With the arrival of summer, comes the peak season for snake bites. Shanghai has 13 hospitals that are designated facilities for such cases.

Longhua Hospital, which has the most experience of snake bites, has a regular store of antivenins. It has dealt with 15 cases since May.

It saw 88 cases last year from Shanghai and nearby regions, and almost 400 cases in the past decade.

A 23-year-old man visited the hospital's emergency room at midnight last Tuesday after being bitten by a snake he had raised himself.

It was a Gloydius cognatus, a poisonous snake usually seen in northwest China.

There are over 200 types of snake in China, including some 50 poisonous ones. Among them, about 10 types can cause fatalities. More than 200,000 people are bitten in China each year with a 5 to 10 percent mortality rate.

"In Shanghai, most patients are bitten by Agkistrodon halys, which is a common snake in the city. They usually stay in the grass and waterside," said Dr Que Huafa, director of Longhua's TCM surgery department.

"There are big difference between being bitten by poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. If bitten by a poisonous snake, people can suffer numbness, swelling and pain around the bite area and the feeling can spread from there to the heart. People also can suffer symptoms such as vomitting, dizziness and double vision. But bites from non-poisonous snake don't cause these symptoms," Que said.

"But snakes with neurotoxins like Bungarus multicinctus usually don't cause significant symptoms until four to six hours later. So it is important to visit a hospital in time and stay there until six hours later to ensure safety," Que added.

What you should do after being bitten by a snake

1. Keep calm and call for help and an ambulance.

2. Keep the bite part toward the ground and do not run quickly or run around.

3. Remove tight clothes and any jewelry from the affected limb.

4. Wash the wound with running water and tie up the bite part. But do not tie the part too tight.

5. Go to hospital immediately. It is important to visit a hospital that has antivenins.

What you should not do

1. Suck the poison out by mouth.

2. Burn the wound.

3. Cut the wound.

The designated hospitals for snake bite in Shanghai

1. Longhua Hospital (725 Wanping Rd, Xuhui District, 64385700)

上海中医药大学附属龙华医院(宛平南路725号 电话:64385700)

2. Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital's east branch (222 Huanhu Ring Rd W3, Pudong New Area, 38297000)

上海市第六人民医院东院(环湖西三路222号 电话:38297000)

3. Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital (301 Yanchang Rd M., 66300588)

上海市第十人民医院(延长中路301号 电话:66300588)

4. Xinhua Hospital (1665 Kongjiang Rd, Yangpu District, 25078999)

交大医学院附属新华医院(杨浦区控江路1665号 电话:25078999)

5. Jiading District Central Hospital (1 Chengbei Rd, Jiading District, 67073022)

上海市嘉定区中心医院(城北路1号 电话:67073022)

6. Pudong New Area People's Hospital (490 Chuanhuan Rd S., Pudong New Area, 20509000)

上海市浦东新区人民医院(川环南路490号 电话:20509000)

7. Gongli Hospital (219 Miaopu Rd, Pudong New Area, 58858730)

上海市浦东新区公利医院(苗圃路219号 电话:58858730)

8. Jinshan Hospital (1508 Longhang Rd, Jinshan District, 34189990)

复旦大学附属金山医院(龙航路1508号 电话:34189990)

9. Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital's Jinshan branch (147 Jiankang Rd, Jinshan Distrcit, 57317312)

上海市第六人民医院金山分院(朱泾镇健康路147号 电话:57317312)

10. Xinhua Hospital's Chongming branch (25 Nanmengang Street, Chongming District, 69692702)

交大医学院附属新华医院崇明分院(城桥镇南门港街25号 电话:69692702)

11. Neighborhood Health Center (299 Jiayuan Rd, Fengxian District, 57575305-800, 8am-11am; 1pm-4pm)

奉贤区金海社区卫生服务中心(嘉园路299号 电话:57575305转800(8:00~11:00;13:00~16:00)

12. Chedun Town Neighborood Health Center (168 Qiuchang Rd, Songjiang District, 57600370, Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm)

松江区车墩镇社区卫生服务中心(车墩镇虬长路168号 电话:57605264, 周一至周五8:00-16:00)

13. Town Neighborhood Health Center (456 Songyin Street, Jinshan District, 5738-4561)

上海市亭林社区卫生服务中心(亭林镇松隐大街456号 电话:57384561)