limb

Apply firm direct pressure to the site - but never restrict breathing, and never bandage the neck or head.

Six-step guide to applying a pressure immobilisation bandage for snake bite: over the bite site, start just above the toes leaving toes uncovered, overlap each layer wrapping upward, firm and tight so a finger cannot slide underneath, splint the limb including the joints either side, then mark the bite site and note the time.

What Never to Do: Myths That Persist

Do NOT wash the bite - hospitals use venom residue from the skin to identify the right antivenom.
Do NOT cut the wound or try to suck venom out.
Do NOT apply a tourniquet - arterial tourniquets are dangerous and are not used for any bite or sting in Australia.
Do NOT try to catch or kill the snake for identification - treatment doesn't depend on the species, and second bites happen exactly this way.
Do NOT let the person walk to help "because they feel okay" - collapse can come suddenly, well after the bite.

Getting Help in Remote Areas

No phone signal changes the plan, not the principles: the patient still stays still, bandaged and splinted.
Try elevated ground briefly for signal only if it doesn't mean moving the patient - send another walker instead if there is one.
A Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is the answer to this exact scenario - activate it for a snake bite in a no-signal area.
If the person is completely alone, unable to summon help, and help cannot come to them, national guidance accepts they may need to move to seek help after applying local pressure - a last resort, not the plan.

What to Carry in Your Pack

Two 10-15 cm elasticised compression bandages live permanently in every bushwalking first aid kit. Two, because one limb takes more bandage than people think. The kit itself is in Day Hike Packing List Australia: What to Take on a Bushwalk.
Purpose-made snake bite bandages with printed tension indicators take the guesswork out of "firm enough".
A splint can be improvised - trekking pole, branch, rolled sleeping mat - but the bandages cannot. Carry them. Keep a copy of our Snake Bite Emergencies card (from our Resources page) in your kit too.

Link to downloadable resource: The Outdoor First Aid Kit

You'll find what belongs in a lightweight day walk first aid kit, by category. Download or print the PDF with full details and keep it in your kit. The phone download version is a quick overview reminder list.

Source: first aid steps from the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR) guidelines, the national standard on which Australian first aid training is based: Guideline 9.4.1 - First Aid Management of Australian Snake Bite and Guideline 9.4.8 - Pressure Immobilisation Technique.