Girl, 11, bitten by Britain’s solely venomous snake inflicting organs to close down
A young girl’s body began to shut down after she was bitten by an adder while enjoying a day out at a UK nature reserve with her family.
Lil Lythgo was at the Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve in Essex on Sunday (May 26) looking for pictures of Britain’s only venomous snake as part of the park’s family-friendly adder trail when she found a live one.
The 11-year-old was crouching down to get a better look at the slithering killer when the reptile struck and bit Lil’s hand.
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Mum Sam rushed her to Colchester General Hospital and by the time they had arrived Lil’s chest had begun to swell and was violently sick in the A&E until doctors managed to find anti-venom, the Mirror reports.
(Image: Supplied)
Sam told the paper that the ordeal was “just horrific”.
She said: “We went to the nature reserve where they had an adder trail where you found pictures and got a prize. We knew there might be adders but there was nothing to say how dangerous they were.
“My 11-year-old saw one and got down to look and it bit her. She cried, it was horrible. It started to swell up and we took her straight to hospital.
(Image: Supplied)
“When we got to A&E she was being violently sick. Within 20 minutes her organs were shutting down and you could see the venom tracking up her arm. They couldn’t find her pulse at one point and they gave her adrenaline.
“They got her some anti-venom and 20 minutes later she said ‘I feel better’. It was only an hour from when she was bitten, it was insane.”
Lil, who wants to be a vet when she gets older, felt well enough to go home a couple of days later. Now her mum wants to raise awareness of the dangers of snake bites to stop others from going through the same trauma.
(Image: Getty Images)
Sam added: “If I had taken her home I don’t know if she would be here now. I don’t want another parent to go through what we have.
“The hospital had one anti-venom available, they said they were going to have training for if it happened again. I cannot fault the hospital. They were amazing with her, they were brilliant.
“She’s always wanted a snake as a pet. She doesn’t now.”
Essex Wildlife Trust has been contacted for comment.
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