Snake Bite At Yoga Session Puts Woman in Hospital

A snakebite landed a holidaymaker in the hospital for four whole days after she was bitten at her hotel.

Sam West, from Shifnal in Shropshire in the U.K. was on holiday in Cyprus when the blunt-nosed viper attacked, the BBC reported. She had been about to step onto a meditation platform at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hills hotel when the snake bit her on her ankle.

"It quickly, before I had time to react, bit me just above my left ankle," West told the BBC. "I started to shake the snake off as I shouted that I had just been bitten by a snake. My leg was burning and throbbing, the pain was instantaneous."

Hotel staff and members from the tour operator TUI, rushed to help West who was taken straight to the hospital for anti-venom treatment .

Newsweek has contacted TUI and the hotel for comment via email.

The blunt-nosed viper is endemic to Cyprus as well as parts of North Africa. It possesses a highly toxic venom that can kill a human if medical assistance is not sought immediately.

West, who had been on holiday to celebrate her 40th birthday, was treated with anti-venom and spent a total of four days in intensive care. She is having to use a wheelchair and was not able to fly home for a few days.

After West was discharged from hospital, she had to pay €310 ($330) a night for another hotel that had wheelchair access.

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West has been in contact with her insurance provider following the incident, the BBC reported.

The hotel cut back some plants around the meditation platform following the incident, as snakes often like to lurk in long weeds.

"The activities that take place on the platform have now been moved to the dance studio," she said. "However, hotel guests are continuing to use the platform and explore the area around."

Although serious when they do occur, snakebites remain relatively rare. Vipers will only usually bite a human if they feel directly provoked or threatened. However some bites can occur by accident. A snake may lunge if it is stepped on, for example.

According to a study in the National Library of Medicines the venom of a blunt-nosed viper can cause life-threatening disturbances to blood flow, "reduced functionality of the kidneys" and ischemia at the bite site, which occurs when blood flow and oxygen is restricted to a certain area.

This study also flagged various symptoms that can develop following a bite, including "severe localized pain and swelling, dizziness, weakness, low blood pressure and itching" around the site of the bite.

Snakes typically become more active in the warmer spring and summer months, meaning bites are more frequent during this time. The cold blooded animals typically seek out shelter when the sun gets very hot, meaning they sometimes slither in close proximity of humans.

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