Mumbai: Bitten, mom and daughter go to hospital holding snake

MUMBAI: What do you do when a snake bites? The usual advice is don’t panic. But when a snake bit an 18-year-old girl and her mother in their Dharavi home, the mother took the advice a step further, and, showing composure and alertness, went to a nearby hospital holding the snake in her hand so that the doctor would be able to give proper treatment on time.
“I have heard that in case of snake bites, doctors should know what species of snake it was to give proper treatment on time. So I didn’t leave the snake and handed it over to the doctor,” said 32-year-old Sultana Khan, who went to Sion hospital from their home in Dharavi in a taxi, with the snake in one hand.

The snake entered their tiny house at Balkipur in Dharavi through a small hole on Sunday morning following continuous rain and flooding in the area. Their house is a stone’s throw from the Maharashtra Nature Park, home to migratory birds and rare butterflies besides cobra, Green Viper and Russell’s Viper.
“We were having breakfast when the snake bit my daughter Tahseen on her left hand. Initially we thought it was a rat but then we saw the snake moving fast and sticking to Tahseen's hand. I was shocked and scared but I immediately caught the snake with my bare hands,” said Sultana.
In this melee, the snake bit Sultana also on her right finger but she didn’t leave the two-foot long snake. Since they were alone at home then, they immediately went to a nearby clinic along with the snake in a hand.
However, as the doctor asked them to go to Sion hospital, Sultana took a cab still holding the snake. Once at the hospital, she handed over the snake to the doctor-in-charge for inspection for poison.
The doctor then summoned experts who examined the snake and identified it as a Russell’s Viper, a venomous snake. The doctors treated both the mother and the daughter. Both have been kept under observation at the hospital for the next three-four days.
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