Sea snakes are highly venomous. Any bite should be taken seriously, with immediate first aid and prompt medical care.
The bite of a sea snake may be prolonged and it may be necessary to shake off the snake or manually dislodge it. The bite is often painless and without swelling. In addition, venom is not injected during most sea snake bites. This may cause the snakebite to be ignored or result in a delay in treatment.
Signs of significant envenomation:
(1) onset of symptoms within 2 hours of the bite
(2) muscle weakness
(3) pain on movement
(4) myoglobinuria
(5) paralysis
The absence of significant symptoms at 6 hours usually means that the patient does not have a severe envenomation. However, symptoms may be absent in a person receiving first aid with limb immobilization only to appear once the first aid is discontinued. Therefore anyone who has been bitten should be observed for 24 hours before discharge.
Complications:
(1) acute renal failure
(2) acute respiratory failure (secondary to involvement of respiratory muscles)
Differential diagnosis:
(1) anxiety attack (need to be very careful that a bite has not been overlooked)
(2) envenomation by another creature (fish, snail, octopus, etc.). These bites are usually painful.
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