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Take the sting out of getting bitten
Australia has a serious cast of biting and stinging animals. Brown snakes, tiger snakes, redbacks, funnel-webs, paralysis ticks, box jellyfish on the tropical coast, blue-ringed octopuses in southern tidal pools. Most encounters end without harm. The ones that don't can move from manageable to life-threatening in minutes, so the first few minutes are what matter most.
If you spend time on a property, in the bush, or out on the water, the response to a bite or sting is worth knowing before you need it. The closer you are to remote country, the more it pays to know. This is a practical guide to first aid for bites and stings in Australia, covering the response that genuinely helps, the actions that have been retired because they did more harm than good, and what's worth carrying in a kit when you're going somewhere you might run into trouble.
Call triple zero first
In an emergency, ring 000 before doing anything else. Keep the person still, sit or lay them down, and stay with them. If they stop breathing, start CPR and keep going until paramedics take over. If you can do it safely, note what the animal looked like, but never waste time chasing it for identification. Anti-venom selection in Australian hospitals is now done by symptoms and laboratory analysis of venom traces, not by visual identification of the snake or spider.
Pressure immobilisation: when to use it
Pressure immobilisation bandaging is the response recommended by the Australian Resuscitation Council for Australian venomous snakes, funnel-web spiders, blue-ringed octopuses, and cone snails. The method works because most of these venoms travel through the lymphatic system, not the bloodstream. A firm bandage compresses the lymph vessels and a splint stops muscle movement that would otherwise pump lymph around the body.
How to apply it:
- Bandage the bite site firmly, starting at the bite and working up the limb, then back down toward the fingers or toes.
- Wrap as you would a sprained ankle. Snug enough that you can't slide a finger underneath, but not so tight that the fingers or toes go pale or cold.
- Splint the limb so the muscles can't pump. Any rigid object will do.
- Keep the person still. Carry them out rather than letting them walk if you possibly can.
If you don't have a proper bandage, use clothing, a torn shirt, a stocking, anything to hand. Don't waste time looking for the perfect piece of kit. Fear and panic are normal in this situation, and imperfect first aid done quickly beats perfect first aid done late.
Pressure immobilisation is not used for redback bites, bee or wasp stings, jellyfish (other than blue-ringed octopus), tick bites, or stonefish stings. Applying it to the wrong injury can increase pain and is not effective for venom that doesn't travel via lymph.
If the bite or sting is to the torso, neck, head, or face where you can't bandage a limb, the priority is total stillness. Lay the person down, ring 000, and place firm pressure with a folded cloth or pad over the bite site if it's practical. Don't move the person to a more convenient spot. Lymph movement is driven by muscle activity, so stillness becomes the main tool when bandaging isn't possible.
First aid for land bites and stings
Snake bite
Apply pressure immobilisation as above. Don't wash the bite site. Forensic identification of venom traces on the skin helps the hospital choose the right anti-venom. Mark the position of the bite on the bandage with a pen if you have one, and note the time. Get to hospital.
Not every Australian snake is venomous, but treat every snake bite as if it is. Time to definitive medical care is the variable that matters most. The seasonal patterns of snake activity are useful to know if you spend time in the bush.
Funnel-web spider bite
Same response as a snake bite: pressure immobilisation, splint, ring 000. Funnel-web venom acts quickly and is the most dangerous of the Australian spiders. Anti-venom exists and is highly effective when given in time.
Redback spider bite
Different response: no bandage. Apply an ice pack or cool wet cloth to the bite. The pain is significant and can last hours, but bites are rarely life-threatening for healthy adults. Children, the elderly, or anyone with a strong systemic reaction should be seen at hospital. Anti-venom is available where needed.
White-tail spider bite
White-tail spider bites cause local pain and a small red mark. The widely repeated claim that they cause spreading necrotic skin ulcers has not held up under clinical review of confirmed bites. Clean the area, apply a cold pack, and see a doctor if there are clear signs of infection or an unusually severe local reaction.
Bee and wasp stings
For a bee sting, slide or scrape the sting out with a fingernail or the edge of a card. Don't pinch and pull, as that squeezes more venom in. Wash the area and apply ice for swelling. Most reactions are local and pass within hours.
Watch for signs of anaphylaxis: hives spreading beyond the sting site, swelling of the throat or face, wheezing, or difficulty breathing. That is a triple zero call and, for anyone with a diagnosed allergy, an adrenaline auto-injector should be used straight away. After using the auto-injector, lay the person flat (or sit them up if breathing is harder lying down), ring 000, and use a second dose at five minutes if symptoms haven't started improving.
