(Photo: RACQ CareFlight)
February 2, 2015
Two South Burnett men are recovering after being bitten by snakes near Kingaroy at the weekend.
On Sunday night, a 62-year-old Ellesmere man was taken to Kingaroy Hospital for treatment after being bitten by a snake on a property at Hilltop Drive, Ellesmere.
An ambulance spokesman said the man was bitten while walking through long grass.
On Saturday afternoon, a man aged in his 40s was flown to Brisbane for treatment after he was bitten twice by a brown snake.
The cattleman is believed to have been working on a property near Kingaroy when he stepped from his ute onto the one metre long snake.
The RACQ CareFlight medical team praised the man’s quick response to the serious situation.
“He remained calm, lay down, rang for help and put a compression bandage on his leg. He was very level-headed,” pilot Simon Newman said.
An ambulance took the man to Kingaroy Hospital; he was then flown by Careflight’s Toowoomba-based helicopter to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane for more treatment.
He travelled in a serious but stable condition.
It’s the third snakebite patient that’s been reported in the South Burnett recently.
On November 12, a South Burnett woman in her 40s was airlifted after she was bitten while cleaning out a shed.
The woman moved a washing machine and felt something sting her finger.
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People who suspect they may have been bitten by a snake should to remain calm and limit body movement to prevent the venom spreading.
“Call triple zero immediately and apply a bandage to the bite, wrapping it tightly around the area to compress it,” CareFlight Chief Medical Officer Allan MacKillop said.
“Don’t try to kill or capture the snake as people can find they are bitten a second time.
“Medical facilities don’t need the snake for identification.”
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A Brisbane woman aged in her 40s was airlifted to hospital on Sunday with leg injuries after her trail bike collided with a 4WD at Jimna.
It’s believed the woman was riding on Sunday Creek Road when the two vehicles collided.
The Sunshine Coast RACQ CareFlight rescue helicopter was tasked to the scene just before noon.
A QAS flight paramedic was winched down to the woman to initially treat her left leg injuries on scene.
She was then transported by ambulance to the nearby Sunday Creek Environmental Education Centre Park to be transferred to the waiting rescue helicopter.
The woman was airlifted to Nambour Hospital in a stable condition.
