Don’t try to ID the snake. You don’t need to know the snake’s species to treat the patient. Trying to catch or kill the snake is dangerous and wastes time. Focus on the patient’s symptoms.

Venomous snakebites fall into three main types (syndromes) plus an additional can’t miss HALO diagnosis: neurotoxic (paralyzes the nervous system), hemotoxic (affects blood), cytotoxic (destroys tissue), and systemic instability/sudden collapse. Every dangerous snakebite will show at least one sign from these syndromes, and those signs will continue to worsen until antivenom is given to neutralize the threat. Treatment depends on the presence and progression of clinical signs, not the snake’s identity.