I was bitten on head by UK’s only deadly species of snake while I slept – the effect of the poison was frightening
A MAN was bitten on the head by Britain’s only deadly species of snake after it slithered into his tent on a camping holiday.
Tony Mohammed believes the venomous adder sunk its fangs into his scalp as he slept.
As well as leaving a weeping wound on Tony’s head, his eyes began to swell up as the poisonous fluid worked its way into his body.
The drama began when Tony’s wife Karina, 39, suggested they leave the fly-sheet of their tent open to keep cool on the hot nights during their stay near Southwold, Suffolk.
Tony, 56, said: “Against my better judgement, we left it open and a little more breeze came in.
“I was sleeping with my head towards the tent opening.
“At the time I thought it wasn’t a good idea — I was thinking more of mosquitoes and creepy crawlies — but when we opened it, I was glad of the breeze as it was hot.
“In the early hours of the morning, I felt like a burning on my head. I was half asleep and was rubbing it and then went back to sleep.
“I got up in the morning and my forehead was streaming with this clear liquid.”
The fluid continued to ooze from the wound throughout the day, so while out and about Tony decided to pop into an NHS walk-in centre to get it checked.
The medics cleaned it up, and gave him antibiotics and antihistamine cream.
The engineer began to perk up over the next 24 hours and the wound began to scab. But when that fell off, he saw the fang marks.
Tony, of Coventry, added: “When I saw the puncture marks, I thought straight away, ‘That’s got to be an adder’.
“I don’t know how many spiders would have a fang bite that’s 1cm wide, it seems pretty big for a spider.
“My eye swelled up 24 hours later. I think people on the campsite thought I’d been in a fight. The skin there now still has a different texture to the rest of the skin.”
Tony said the incident last July has not hurt his enthusiasm for outdoor trips.
He said: “It’s not put me off camping, it’s just nature doing its thing. I probably should have gone to the walk-in centre a bit sooner than I did.
“I would advise anyone bitten to get it checked out as soon as possible.”
