Poisonous animals

Tourists need to take into account that the closer they are to nature, the more likely it is that they will encounter poisonous animals, as well as animals that carry diseases. According to the World Health Organization, snakebites alone, which account for a twentieth of all human cases of poisonous animals, affect about half a million people every year. 40 thousand of them die. An even greater number of victims are caused by bites and punctures of animals belonging to numerous types of arthropods.

Poisonous animals and disease-carrying animals that participants in mountain trips or ascents may encounter include:

—reptiles: cobra, viper, efa, copperhead, viper;

- arthropods: karakurt, scorpion, scolopendra, hornet, as well as the carrier of tick-borne encephalitis - the ixodid tick.

Reptiles

There are 14 species of poisonous snakes in the Soviet Union. In terms of the degree of poisonousness, the most dangerous is the “blind” (without a pattern of glasses) cobra {Fig. 9). It is followed by the Central Asian and Caucasian viper, sand efa, copperhead and several types of vipers: common, sand, horned, Caucasian (Kaznakova), etc.

In the mountains, snakes live in empty holes, in old destroyed stumps, under stones, in rock cracks. In the forests of the foothills up to an altitude of 2000 m, and sometimes above the forest line, the common viper is found. On the southern slopes of the Caucasus you can often see the steppe viper. Throughout the Caucasus, in alpine meadows up to the line of eternal snow (up to an altitude of 2500-3000 meters), the Caucasian viper (Kaznakova) is found. In Transcaucasia and Tien Shan viper is found.

She lives in the foothills, devoid of vegetation. Here, near water sources, in the evening and early in the morning she hunts birds arriving to drink. Hides during the day. In the mountainous regions of Altai and Kazakhstan, the copperhead is widespread. It lives in rocky areas poor in vegetation (on old large screes, near moraines). Like the viper, it hunts at night and hides during the day. In the mountains of the Southern Pamirs and Western Tien Shan, tourists can encounter efa (Fig. 10).

Snakes feed on rodents, small birds, frogs, insects, and bird eggs. As a rule, a person is attacked only for the purpose of self-defense.

The venom of different snakes has different effects on humans. Thus, viper venom contains a substance that destroys the walls of thin blood vessels. Therefore, the blood in the human body sweats through the capillaries into the surrounding tissues, causing minor hemorrhages. Another substance contained in viper venom increases blood clotting and thereby leads to the formation of numerous clots in the bloodstream, which clog the lumens of the pulmonary and cardiac vessels.

The strength of the damaging effect of the poison depends on the type of snake, the quantity and quality of the poison that got into the wounds, the location of the bite, the depth of penetration of the teeth into the skin, and the physical and mental state of the person at the time of the bite.

When bitten, a slight burning sensation is felt in the wounds. Redness and swelling appear. Half an hour after the bite, irresistible drowsiness, weakness in the legs, and clouding of consciousness occur. This is sometimes followed by severe salivation, paralysis of the tongue and larynx, frequent nausea and vomiting. The work of the heart weakens, paralysis occurs. The person is unable to move independently, breathing slows down and finally stops altogether. In case of poisoning, for example, with cobra venom, if the victim is not provided with timely assistance, he may die 2-7 hours after the bite.

There are a number of differences between venomous snakes and non-venomous ones. So, the first ones have a vertical (not round) pupil, a spear-shaped head, and the presence of two long teeth. At the same time, for example, a cobra has a round pupil and a completely non-spear-shaped head. The only characteristic feature common to all venomous snakes is the presence of poisonous teeth.

In camping conditions, if bitten by poisonous snakes, you should avoid anything that increases blood circulation. You should also not take alcohol, which promotes very rapid expansion of blood vessels and thereby accelerates the absorption of poison. The victim should not make long and rapid movements himself. The group must immediately organize a bivouac in the first suitable place.

A first aid measure for a bite is to immediately suck out the venom from the wounds, so that a significant part of the venom can be removed from the body. Squeezing out the poison with your fingers and sucking it out should be done within 7-10 minutes after the bite. Suctioning is completely safe for the people doing it.

