Snake bite survivor to undergo dialysis

Baby airlifted to Kenyatta National Hospital on June 18, 2016 after suffering from kidney failure due to a snake bite. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • He has also been given anti-venom to neutralise the snake poison.
  • According to Mr Ebby, the baby was bitten by the snake nearly two weeks ago but they were not aware of it until his body began swelling.

A baby airlifted to Nairobi from Samburu County on Sunday following a snake bite will undergo dialysis to rid his body of toxins after his kidneys failed.

According to the baby’s father, Mr Leadilia Ebby, the attending doctor said the child would need at least three or four dialysis sessions to remove the accumulating waste in his body.

The baby will go through peritoneal dialysis where a catheter will be put in his stomach that will introduce a sterile cleansing fluid in his body to help filter the waste.

The baby’s stomach lining will act like a natural filter. The fluid containing toxins will then come out through the tube, the attending doctor explained.

This is different from the normal dialysis where blood is pumped out of the body to an artificial kidney machine, and returned to one’s body by tubes that connect one to the machine, also called haemodialysis.

On Monday, a catheter was fixed to mechanically drain urine into a bag, but was only filling up with blood and thus the dialysis was urgently required.

He has also been given anti-venom to neutralise the snake poison.

The four-month-old baby — called Mperesi — from Wamba Town, Samburu was airlifted by Amref Flying Doctors to Kenyatta National Hospital where he is currently receiving treatment.

Initially, doctors were uncertain of the snake bite but further physical examination showed two tiny marks — where the snake fangs went in — on the baby’s left palm.

According to Mr Ebby, the baby was bitten by the snake nearly two weeks ago but they were not aware of it until his body began swelling.

“His leg became swollen and his mother massaged it, then one arm started swelling and then the next and soon, he would not breathe properly. That’s when we rushed him to Wamba Mission hospital before we were referred here,” he said.

However, it is not clear the type of snake involved or how the baby survived given how lethal some snake bites are.

“It is a miracle that he is doing better today and his breathing has stabilised. They are also giving him some painkillers. There are many snake attacks in Samburu and just last week, three snakes were killed in my homestead,” the father of 10 told Nation on Monday.

The baby is breathing through an oxygen mask and every so often stirs from his sleep and opens his eyes.