Risk of children being hospitalized due to snake bites and bee stings causing critical conditions during the summer

Patient VTL (11 years old, Kien Giang province) was admitted to Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC) in a comatose state, with severe respiratory failure, swelling and bruising of the right ankle and a snake bite mark on the inner ankle. After about 10 hours of antivenom infusion, the child regained consciousness, was breathing well on his own, and was taken off the ventilator.

According to records, children’s hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City continuously receive children who have had domestic accidents, and the number tends to increase during the summer. Among them, there are many cases of bee stings and snake bites.

Recently, the City Children's Hospital received a child with NTTT (11 years old, Long An province) in a state of drowsiness, coma, cyanosis, difficult to measure blood pressure, yellow skin and eyes, and little urine the color of sarsaparilla. The patient was diagnosed with grade III anaphylaxis due to wasp stings, respiratory failure, and multiple organ damage. After nearly 2 weeks of treatment, the child was taken off the ventilator, liver and kidney function returned to normal, alert, and had a good amount of urine.

Child hospitalized due to snake bite. Photo: Provided by the hospital

Not only in Ho Chi Minh City, at Xuyen A Vinh Long General Hospital (Vinh Long province), the unit has just received and promptly treated a child patient NNNQ (7 years old, Vinh Long province) in anaphylactic shock due to a bee sting.

Pediatricians at the Xuyen A General Hospital in Vinh Long recommend that anaphylactic shock is a dangerous condition that can lead to death and requires emergency treatment. If after being bitten by an insect, the patient has symptoms of hives all over the body, fatigue, difficulty breathing, etc., they should be taken to the nearest medical facility for timely treatment.

Doctor examines a child patient. Photo: Provided by the hospital

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), statistics in Ho Chi Minh City in 2023 showed that more than 19,000 cases of injury accidents occurred in the age group of 0-16 years old, of which more than 8,000 cases occurred at home.

Currently, the death rate due to accidents and injuries in Vietnam is up to 11%, just behind cardiovascular diseases (18%) and infectious diseases (15%). Every day, in Vietnam, hundreds of children and adolescents are still injured by accidents.

To ensure the safety of children at home during the summer vacation, HCDC recommends that regardless of age, leaving children home alone is a risky and potentially dangerous choice. Therefore, when there is no other alternative, parents need to equip their children with some knowledge of self-protection when home alone and must teach them some skills to handle situations that may arise.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Van Quang - Head of the Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning at Children's Hospital 1 said that snake bites are a fairly common accident, often occurring during the rainy season because snakes often crawl into houses, especially in rural areas. The correct first aid is to clean the snake bite site, disinfect the wound, calm the victim, immobilize the bitten limb and place it lower than the heart, and quickly go to a medical facility.

In case of cobra bite, an elastic bandage should be applied directly above the bite to limit the spread of venom, which can cause respiratory failure due to muscle weakness. Patients should go to a medical facility immediately for timely diagnosis and treatment.

Source: https://laodong.vn/suc-khoe/nguy-co-tre-nhap-vien-vi-bi-ran-can-ong-dot-gay-nguy-kich-dip-he-1356605.ldo