Figure 3. Tourniquet on a 43-year-old woman presenting at a rural health post in Nepal.

First-aid methods applied throughout South Asia are largely inadequate. Tourniquets in particular can have deleterious effects. This patient consulted after being bitten by a nonvenomous rat snake (Ptyas mucosa) that she had killed and brought for identification. After reassurance, local treatment, and observation, she was uneventfully discharged from the health post. Image credit: E. Alirol.