A tourniquet should not be applied. It practically does not delay the process of absorption of poisons.

Since the release of poison from the body is mainly accomplished through the kidneys, it is recommended to take diuretics (urotropine) and drink as much fluid as possible. To speed up the removal of poison from the body, saline laxatives are also used (castor oil is not recommended for these cases).

In case of poisoning by cobra venom, which is rich in neutrotoxin, if the victim develops paralysis and weakened breathing, it is necessary to immediately begin prolonged artificial respiration.

The venom of vipers, vipers, ephas and copperheads acts mainly on the circulatory system and blood. Therefore, here it is advisable to introduce into the victim’s body drugs that seal the walls of blood vessels: vitamins C, P, K, B₁₂ and B₂, calcium salts. When cardiac activity decreases, the patient is given tonics, warmed with heating pads, and covered warmly. The legs are given a higher position.

If a snake bite occurs near a populated area that has some kind of medical facility, then the victim must be brought here as soon as possible so that he can be injected with antivenom serum.

Arthropods

Karakurt. Along with some other areas, karakurt lives in the foothills of the Pamir-Altai, Fan Mountains, Western Tien Shan, Eastern Caucasus, and in the mountains of Crimea.

Only the female karakurt is poisonous; it lives under stones and leads a predatory lifestyle. Its body is black and spherical. White or reddish spots on the back are a characteristic feature of these spiders. The female body size is 1-1.5 cm. They have two poisonous glands in the upper part of the jaw. Each gland ends in a movable sharp claw, inside of which there is a channel for the passage of poison. The poison is injected into the victim at the moment of the bite due to a sharp contraction of the muscles surrounding these glands.

A small red spot remains at the site of the bite, which quickly disappears. After 10-15 minutes, a sharp pain spreads to the abdomen, lower back, and chest. Numbness sets in in the legs. The person experiences strong mental agitation and fear. Dizziness, headache, choking, convulsions, and vomiting are often observed. The face turns blue. The pulse slows down and its rhythm is disrupted. The sick person feels lethargic, restless, and severe pain deprives him of sleep. After 3-5 days a characteristic rash appears on the skin, the condition improves. Recovery occurs after 2-3 weeks, but general weakness usually remains for more than a month.

Considering the significant distance of tourist groups from medical aid points, immediate cauterization of the bite site with a flaming match head should be recommended. This must be done no later than two minutes after the bite, before the poison has time to spread throughout the body. The high temperature destroys the poison that has not had time to be absorbed.

In severe forms of intoxication, the victim should be given plenty of fluids. For chills, trembling, feeling cold and muscle tension - warm the limbs and body with heating pads. In case of stool retention - cleansing enema, saline laxatives, carbolene.

In severe cases, in the absence of medical care, death can occur 1-2 days after a karakurt bite.

Scorpio. Up to 15 species of scorpions are known in the Soviet Union. They are inactive and hold onone by one. During the day they hide under stones, in rock cracks, under the bark of stumps. Their prey includes all kinds of insects, spiders, and centipedes, which they hunt at night. They may also be located near tents or fires, where they are attracted by the abundance of insects flying into the light. Some species of scorpions can live high in the mountains (up to 3500-4000 m), and they tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations and cold winters well.

Scorpion, like karakurt, is found in the foothills of the Pamir-Altai, Fan Mountains, Western Tien Shan, Transcaucasia and the Crimean mountains. The average size of a scorpion is 5-10 cm. Large specimens reach 20 cm (Fig. 12).

Two poisonous glands located inside the swollen tail segment end in a curved sharp sting, inside of which there is a narrow channel for the passage of poison.

The scorpion sting is a means of attack and defense. The toxicity of different types of scorpions varies. As a rule, its injection is not fatal for humans. But during periods of prolonged and sweltering heat, when the human body is weakened and, consequently, its resistance to disease is weakened, the injection can have serious consequences.

When the injection occurs, pain and swelling appear, then drowsiness, chills occur, and sometimes the temperature rises. Treatment is the same as for a karakurt bite.

