Mum bitten by venomous snake at popular family beach
The woman presented herself to the lifeguards on the Sydney beach with visible puncture wounds on her right ankle.
A woman was bitten by a snake at a popular family beach on Sunday afternoon with paramedics rushing to offer medical assistance as she began to suffer from symptoms of snake venom.
The 45-year-old mum was at Long Reef Beach in Sydney’s north with her young son and partner and was bitten by a black snake on the sand dunes just after 4.20 pm, leaving visible puncture wounds on her right ankle.
The family approached a lifeguard who immediately provided first aid treatment, applying a pressure bandage on the women’s leg to limit the spread of the snake's venom.
NSW Ambulance arrived within 15 minutes and the woman was transported to a local hospital.
It is believed the woman was bitten by a venomous red-bellied black snake, with its venom known to cause nausea, vomiting, headaches and diarrhoea. If untreated patients can go into cardiac or respiratory arrest.
The species is one of the most frequently encountered snakes on the Northern Beaches and along Australia's east coast. There are no recorded deaths from bites of this species.
Snake bites in Sydney's Northern Beaches
The incident on Sunday is the latest of a number of snake bites on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, with another snake bite reported at the start of the month at Fairy Bower rock pool in Manly. It is unknown exactly what bit the 52-year-old woman in Manly but it was reported she claims she saw a snake move away from her after feeling a sharp pain in her right calf.
In January, a 32-year-old woman was bitten by a snake on Great Mackerel Beach in Pittwater and, due to being inaccessible by road, water based crews were deployed.
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