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DAILY MAIL (London, UK) 29 July 08 Snake bite girl, 10, hospitalised for six days after she suffers worst ever know reaction to adder venom
Photos at URL below: Agony: Mollie Hawker, 10, was hospitalised for six days after being bitten by an adder
A 10-year-old girl was left hospitalised for six days after being bitten by a deadly adder snake in one of the worst cases doctors have ever seen.
Mollie Hawker's right leg swelled to three times its size and turned black after she was bitten on her toe.
The schoolgirl had been out walking in flip-flops with her mum and brother when she accidentally stepped on the snake.
She felt a searing pain and let out a scream, prompting mum Karen to glance over and spot the brown and cream 1.5ft-long snake slither away on a path.
The 34-year-old then noticed two puncher marks in Mollie's big toe and within minutes her whole foot began to balloon in size.
She was rushed to hospital by ambulance and admitted to the high dependency unit where she was hooked up to a heart monitor.
Doctors had to lower her leg to below her heart to stop the poison spreading through her body.
Within hours her entire limb up to the thigh had turned black and she was put on a morphine drip to ease the horrific pain.
Mollie spent six days in hospital and is now at home in Poole, Dorset, recovering on a pair of crutches.
Housewife Karen said: 'The doctors only see an adder bite once or twice a year and said Mollie's was the worst they had ever come across.
'They think it hadn't released it's venom for a long time so Mollie took the brunt of all of it.
'She was in so much agony and you could see where the poison had tracked up her vein to her thigh as it was black and bruised.
'I'm just thankful for all the doctors help as it could have been a lot worse.'
Dr McAulay said: 'Mollie's was one of the worst cases that I have seen but fortunately we don't see adder bites that frequently.
'She had no systemic features. The poison didn't affect her heart, her breathing or blood pressure, but we did monitor her breathing and blood pressure for 48 hours.
'It was just local affects such as severe swelling and pain around the affected area and a breakdown of tissue.
'That spread all the way up her leg, which swelled up and became very bruised. She was in a lot of pain.
'We gave her anti-biotics and minor surgery to the area around the toe to break down the swelling.
'It is incredibly rare for people to die of an adder bite. That is more likely to happen if the poison gets to the systemic areas and the nerves that control the heart and breathing.'
The shocking incident happened as Mollie was walking through a nature reserve in Bournemouth last week.
Nobody saw the snake until after she was bitten.
Karen, a married mum-of-three, said: 'Suddenly I heard Mollie scream and as I turned around she flicked off her flip-flop.
'I looked down and saw a brown snake lying on the path next to her so quickly picked up Ellis and moved Mollie away from it.
'I then saw she had two tiny puncture marks in her big toe but tried to calm her down as she was panicking.
'Mollie's foot began to swell and the pain was so bad that I gave her a piggy back home.
'I had no idea what to do with a snake bite so I put some ice on it and raised her leg before calling NHS Direct.
'But the woman told me that I was helping the poison to spread so she called an ambulance.'
Karen added: 'Her leg was swelling so much. It started off red, then went black and purple - it was bruised from her foot all the way up to the top of her leg.
'It was two or three times the normal size - about as swollen as it could be.
'The doctors put her on a heart monitor and watched her oxygen levels as they had no idea how her body would react to the venom.
'They lowered her leg to stop the poison from pumping up to her heart. A medical photographer even took pictures as they had never seen anything so bad.
'But despite the awful pain Mollie was so brave - braver than I would have been.'
After 48 hours Mollie was moved to a normal bay on the children's ward and was eventually allowed home four days later.
Karen said: 'Mollie is hobbling around on crutches now and it's just her foot that's swollen.
'I just didn't realise snakes in Britain could do so much damage.'
Dr Antionette McAulay, a consultant paediatrician at Poole Hospital, described Mollie's case as one of the worst she had come across.
The youngster spent two days in intensive care and underwent surgery to treat the wound around her big toe.
John Wilkinson, an officer at the Herpetological Conservation Trust, which manages habitats at 40 Dorset nature reserves, said adder bites were extremely rare, especially at this time of year.
He said: 'Snake bites in general and adder bites are very uncommon, and a severe reaction is extremely uncommon. The byword is caution.
'If a small girl is quietly tripping along she probably wasn't making enough noise to disturb the snake. Snakes will always shoot off rather than confront a person.'

Snake bite girl, 10, hospitalised for six days after she suffers worst ever know reaction to adder v

HORNCASTLE NEWS (UK) 30 July 08 Snake venom plea after adder attack
A vet has highlighted a national shortage of a life-saving drug after a dog was bitten by a venomous snake.
A three-year-old black Labrador was rushed to Dave Hopper's practice after an adder attack in Ostler's Plantation near Kirkby Lane in Woodhall Spa.
Calls to stockists across Lincolnshire and further afield for supplies of antivenin – a drug used to combat snake venom – proved futile. Powerful steroids and antibiotics had to be used instead.
Mr Hopper, of Vet on the Corner in Horncastle, said: "I find it extremely worrying that no doctors, pharmacies or hospitals had any antivenin in stock.
"There should be a facility or network to make it available and doctors should know where it is."
He said a specialist in Oxford had supplies but there was not enough time to get it to Horncastle.
Alex Campbell, branch manager at the Veterinary Poisons Information Service in London, told the News there is currently a national shortage of antivenin.
He said: "If you are in an adder rich area you need to be vigilant."
Mr Campbell said people are given priority while NHS supplies of antivenin are limited.
He said: "We try and advise vets to hold a supply or to have a good relationship with their local accident and emergency department."
A spokesperson for United Lincolnshire Hospitals said Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Nottingham City Hospital and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield hold antivenin.
The dog's owner, Jacqui Guthrie of Woodhall Spa, praised Mr Hopper and said her dog Kelly, who could have lost a leg or even her life if treatment had not been swift, will make a full recovery.
She was walking Kelly and another dog with a friend in the woods on Wednesday when Kelly was attacked.
Mrs Guthrie said: "I started panicking. You could see Kelly's leg getting bigger and bigger. God forbid if it had been a child."
She called for warning signs to be put up in areas where adders are rife but Wally Grice, Forestry Commission beat officer for the area, said signs would put adders – a protected species – and their habitat at risk.
Snake venom plea after adder attack