A 60-year-old Chinese farmer chopped off his right index finger after a venomous snakebite, believing he had just 5 steps to live; then traveled 50 miles to learn he didn’t need to

In late October 2019, a 60-year-old Chinese farmer made a seemingly preposterous decision when bitten by a venomous snake that only resembled a movie scene like ‘127 Hours.’ In a desperate attempt to save himself from getting the poison spreading all over his body, he consciously chopped off his index finger, where the snake bit him, only to find out later that his brave attempt might be overkill.

The South China Morning Post reported at that time that the snake was a pit viper from a mountainside village of the Shangyu district of Zhejiang province. As per the SCMP, it is known as ‘five-step snake,’ and there was a myth that if you got bitten by it, you could only walk 5 steps before collapsing from its venomous bite.

So, to protect himself from the snakebite and, more precisely, fearing the Chinese myth, the farmer sacrificed his finger, self-amputating the site of the snakebite. The man identified by local outlet Hangzhou Daily as 'Zhang' then reportedly wrapped the wound in cloth and made a 50-mile journey to a hospital in Hangzhou for treatment.


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Doctors in Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine told the publication that the patient seemed fine and had not shown any symptoms such as breathing issues, headache, or bleeding from the gums, which are expected from a venomous snakebite.

“It's not necessary at all [to cut it off],” doctor Yuan Chengda said to the local outlet as quoted by SCMP. “The five-step snake is not that toxic.”

The doctor said this type of snakebite was not uncommon, and also gave some recent examples of snakebite amputations, like “Some used knives to cut their fingers or toes, some used ropes or iron wires to bind the bitten limb tightly, and some even tried to destroy the poison in their body by burning their skin”.

The “five-step snake” is actually a sharp-nosed pit viper called Deinagkistrodon, primarily found in northern Vietnam, southern China, Hainan, and Taiwan, Science Alert explained in their reporting.

The belief that victims of this snakebite will die in five steps is actually an exaggeration. Although its hemotoxic venom is potent and can cause heavy bleeding and heart issues, “the victim is unlikely to die with timely treatment of antivenin.” Chinese outlet CGTN explained while following up on the snakebite amputation story. So, “cutting off your finger is not the correct choice when bitten by this snake,” it notes.

Australia’s Queensland, which is home to some of the world’s deadliest snakes yet with a surprisingly low snakebite fatality rate, advises that if you’re bitten, you should immediately apply a firm pressure bandage, keep the limb and body as still as possible, and call an ambulance or get to the hospital without delay.

Do not cut or suck the wound, apply a tourniquet, or wash the bite site, the site advises.

“If it is possible and safe to do so, it may be useful to capture the animal involved, for identification purposes, in case anti-venom is required,” without putting yourself in danger, they note for snakebite patients.

As for the Chinese farmer Zhang, his wound was cleaned and dressed before he was administered an antivenom. He later told in a TV interview that one of his neighbors died from a snakebite the same year, and he (Zhang) was recovering well. The only loss, is his finger that could not be reattached, which he left behind the mountain due to the myth of ‘five-step snake.’