What to Do when Jellyfish Sting Your Child

Nothing puts a damper on a fun beach trip like a jellyfish sting. Unfortunately, every time you enter the ocean, there is a risk of a jellyfish sting. This is their natural habitat and when we enter, there is always a chance that someone could get hurt. The sting of a jellyfish can be very painful and if the child is very young, it can require emergency treatment.

If a jellyfish stings your child, it can be frightening but if you remain calm and take the proper steps, it will go much more smoothly for your child.

Provide Emergency Treatment/ First Aid

The first thing you should do is get the child out of the water if he is not already. Remain calm yourself and keep the child calm. Use a stick or protective clothing to remove any tentacles that might still be wrapped around the child. Do not rinse with fresh water as this activates the stingers and will increase pain and symptoms.

Instead, rinse with seawater and keep the child calm and still. Moving around a lot will cause the venom to pump more through the body. Watch for any signs or allergic reaction or difficulty breathing. After-sting spray such as that from Sea Safe will reduce the burning, as will vinegar. There is no scientific evidence to support urine on a jellyfish sting and having someone pee on the child may only increase the stress and trauma of the event.

Seek Medical Help if Needed

If the child is very young, stings cover a large area of the body or stings happen on the face or mouth, seek emergency help immediately. If there are any signs of possible allergic reaction, call 911 immediately. Otherwise, allow the child to rest and treat it yourself at home.

Talk with Your Child and Other Children

If a jellyfish at the beach stings a child, it could be a traumatizing experience for the child or for siblings and other children there. It's important that you talk about it and why it happened. Explain to the children that jellyfish are simple creatures without brains and that they are not aggressive by nature. They are such simple creatures that their tentacles sting anything they sense as alive on contact as a defense mechanism and not because the jellyfish was intentionally trying to hurt anyone.

Explain to children that you are in the jellyfish's habitat and that it only does what it does by nature. It's up to us as humans to protect ourselves and to try to prevent disturbing them.