The expert reported on the symptoms of a viper bite and first aid measures.

After being bitten by a viper, you can try to squeeze out a small amount of blood from the wound, take antihistamines, and drink more water. This was announced on June 28 by Andrey Lebedinsky, Associate Professor of the Department of Botany and Zoology at the Institute of Biology and Biomedicine of Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University.

"Vipers have a hemolytic venom containing enzymes that break down proteins in the walls of blood vessels and muscle tissue. As a result, the bitten area swells, there is a large swelling. But this leads to death in very rare cases. When bitten by a viper, nausea begins, headache, weakness occurs. Usually, all these symptoms disappear within 4-6 days, a maximum of a week," Lebedinsky told RIA Novosti.

He noted that in the first minutes after the bite, it is acceptable to try to gently squeeze some blood out of the wound, and the affected limb should be fixed and held up to slow down the spread of the venom. The expert also warned that the suction of the poison is possible only in the absence of damage in the oral cavity, otherwise it can enter the body and cause complications.

Lebedinsky added that cauterization and tourniquet are not recommended, as they can worsen the condition and increase tissue damage. According to him, if possible, it is necessary to seek medical help for the administration of anti—snake serum, and in the absence of it, take antihistamines and drink more water, whereas alcohol consumption can accelerate the spread of the poison.

Here are the vipers: why snakes have become more likely to attack people

Experts warn of a possible increase in such cases due to an increase in the reptile population.

Dmitry Blumenkranz, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, senior lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at ROSBIOTECH University, said on March 22 that with the arrival of March and April, snakes appear in forests, parks and the vicinity of cities after hibernation. Most of them do not pose a threat and try to avoid people, but there are also dangerous species.