Taipei Times
Date: Apr 21, 2019
By: Tsai Shu-yuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
People must not provoke or attack snakes in the wild and should refrain from using
Doctors at Veterans General Hospital Taichung branch’s department of toxicology hold snake antivenom products at the hospital on Thursday.Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
“midwives’ cures,” but seek medical attention as soon as possible if bitten, doctors said.
Mao Yen-chiao (毛彥喬), a doctor at Veterans General Hospital Taichung branch’s department of toxicology said that the hospital in June last year treated a 50-year-old farmer who said he was bitten by a cobra.
The man killed the snake, took it home and ate it with a herbal liquor in a bid to counteract the venom, Mao said.
However, the alcohol helped the venom spread and 10 hours later he was at the hospital with a swollen left foot and complaining of unbearable pain, Mao said, adding that he was diagnosed with sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial infection that can swiftly destroy skin, fat and the tissue covering muscles. [FULL STORY]
