AIBU to feel pretty annoyed that school wouldn't treat wasp sting

[FruitString]

My 8 yr old DS got stung by a wasp at school today. He was in a lot of pain, and practically screamed the school down. Eventually the school phoned me and asked me to take him home as he was in such distress. I rushed in, armed with a tube of Anthisan. When I explained to my DS what the Anthisan was, and had applied it to his pretty swollen hand, he managed to ask (between howls) "Why doesn't the school have any of that?" I assumed that they would have given him something, maybe WaspEze or similar. But no. They did give him some kind of mild cooling spray (which I think is meant for itchy insect bites - and in fact made it much worse, apparently) but they are "not allowed" to use anything specifically for wasp stings, in case a child is allergic to antihistamine cream. AIBU to find this utterly ridiculous? I never heard of anyone being allergic to antihistamine cream (pills yes but not cream), and anyway all they had to do was glance in his records to see that he's not allergic to anything. I want to express my annoyance about this policy to the head but need to know where I stand. Anyone else know anything about school policies on treating wasp stings or similar? Does it vary from school to school? Is it a government thing? Surely it's basic first aid? By the way I DO totally understand them not wanting to issue oral medication, eg. Calpol - obviously that could be a very bad idea. But refusing to topically treat a wasp sting when someone is clearly in a huge amount of pain (especially someone like my son who is an HSP and whose nervous system means he does suffer pain even more than others unfortunately - I wasn't going to mention that, as it's a whole other story, but still..) it strikes me as positively inhumane! But... maybe IABU?

Two of my three children have allergies to creams - one to antihistamine creams and one to the local anaesthetic creams.

I also think you sound rather precious. When my DDs have been stung I just put vinegar on! They don't scream any building down either and one is only 6!

I think, that given your son's reaction it might be wise to either council him against overreacting and being a bit braver or having him checked for a sensitivity towards wasp stings.

If your DCs hand has swollen up from a wasp sting I think you need to take him to the doctor as he may be allergic.

I have been stung by wasps multiple times and every time there was a brief intense pain and then it was fine. There was certainly no swelling.

Yes please do take your child to the GP

I would expect a small, localised swelling around the puncture. A pretty swollen hand indicates an allergic reaction, in my non-medical opinion

And yes, basic first aid does not include removing forrin bodies including stings or applying potions or lotions

I am slightly surprised a cooling spray was used, tbh

Poor boy, it really shakes them up

YABU.

I'm shocked they used any spray at all. They did the right thing by phoning you.

I know it will have been upsetting for you to know your child was in pain, but really, you are being overly precious.

Are you for real? It's a wasp sting not a friggin snake bite. I had wasp stings as a child and three as an adult. Ive never had treatment for them. It only stings for five minutes. You need to teach your son to toughen up.

Seems a bit sad really. I understand the concerns about side effects etc, but the end result appears to be that school first aid has become almost completely ineffective. As an adult if I get stung by a bee/wasp I can go to my work first aider and get cream on it immediately. It's very effective IME. Intense pain to no pain in a minute or so.

We had a problem with wasps/yellow jackets and hornets last year. I got stung a few times by wasps and my dd got stung/bitten by a hornet. She really did scream very loudly indeed. It was obviously extremely painful.

What drama over a wasp sting? Maybe they asked you to go to school because 'he was screaming down the school'.

Yabu, they did all they could do that was allowed. If he had some reaction to any other creams I'm sure you would be all drama over that too with the school.

I know about the screaming because I could hear it in the background on the phone. As I mentioned, he deals differently from many other kids when it comes to sensory stuff. The school knows this.

I wasn't thinking of confronting the head, because I realise that her instructions probably come from above. I just wanted to express my concerns about the policy, but was interested in finding out what the general UK policy was first.

Now I know. So thank you everyone.

As mentioned in a previous message vinegar (or lemon) for wasp stings.

Sorry OP....I just didn't see where you mentioned his sensory issues.

