Suddenly a scream pierces the air. You rush to the rescue to find a sobbing child pointing to a swelling on her arm. Your youngster has run afoul of a flying insect of the stinging variety. So here's some advice from experts on how to ease the pain if your child gets stung. But there are ways that children can avoid getting stung, so you can pass along the experts' advice on how not to get stung in the first place.
Treatment Remove the stinger.
If your child is stung by a honeybee or bumblebee, the stinger will be left behind. The stinger has a venom sac attached, so you'll want to remove it. But don't try to pull it out, cautions John Yunginger, M.D., professor of pediatrics at Mayo Medical School and pediatrics consultant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Pulling the stinger can squeeze the venom sac and release more venom. Instead, take a blunt-edged object such as a credit card, knife or fingernail and gently scrape the stinger and whisk it out.