The Alto Juruá region has a rich diversity of venomous snakes, and
snakebites represent an important cause of morbidity. The present study was carried out in five communities in the Alto Juruá region, and aimed to evaluate the history of
snakebites in terms of which snakes were involved and what was the victims' conduct in relation to
first aid and prevention. Between 2017 and 2019, semi-structured interviews were applied to 260 residents, 56 (21.53%) of whom had a history of
snakebites. The profile of the victims is 73.2% male, a resident of rural areas who develops activities mainly in agriculture and extractivism and who has a low level of education. Just over half of the
snakebites occurred during the rainy season (52.8%) and the majority during the day (77%). Bothrops
bites were the most frequently reported (90.3%) and B. atrox was the most mentioned snake (jararaca and surucucu) for being responsible for
snakebites (80.8%). Approximately 87.5% of the
bites occurred to the lower limbs, and 48.2% of the victims were barefoot at the time of the
bite. Inadequate
first-aid procedures were reported, such as using
tourniquets and consuming the drink known as "Específico Pessoa", not
drinking water, and treatment with traditional
therapy (phytotherapics, zootherapeutics and faith healers), as well as not seeking hospital care. Thus, the need to facilitate access to hospital units in these communities and health education (prevention and
first aid) are essential in order to minimize this situation.