LOOK: Girl’s leg shrinks and turns black after being bitten by a snake

After being bitten by a snake, a 13-year-old Venezuelan girl suffered from severe necrosis causing her leg to shrink and turn black.

The photo shared on Instagram by user ‘juventudmedica’ showed the unidentified girl’s leg looking “withered” and “rotten”. According to the caption, the girl was initially treated by remedies from the indigenous culture. She also suffered from a broken elbow because of the snake attack.

However, the girl was transferred to Carcaras, Venezuela for proper medical treatment a month later.

According to Dr Arun Ghosh, a doctor from Liverpool, the girl in the photo may need to have her leg amputated due to the damage caused by severe tissue necrosis. In addition, Ghosh said the girl may possibly die from it due to the nature of the poison.

He said: “Snake venom is very complicated and depends on the species of snake.”

Furthermore, the doctor said that necrosis may have possibly led to a condition called rhabdomyolysis  causing muscle tissues to die throughout her body. This condition can lead to damage to kidneys and eventually result to kidney failure if the person has low blood pressure or even death if left untreated.

‘This girl has had classic rural treatment which is often only able to treat local infection secondary to the bite (at best say equal to antibiotics),” Ghosh said.

He explained that while the girl may have been given antibiotics by locals in her indigenous culture, she did not receive an anti-venom medication which has components that paralyse the nerves and make the blood clot.

“But she is unlikely to have received anti-venom treatment to keep her blood flowing through her body.”