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Snakebite: what to do right away, what not to do, and the signs
For anyone who was just bitten by a snake, is with someone who was, or will be working or walking where snakes live. This page passes on, by name, what CDC’s page Venomous Snakes at Work says (from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH), with a few lines from an older NIOSH bulletin, marked each time: what to do while you wait, what not to do, the signs of a venomous bite, the four kinds of venomous snakes in the US, how to keep from being bitten, and the hospital. It builds the words to tell 911 and prints a card to fill in.
Right now
- Call 911. Get emergency medical care as soon as possible, and do not wait for symptoms (CDC). NIOSH’s 2019 bulletin says to call 911 and to always treat a snakebite as an emergency.
- Get away from the snake. Do not try to catch it or kill it, and never handle it, even dead. A photo from a safe distance may help (CDC).
- Do not drive yourself: the bite can make you dizzy or pass out (CDC).
- While you wait: keep calm; lie or sit down with the bite in a neutral, comfortable position; take off rings and watches before swelling starts; wash the bite with soap and water; cover it with a clean, dry dressing; mark the edge of the swelling on the skin and write the time beside it (CDC).
- Do not: cut it, suck it, put ice on it, soak it, or use a tourniquet; no alcohol, and no pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen (CDC).
More help
- An emergency of another kind: First aid: what to do right now. A severe allergic reaction: the signs and what to do.
- After the hospital: Get ready for your appointment. No insurance: When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Other bites outdoors: After a tick bite.
- All our free tools.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 14, 2026 on two pages on cdc.gov, both from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Venomous Snakes at Work (updated and reviewed September 23, 2026), the main source, and the older bulletin Venomous Snakes: A Neglected Hazard for Outdoor Workers (posted July 9, 2019), used only for a few lines the current page does not have, marked each time. Where they differ: the 2019 bulletin said to keep the bite below the heart; the current page says a neutral position of comfort, and the guide follows the current page. Medicines: the only ones named are the pain relievers CDC says not to take; no amount of anything is given. What we left out: the color rhymes for coral snakes (the current page gives none), snakes outside the US, bites to pets, and how antivenom is given (that is the hospital’s work). The page does not name a poison center line, because neither page does. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.