Scolopendra. It is also found in the foothills of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the mountains of Crimea. Lives understones. Hunts spiders and insects. Average dimensions are 5-9 cm (Fig. 13).

The front pair of legs of the centipede are attached to the head and serve as jaws. They contain poisonous glands, from which a narrow channel runs to the top of the terminal claw of the maxillary.

Scolopendra venom affects humans depending on the climate. The poison is most effective in the spring. In the cold season, the venom when bitten causes almost no pain. In hot climates, the bite is severe and can even cause the death of the victim. At the moment of the bite, a person feels a sharp pain, then after 3-4 hours the areas of the body adjacent to the bite site swell significantly, the temperature rises to 39°C and higher. The person feels chills. After 2-3 days, all these phenomena disappear. Treatment is the same as for a karakurt bite.

The Vespa hornet is the largest representative among wasps, the female size reaches 3.5 cm (Fig. 14). Widely distributed in Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Lives in tree hollows.

Hornets feed mainly on insects; in addition, they suck sap from tree wounds and eatfruits of fruit and berry crops.

The poisonous gland is located in the abdomen and is connected to the sting by a thin tubule. The hornet sting is painful. Soon after the injection, the pain intensifies, dizziness, sometimes loss of consciousness, a feeling of suffocation, and palpitations appear. The greatest danger is when a person is attacked by several hornets.

Ixodid tick. Tick-borne encephalitis is a very dangerous disease. Thus, in Kazakhstan, mortality from tick-borne encephalitis is about 16% of the total number of people sick with this disease. And in some areas of the Far East it previously reached 50%. Even with a favorable outcome, severe forms of the disease often last a lifetime. remain disabled. That is why tick-borne encephalitis is classified as a particularly dangerous human disease.

Foci of tick-borne encephalitis are common across a significant part of the territory of the Soviet Union, especially in Western Siberia. Cases of the disease are also observed in places located directly on the routes to the highlands: Altai, some regions of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan adjacent to the Tien Shan.

The causative agent of the disease is a virus, the main carrier of which is a tick. In addition to humans, some animals are susceptible to the tick-borne encephalitis virus, including those that tourists may encounter to one degree or another. These are goats, sheep, hedgehogs and hamsters.

Tick-borne encephalitis is a disease characteristic mainly of areas of the country with moist mixed forests, with well-defined undergrowth and grass cover. But in recent years, cases of tick-borne encephalitis have been regularly observed in forest-steppe areas, in places with a predominance of shrub species and significant livestock grazing. The disease develops mainly in newcomers to dangerous areas. In old-timers, this disease is observed relatively rarely.

About 80% of all cases of infection in the human body occur through direct suction of a tick to the skin. The disease is also possible through the gastrointestinal tract, for example, when hands are contaminated while removing a tick, on the surface of which there may be a virus, as well as from drinking raw goat milk (about 10% of all cases).

The greatest activity of ticks is observed in spring and early summer, that is, after wintering. Ticks, which have low mobility, are usually located along paths along which animals pass. Having climbed the trunk of the plant to a height of 25 cm to 1 m, ticks lie in wait for their prey.

Once on the human body, the tick crawls for a long time in search of a convenient place for suction. Most often, ticks stick to the upper half of the body: in the scalp, ears, neck, collarbones, armpits, chest, arms and back. Thanks to the presence of painkillers and hemostatic substances in saliva, a tick bite turns out to be almost painless and unnoticeable. But it takes some time to inject a certain amount of virus enough to infect a person. Therefore, the earlier an attached tick is detected on a person’s body, the greater the confidence that the infection has not been introduced into the body.

Not every tick is a carrier of infection.

Those areas where the virus-carrying rate of ticks reaches 1% are considered dangerous, that is, out of every 100 cases of ticks sticking to the human body, the infection is introduced into the body in one. The most dangerous zones in the USSR are the areas adjacent to the Altai Highlands (25%) and the foothills of the Northern and Western Tien Shan (15-16%).

