Editing Snakebite (section)

=== Snake identification ===
Identification of the snake is important in planning treatment in certain areas of the world but is not always possible. Ideally, the dead snake would be brought in with the person, but in areas where snake bite is more common, local knowledge may be sufficient to recognize the snake. However, in regions where polyvalent [[antivenom]]s are available, such as North America, identification of snakes is not a high-priority item. Attempting to catch or kill the offending snake also puts one at risk for re-envenomation or creating a second person bitten, and generally is not recommended.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |last1=Knudsen |first1=Cecilie |last2=Jürgensen |first2=Jonas A. |last3=Føns |first3=Sofie |last4=Haack |first4=Aleksander M. |last5=Friis |first5=Rasmus U. W. |last6=Dam |first6=Søren H. |last7=Bush |first7=Sean P. |last8=White |first8=Julian |last9=Laustsen |first9=Andreas H. |date=2021 |title=Snakebite Envenoming Diagnosis and Diagnostics |journal=Frontiers in Immunology |volume=12 |page=661457 |doi=10.3389/fimmu.2021.661457 |pmid=33995385 |pmc=8113877 |issn=1664-3224|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The three types of venomous snakes that cause the majority of major clinical problems are [[Viper (animal)|vipers]], [[Bungarus|kraits]], and [[Naja|cobras]]. Knowledge of what species are present locally can be crucial, as is knowledge of typical signs and symptoms of envenomation by each type of snake. A scoring system can be used to try to determine the biting snake based on clinical features,<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pathmeswaran A, Kasturiratne A, Fonseka M, Nandasena S, Lalloo DG, de Silva HJ | title = Identifying the biting species in snakebite by clinical features: an epidemiological tool for community surveys | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene | volume = 100 | issue = 9 | pages = 874–878 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16412486 | doi = 10.1016/j.trstmh.2005.10.003}}</ref> but these scoring systems are extremely specific to particular geographical areas and might be compromised by the presence of escaped or released non-native species.<ref name="auto"/>