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?

Problem is, if you cock up removing the sting by using tweezers then you spread the venom and make it worse. Sting removal ISN'T something that's taught on a First Aid course (usually) so if you're in doubt with stuff like that you're generally best to leave it be.

Plus wasps don't normally leave a sting, only bees do.

OP YABU.

Ah, Highly Sensitive Person. That's a new one on me - my dd has HSP (Henoch-Schonlein) and I was wondering if hypersensitivity to pain was a symptom I'd missed and I've not been sympathetic enough over the years!

If it was a bee sting then I think it would be negligent not to remove the sting. It's not difficult and it's far more likely that the rest of the venom would be discharged if you left it in. It's tantamount to not cooling a burn I think - first aid is mainly about removing risk and not allowing things to get worse.

They treated him to the best of their abilities and limitations.

It's up to you what medication you give your child and that includes topical preparations. Nurseries/schools cannot do the same unfortunately.

They did all the right things and I'd feel secure in their approach rather than making complaints.

Last wasp sting I had was bluddy painful. Throbbed for ages.
Don't blame him for yelling the place down. DCs don't realize that the pain will eventually go. Don't know why they can't put vinegar on it.

If it was a bee sting then I think it would be negligent not to remove the sting. It's not difficult and it's far more likely that the rest of the venom would be discharged if you left it in

I heard that if you remove the sting straight away it would leave a scent or something that would attract other bees. Which could result in more stings

Not sure how true that is it was years ago

I know the eyfs deals with younger children, but I'm guessing guidance for older children must be similar. It says in the eyfs2014 edition that childcarers should not normally be administering any medication unless prescribed by a doctor/nurse/medical professional. So your school were doing exactly the right thing in not giving anything.

Standard first aid in schools seems to be a wet paper towel and/or an ice pack. We can't do anything else (for good reason in my view).

They called you so you could deal with it. I think that is the best thing that could have happened in this situation.

Why can't you put antiseptic on a cut or graze? My dd often hurt herself when she was small, and got some nasty infections in the days when she flat out refused to let anyone touch her if she was hurt. Surely cleaning and putting antiseptic on a cut is the minimum first aid treatment?

All very well saying get the parent in to fix it, but it would have taken me an hour to get back to school when my two were at primary (in London, dependent on public transport). Sounds like yet another assume their is a SAHP thing.

The schools that provide a list of common treatments for parents to tick off they are OK with seem to have a much more common sense approach, it's what my children's later schools did for trips etc and seemed to work well. Now dd has had a medical kit on her for this sort of thing, much easier (mainly because she has migraines and so needs to be able to take painkillers immediately).

There is a cost implication - a new, sealed tube or bottle of ointment or whatever would be needed for each incidence. Introducing a potential for infection into an already open wound is dangerous outside of medical hands.

Cleaning a gravel rash for eg - sterile tweezers would be needed and inexpert hands might enlarge the wound or inadvertently cause further harm.

Parents can feel free to poke and jab and squeeze. Not so first aiders.

I'm pretty sure that's not true Giles, but I've not heard that one before.

"Sounds like yet another assume their is a SAHP thing."

Don't blame the school for the health & safety culture. We're not allowed to administer anything much at all nowadays. We're not A&E, after all.

And for those who say parents should just give a form with ticks for medication they sanction, I can tell you it's an absolute nightmare to get many parents even to update their contact details on a regular basis, let alone whether or not little Johnny has developed an aversion to plasters. It's also hard to keep tabs on epipens that have become out-of date, or asthma inhalers. We do regular checks, but have to chase up parents numerous times to get them to replace them. Multiply that by however many children you have in the school (480 in our case) and you can see the problem.

Surely you know schools/nurseries/cms are not allowed to use anything apart from Ice packs?

It's pretty commen knowledge now.

Tis the way of the world.

If he was screaming the school down he was best at home.

I'm a school first aider. I was told on my first aid course (St John Ambulance) that antiseptic is not recommended for cuts as it kills the white blood cells that fight any infection so harms the body's natural immune response.

We're allowed to use water, ice packs, sterile eye wash and that's it, unless prescribed for the child by a doctor.

Just for everyone who has posted it - vinegar wouldn't help a wasp sting as it is a common misconception that the pain is caused by the sting's alkalinity. So you could lobby your school to allow it, but there wouldn't be much point.

I work in a school and wouldn't be prepared to put any kind of cream on a child.

Clean it up/antiseptic wipe/plaster or dressing - that's it.

I am a First Aider at school - ie I did a 3 day FA course and get paid an extra £2 a month as a FAider.

However, the rules for things like a sting is that we cannot apply any cream, lotion, gel, etc.

We can apply an ice pack, or run under water...but very little else in this situation.

We also can not phone parents to obtain permission for medication inc painkillers and creams.

We can apply plasters and a small bandage if required, but little more.

For residential trips the rules are slightly different and express permission must be sought for additional medication that can be given and/or applied.
That is very different than the rules for day to day at school.

This is the Red Cross FA training guideline for a wasp sting:

www.redcrossfirstaidtraining.co.uk/News-and-legislation/latest-news/2013/June/treatment-advice-for-stings.aspx

Reassure the casualty. If the sting is visible, brush or scrape it off using the edge of a credit card or, if you don’t have one handy, your fingernail. Don’t use tweezers because this could mean that you squeeze poison into the casualty.

Raise the affected part if possible, and apply a cold compress such as an ice pack to minimise swelling. Advise the casualty to keep the compress in place for at least ten minutes. Seek medical advice if the pain or swelling persists.

Watch out for signs of an allergic reaction, such as breathing difficulties and/or swelling of the face and neck. If you do suspect that the person who has been stung is having an allergic reaction, you should dial 999 /112 for emergency help.

--

So sting can be removed if it is visible. However, if it is a wasp sting, would it be visible?

Note that there is NO recommendation to apply any form of cream, etc.

Sorry I wouldn't blame the individual school, I can see that they are in a difficult position. I do think that something has gone seriously wrong with the health and safety culture though. I am a risk manager, and to me the balance looks very wrong if first aid has effectively been reduced to ice packs. That's not really first aid is it?

As a cm and first sider/TA I wouldn't take parents consent over the phone unless the call was recorded.

Sorry lawyers rule the world don't cha know.

The fact that schools can't treat with anything other than water and sterile dressings is no bad thing. It isn't 'elf and safety gorn maaad, it's just the result of knowing more stuff about how to best treat and manage injuries and medical conditions in schools. A have-a-go hero first-aider can do more damage than just leaving things alone.

nooka - my FS training seemed to just involve the recovery and calling 999 a lot. Not for a wasp sting, obviously, but for most things it was...do xyz... then recovery position and 999

But surely schools aren't expected to provide first aid really, just immediate care and assessment of the best course of action to take. Calling the child's parents or for qualified medical assistance should offer enough options without too much threat of things escalating, whereas attempting to medicate children who are unreliable sources of information about their own medical histories should surely only be a last resort in dire emergency in which case I'm sure they would do whatever they could.