Thanks ClawHands - appreciated.

Fortunately my DCs haven't really needed anything other than an ice pack but is it really the case that the school can't give anything other than a cold compress? Is that because of health concerns? Insurance? My DS stood on a wasp last year and he's pretty brave but he was crying with the pain. I also had to get the wasp sting out - would a school really leave a sting in a child rather than remove it?

OP, I work in a school and am first aid trained but I am not permitted to use any creams or medications unless they are specifically prescribed by the child's GP, and I would the follow the dosage on the prescription label. So, even over the counter bought medications are not permitted to be used by staff at my school.

OP, I would have put an ice pack on your son's sting and phoned you to come to the school. You could then put cream on the sting and/or take your son home for the rest of the day, to recover. Hope he's ok now.

By all means ask what the policy is regarding first aid at your son's school, there is no need to confront anyone about it, it is your right to ask about it.

Wasps don't leave the sting behind. Bees do.

I wouldn't want the school giving any medication/applying creams etc. that I wasn't aware of or hadn't given permission for.

As a governor I have recently looked at the medical policy and I would not have been happy to find ANY spray or cream in the first aid kit.

If you want your child to receive pain relief or cream when stung or injured... Go to a GP, get it prescribed then fill in their consent form and give the relevant information.

No medicines should be administered at school without it being prescribed and a topical medicines are no different to oral medicine

By HSP, do you mean Henoch-Schonlein Purpera, or something else?

They DID treat it though didn't they? And they DID ring you when it became clear that the treatment wasn't working. I'm not sure what more/what else they could have done. As a childminder I was also told on my first aid course that we couldn't have any medicine/antibac wipes/savlon/wasp-eze or whatever as part of our First Aid kit. I'm a mum too so have all of these at home so I can easily text/ring a parent to get permission to use it. I can see why a school wouldn't have any of these things though.

I've never found Wasp-eze particularly effective anyway, not for me or the kids so the chances are he'd have still been really upset - especially as he suffers more than other kids with this kind of thing. I wouldn't mind betting that the soothing presence of his mum helped him just as much, if not more than the cream and even if the teachers had applied the exact same stuff he still would have been more upset for them and you'd have ended up with a phone call anyway.

Hope he's better now though, it's horrible when they're in pain and upset.

Vinegar sorts out wasp stings straight away, I hate the buggers. At least bees are useful and only sting as a last resort but what use are bloody wasps with their stingey wee jaggy arses?

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/349435/Statutory_guidance_on_supporting_pupils_at_school_with_medical_conditions.pdf

If your DS has a relevant medical condition that requires further support at school then you can also look at the above and ask school if they think he needs to do an individual health plan

I think HSP = Highly Sensitive Person. It's more a description of innate traits rather than a SEN diagnosis, if I understand correctly. My DD could probably be accurately described as a HSP, as she has always had sensory processing issues and gets hysterical if she's the tiniest bit hurt. I still wouldn't expect the school to call me in for a wasp sting though, nor make special exceptions and apply cream.

A child was stung on the neck by a wasp a couple of weeks ago and the sting was left behind where she had knocked the wasp off (ripped out)

Our first aider removed the sting,and applied a cold pack for a few minutes. The child was fine just a small red mark.

We've all just retaken our first aid certificates. I don't recall being told you can't remove a sting?

Would you really send a child home with a sting in them, even with no adverse reaction? Also , I would hate to think of any child of mine having to sit around with a stinger ( or splinter,come to that) because of some rule about not removing foreign bodies.

If that is the case, surely grazed knees shouldn't be cleaned I'm case of foreign bodies????!

They're not allowed.

Back in the 90's I fell over, flat on my face and got liberally daubed with liquid tcp on open cuts and grazes by (to my 5 year old eyes) a horrible old lady who was shouting at me to stop crying. In reality she was the elderly school nurse who was trying to calm me down, whilst doing what her job allowed.

Rather prefer the current way of thinking regarding injuries at school, to be honest.