A Queensland woman has been bitten in her bed by the world\u2019s second most venomous snake, the state\u2019s ambulance service says.<\/p>\n
The eastern brown snake bit the woman, who is in her 20s, on her hand in the early hours of Friday on a rural property in the Western Downs, two and a half hours west of Brisbane.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a surprise to wake up to,\u201d the Queensland ambulance service wrote on Facebook, adding that a Toowoomba-based LifeFlight rescue helicopter had taken the woman to hospital.<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s family wrapped her hand in bandages before paramedics arrived. She was given anti-venom before the flight.<\/p>\n
Darling Downs Health, which runs Toowoomba hospital, said: \u201cThe patient remains in a serious but stable condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tim Hudson, of Queensland-based Hudson Snake Catching, said brown snake fangs were just 3mm to 4mm long, so bites were usually painless \u2013 but could be fatal if untreated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly possible that people can get bitten and not realise,\u201d Hudson said.<\/p>\n
He added that houses, and in this case a bed, were \u201cfair game from a snake\u2019s point of view\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis snake quite likely would have come in during the day when it was hot yesterday and I suspect \u2026 could have been in the house overnight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The medical emergency came two days after a snake was spotted in the ice dispenser of a fridge in the Adelaide Hills.<\/p>\n
This was in my friend\u2019s fridge yesterday. To make it worse her son was bitten by a venomous snake when he was just 6 years old so this was extremely traumatic for her. pic.twitter.com\/uGHNnlACP3<\/p>\n
\u2014 Gillian Fennell (@stationmum101) January 11, 2024<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The post on X attracted scores of comments from people recounting of encounters with deadly Australian snakes and the shock of seeing a snake in a fridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so imperative that everyone understands snakebite first aid and has easy access to bandages,\u201d Hudson said. \u201cYou need to get those bandages on straight away and makes arrangements immediately for an ambulance or a safe alternative to go directly to hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n