Aussies unprepared for nastier summer bites and stings

Australian Community Media

Thousands of Australians require hospitalisation each year due to the lack of knowledge about first aid for venomous bites and stings. Vision courtesy: Australian Associated Press

Transcript

00:00 People say that we're pretty deadly on the court.

00:02 But not compared to a real Taipan or some of the other snakes and spiders found in Australia.

00:06 That's why if you get bitten or stung, it's important to know what to do ASAP.

00:09 And if I'm going bush, I need to be even more prepared.

00:13 I always pack my first aid kit and I always have my phone with the Australian Bison Sting Zap.

00:18 Because you can never be too prepared.

00:20 So my name's Oliver Kaye, 19 years old. I'm a mechanic.

00:24 I got bitten by a funnel web early February this year.

00:28 I just sleep in my bed and just woke up in pain.

00:31 My girlfriend Jasmine pulled back the sheets, saw a hairy spider at the time.

00:35 We didn't know it was a funnel web.

00:36 We head to the hospital and yeah, they quickly realised it was a funnel web bite.

00:39 So they started work.

00:40 They told me that I almost had a heart attack multiple times from the actual bite itself.

00:45 I took a video of the spider.

00:47 I didn't think anything of it.

00:49 I just thought first instinct, just take a photo of it.

00:52 And I'm glad I did because they used that to sort of make sure exactly it was a funnel web.

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