After infection, the human body actively fights this virus during a certain (latent or incubation) period. This period of the disease lasts from 1-2 days to 1-3 months. Most often, its duration is 9-14 days. These days there is a decrease in general activity and performance, depression, loss of appetite, weakness, aches throughout the body, lower back pain, bad mood, especially after sleep, irritability, occasionally headache and short-term fever.

Very often the victim does not pay attention to these signs, so the onset of the disease itself is sudden and very abrupt. The patient develops a feverish state and intense pain. Extremely increased irritability is noted. Cases of vomiting are common. Characterized by severe muscle pain. The sick person feels general weakness, malaise, and often a feeling of very strong chills, which gives reason to think about malaria. Sometimes the disease begins with a seizure resembling epilepsy.

The temperature during the first day of the disease rises to 39°C and above. Its maximum value is reached within 2-3 days. This factor is one of the most characteristic symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis. The pulse increases to 80-90, and breathing to 25-30 per minute.

A constant and stable sign of the disease is a violation of motor functions that occurs on the 2-3rd day: incomplete paralysis of the muscles, most often of the shoulder girdle and neck. There are frequent cases of involuntary rhythmic muscle contractions (tremors) of the fingers and hands, head, and eyelids occurring on the 5-6th day. In some cases, when vital parts of the brain are affected, the disease progresses very quickly and leads to respiratory paralysis within the first day of illness or even hours.

Along with severe forms of tick-borne encephalitis, this disease is often of a milder nature - an “erased” form of the disease, characterized by a short, only two-three-day feverish period. Symptoms of this form of the disease are headache (most often in the forehead), intense dizziness, muscle pain (especially in the lumbar region), general weakness and malaise, fever, chills. The temperature reaches 38-38.5°C, but lasts no more than two to three days. There is increased fatigue, lack of interest in work, insomnia, and irritability.

After the end of the acute form of the disease, a person sometimes experiences increased fatigue, incomplete performance, and damage to certain areas of the nervous system for several years. For an even longer period, there may be convulsive contraction of the hands or neck, as well as their incomplete paralysis. There is a decrease in mental abilities.

In order to increase the body's resistance to tick-borne encephalitis, all persons traveling to areas with natural tick-borne foci must be vaccinated 30-40 days before departure.

Preventive measures upon arrival in an area of ​​possible danger are: applying repellents such as dibutyl, dimethyl or diethyl phthalates to the collar, cuffs and waistband of clothing. Their repellent effect in dry weather lasts up to two weeks. Exposed parts of the body (face, hands) are lubricated with the same preparations. When moving through undergrowth or bushes, the hood of the storm jacket must be placed over your head. Button up the collar and sleeve cuffs of the shirt. Tuck storm trousers into high socks. You should also apply repellent to the top of your socks.

When driving, you should perform self- and mutual inspections. In areas with a high tick density - every 1.5-2 hours, with an average density - in the morning (immediately after spending the night), during the day and in the evening. Travel participants who were found to have attached ticks must be registered in the group, and special surveillance is established for them. Attached ticks must be removed immediately.

It must be taken into account that the tick is held on the human body with the help of a head - a piercing apparatus that has a jagged surface. Therefore, removing a tick is not a simple procedure. Under no circumstances should the head be allowed to be torn off and left in the human body.There are the following methods: grabbing the tick with tweezers or fingers wrapped in gauze, remove it using slow rocking movements or tie a thread around the tick at the site of its suction (between the base of its head and the human skin) and, stretching the ends of the thread to the sides, pull the tick up (Fig. 15). It is not advisable to use various substances that kill ticks, since this would make it difficult to further remove them from the skin. After removal, lubricate the suction site with iodine tincture or alcohol.

Due to the fact that a tourist falls ill with tick-borne encephalitis far from medical institutions, there is a need to immediately send him to the hospital. It should be remembered that sick people do not tolerate transportation well and evacuation of patients always worsens their condition. Therefore, transportation of sick people over long distances should be carried out by air. Before sending such patients, they should first be given sleeping pills and painkillers. When transporting short distances using improvised means, patients must be protected from sunlight. Give fluids frequently on the road.