snake bite causes her leg to rot away

The girl was reportedly bitten by a snake of yet unknown specie causing a laceration to an artery in her leg, resulting to bleeding and ultimately leading to what is known as “compartment syndrome” – a serious condition which occurs when a decrease in blood supply to the affected muscles is caused by pressure within a “compartment” such as a leg. The snake venom has caused severe necrosis or the premature death of cells, essentially causing the tissue to die, leaving the muscles to wither and rot. The picture below (warning: graphic content), which was posted on Instagram by one juventudmedica, showed the girl’s leg has completely turned black, more looking like a dry tree twig. According to the Daily Mail, the girl did not immediately seek medical treatment, but used indigenous medicines from the place where she came from. She was only taken to a hospital in the capital Caracas after a month, during which the doctors said the leg has to be amputated. Speaking to the Mail, a general practitioner who was shown the photograph, Dr. Arun Ghosh from Liverpool, said the picture clearly shows severe necrosis and the leg has to be amputated as soon as possible; although the girl may still die from the snake venom. “The whole lower leg is black, it’s spreading up. Looking at the rest of her body she’s showing signs of muscle wastage from the poison. Her other leg is thin. It’s likely she will still die,” he said. Dr. Ghosh explained the severe necrosis has now led to rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening condition caused by the deterioration of muscle all throughout the body. Rhabdomyolysis can cause kidney failure and can be fatal if not treated properly. He also suspected the girl may have received only a “classic rural treatment”, similar to antibiotics to address the local infection secondary to the bite, but not the required medicine to treat the poison, stop the clotting of the blood and keep it flowing through out the body. Dr. Gosh also warned about snakebites as the venom is most often of complex type and depends on the species of the reptile. - See more at: http://www.pinoy-ako.re/2014/10/snake-bite-causes-leg-rot-away-2/#sthash.nXlok2Qq.dpuf