For European wasp stings, soap and warm water plus ice, with the same anaphylaxis watch.
Tick bite
Current Australian medical advice is to kill the tick where it sits before removing it. Use a freezing agent containing ether, such as a wart-removal spray or a freezing aerosol. Pulling a tick out with tweezers, or trying to kill it with methylated spirits or oil, makes the tick inject more saliva and any pathogens it carries.
Once the tick has frozen and dropped off, clean the site and watch for redness, swelling, or signs of paralysis tick toxicity, particularly in young children and pets. The Australian paralysis tick can cause progressive weakness that needs medical management. If you can't freeze the tick safely, leave it in place and see a doctor.
First aid for marine bites and stings
Box jellyfish
The most dangerous marine stinger in Australian waters, mostly found in tropical waters north of about Gladstone, especially in the wet season. Pour vinegar liberally over any visible tentacles to neutralise the stinging cells, then carefully remove the tentacles. Apply pressure immobilisation bandaging. Call 000. Anti-venom is available, and CPR may be needed.
Bluebottle and other jellyfish
Wash any remaining tentacles off with seawater, not fresh water. Hot water immersion, around 45 degrees Celsius and as hot as the person can stand without scalding, is the current first aid recommendation for bluebottle pain. Don't apply vinegar to bluebottle stings. If hot water isn't available, an ice pack works.
Blue-ringed octopus
Apply pressure immobilisation immediately. The venom is a powerful neurotoxin that can cause the person to stop breathing within minutes. CPR may be needed and may need to be sustained for an hour or more until paramedics arrive. There is no anti-venom. The person can recover fully if breathing is maintained throughout.
Stonefish
Immerse the wound in water as hot as the person can tolerate, around 45 degrees Celsius. The heat denatures the venom and reduces pain significantly. Get to medical help; anti-venom exists, and a tetanus booster may be needed.
What never to do
A few old first aid practices still circulate and still cause harm. None of these are current Australian practice:
- Tourniquets cut off blood supply and do nothing for venom that travels via lymph.
- Cutting a bite to "let the venom out" introduces infection and increases bleeding.
- Sucking out venom doesn't work and contaminates the wound.
- Giving the person alcohol speeds up circulation and makes things worse.
- Washing a snake bite removes venom traces the hospital needs for identification.
If you're out of phone range
In remote country, the decision tree shifts. The default is still pressure immobilisation, stillness, and waiting for help. If no help is coming, the person who has been bitten stays still while someone else goes for reception or assistance.
Don't walk a person who has been bitten by a snake, funnel-web, or blue-ringed octopus, as walking pumps lymph and venom. Carry or wheel them out if you have to move them. A satellite communicator (PLB, EPIRB, or messenger-style device) changes the worst-case scenario the most for remote-area travel.
Trip planning should cover phone-range maps, the nearest hospital, and at least one person carrying a way to call for help when phones fail. See our guide on handling emergencies while travelling for the wider response framework.
What to keep in your kit
Most of the snake bite kits we ship from the Bendigo warehouse go out to properties, work utes, and remote-touring rigs. The people who need them aren't usually near a hospital.
For most Australian outdoor situations, a well-stocked first aid kit covers the ground. The specific items worth having for bites and stings:
- A pressure bandage long enough to wrap an adult arm or leg properly. The wide elastic kind, not the small fabric strip.
- Vinegar, in tropical coastal areas in the wet season.
- A splint, or a rigid item that can be improvised as one.
- A pen or marker for noting bite position and time on the bandage.
- A tick freezer spray if you spend time in tick country, especially the NSW east coast.
- A way to apply heat for bluebottle and stonefish stings: a chemical heat pack or a known source nearby.
A dedicated snake bite first aid kit holds the right bandages, splint, and instructions in one place. For broader coverage on a day out, an outdoor first aid kit gives you the same plus the rest of what you might need.
Where to get help
In an emergency: 000.
Poisons Information Centre: 13 11 26, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They can talk you through what to do for any bite or sting while you wait for help, or confirm whether something needs hospital attention. The same number works from anywhere in Australia.
For full Australian context on first aid outdoors, see our guide to first aid in the Australian outdoors. Before your next trip outdoors, the outdoor first aid kit collection has options sized to the trip you're actually doing.