PR worker is lucky to be alive after adder’s poisonous bite sends her into anaphylactic shock
- Beau Avis, 26, was walking her dog on a country lane near Brentwood, Essex
- She was rushed to a hospital in Romford where she was treated with anti-venom
A woman said she’s lucky to be alive after a poisonous snake bite sent her into anaphylactic shock within minutes.
PR worker Beau Avis, 26, was walking her dog Bonnie in sandals on a country lane near Brentwood, Essex, on Wednesday when an adder leapt up and bit her ankle.
Beau, who was with her dad Kevin at the time, was rushed to Queen’s Hospital in Romford where doctors luckily had the anti-venom to treat her.
‘I was put into resus and was drifting in and out of consciousness,’ Beau, from Brentwood, told The Mirror.
‘I didn’t have any control over any aspect of my body. It was truly terrifying.’
PR worker Beau Avis, 26, was walking her dog Bonnie in sandals on a country lane near Brentwood, Essex, on Wednesday when an adder leapt up and bit her ankle
Beau was put on morphine and held at Queen’s Hospital overnight, but when her leg started to swell to ‘double the size’, doctors gave her a second dose of the antidote and kept her in for another day
She added: ‘I’m really lucky, because I was told a lot of hospitals don’t tend to hold anti-venom but this one did. The consultant had to ring the Poisons Information Service to find out what dose was needed.’
Beau was put on morphine and held at Queen’s Hospital overnight, but when her leg started to swell to ‘double the size’, doctors gave her a second dose of the antidote and kept her in for another day.
‘It was like acid being poured over your legs,’ she said.
Beau is still struggling to walk and suffers from agonising pain.
She has shared her story to raise awareness of how to react if faced with this scenario.
Beau said that if it was her dog that had been bitten she is almost certain that it would have died.
‘There isn’t much in the way of aftercare because it’s so rare in the UK,’ she said.
‘Apparently you’re more likely to be hit by lightning, the odds are so small.’
Beau said she called the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and London Zoo for advice on what to do now that she is out of hospital.
She said: ‘My leg has turned yellow and I’m on crutches for now. Even lifting my leg to get into bed at first was just agony.
‘I’m still in pain now, six days on. The only way I can describe it is like when you get painful lactic acid build-up when you’re exercising, only all over your body and it being constant.
‘I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.’
Adders are the only poisonous snake in the UK but there are only about 50 to 100 recorded bite incidents per year, with 70 per cent of those not resulting in serious injury
Beau added: ‘I was lucky we were about 300 yards from the car when it happened.
‘If I’d been on my own and in the middle of nowhere I don’t know if I’d have been as fortunate.’
Adders are the only poisonous snake in the UK but there are only about 50 to 100 recorded bite incidents per year, with 70 per cent of those not resulting in serious injury.
Adders only tend to bite when they feel threatened, such as when they are stepped on or approached by a dog.
They are found across the UK, although they are more common in the south of England than the north and Midlands, along with Scotland and Wales.
Attacks nearly always occur in rural areas and the NHS advice given is to stay calm and seek immediate medical attention.
