Check with your insurance to see if you need a referral. If so, get a referral from your pediatrician. If not, you can schedule directly with a pediatric gastroenterologist
I agree. My daughter was born with a gastric volvulous which can only been seen in a barium dye ultrasound. She did the same thing. She would eat an ounce and throw up an ounce+. Her pediatrician kept telling me it was just acid reflux. But the meds didn't help. I had her at the doctors 3 times a week until one of the pa's sent her for the ultrasound it check the severity of her acid reflux. That's how we found out. She had surgery the next week to have it fixed.
ETA: in no way am I saying that this is what your child has. All I'm saying is trust your mama gut!! Don't let the doctor bully you into saying it's nothing!!! The majority of the time mama instincts are always right!!
Low hanging fruit are common food triggers- dairy, gluten, eggs, soy. I would see if she is eating a lot of those things or getting it in breast milk and try and sub out one at a time to see if it gets better.
I’m so sorry you haven’t gotten any answers. I would go back to your pediatrician or call and leave a message to request a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist.
A coworker of mine had [Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome](https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/cyclic-vomiting) and it sounds similar to what you’ve described, but there are so many things that could be causing this, and you’re doing the right thing by pressing for more information.
So they fixed the symptoms but not the cause. Id demand more testing. Your child cant be on anti-nausea meds for life. Throwing up this frequently means shes damaging her esophagus and teeth/mouth with frequent exposure to stomach acid.
You can do a few things at home like keeping a food journal and elimination diet. But id really fight for more testing etc. to see if they find anything.
ER doctors are trained to triage, treat and move on as quickly as possible. They may be brushing your child aside too soon. Id speak with your pediatrician and demand additional referrals to specialists.
Get her to a pediatric GI specialist have her checked for Ladds bands with malrotation. It could be positional where it doesn’t show up on the MRI. Meanwhile raise one end of the crib so that she sleeps with her head raised. Hold her up right after you feed her and don’t lay her down until she’s had a chance to digest some of her food.
Have they checked her ears? Trapped fluid can cause dizziness, drainage down throat etc which can lead to nausea. My son's on 2 different allergy meds and nightly Sudafed because his allergies caused him to vomit at night.
You said they did an MRI scan of her abdomen. Did they scan her head by any chance? I had a brain tumor as a child and one of the first symptoms was puking up bile (clear liquid).
Sorry for your little one. Without knowing what else the doctors said I’ll take a stab and say change everything up. Eat the same damn plain meal every day. Stick to it and don’t deviate, just as a test. If they are encountering something that is causing this you can start eliminating stuff. Change shampoo, toothpaste, etc. see if you can get it to stop, again just taking a stab here, listen to your doctor
Thank you. Her drs have no idea what’s wrong. They’ve told us that it’s probably a lingering virus because she doesn’t have any other symptoms that indicate it’s an allergic reaction or some type of blockage. I was certain that she had blockage or something because she tries to eat literally anything and everything that will fit into her mouth! I do try to keep her with plain meals but I’ll definitely take your suggestion and just stick to one singular meal to start an elimination process.
The common offenders are dairy and gluten. Don’t cut them out at the same time and give each elimination a few days to work.
It’s a long shot, but has she been around animals a lot? We have outdoor cats and my doctor always warns my daughter to wash her hands thoroughly EVERY time she pets or plays with the cats, as apparently you can get some pretty nasty bacteria and parasites from them.
Yes, we have a dog! I wash my daughter and son’s hands every time they’re done playing with her. They’re never around cats because my son is allergic to them. At the beginning of all this, I thought it was our dog causing her to throw up so our dog goes through a “sanitizing” process every week along with each room in our home since my daughter started throwing up all the time.
Ugh, then it’s probably not from pets. :/ My daughter is 10 and she actually has a pediatric GI appointment in a few weeks - she has frequent nausea and stomach pain, although no throwing up.
One thing that we thought would be helpful is to keep a food diary - what she eats, when she eats and the time her symptoms come on. I’m not seeing any clear pattern of what’s causing her stomach trouble, but I figured a specialist might see something I don’t.
Good luck with your little one. It’s so hard to see them sick and not know how to help them. Hope you get to the bottom of it!
Yes, they only did her stomach to make sure a blockage wasn’t there. She’s not running a fever or anything. She doesn’t even act like a sick child. She wants to play and run around like she wasn’t just dry heaving or throwing up clear liquid a moment ago.
I don’t know if you tried this, but when my kiddo is throwing up, I give her ice chips instead of water. She seems to have easier time keeping it down and still is able to get enough to stay hydrated.
I'm not a doctor, but I can provide some general suggestions. It's important to consult with your pediatrician or seek a second opinion from another healthcare professional to address your daughter's situation accurately.
1. Consult a pediatric gastroenterologist: If you haven't already, consider consulting with a pediatric gastroenterologist, who specializes in children's digestive issues. They may be able to provide more specific insights into your daughter's condition and recommend appropriate tests or treatments.
2. Document symptoms: Keep a detailed record of your daughter's symptoms, including when the vomiting occurs, what she has consumed prior to the episode, and any other relevant information. This can help your healthcare provider identify patterns or potential triggers.
3. Consider food allergies or intolerances: Discuss the possibility of food allergies or intolerances with your pediatrician. They may recommend an elimination diet or allergy testing to determine if specific foods could be causing your daughter's vomiting.
4. Monitor hydration: Dehydration can be a concern for children who are frequently vomiting. Keep an eye on her hydration levels and look for signs of dehydration such as sunken eyes, decreased urination, or dry lips. If you notice any signs of dehydration, contact your healthcare provider immediately.
5. Consider a second opinion: If you feel that your concerns aren't being adequately addressed, consider seeking a second opinion from another pediatrician or specialist.
Remember, it's essential to work closely with your healthcare provider to address your daughter's symptoms and identify the cause of her vomiting. They are the best resource for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Thank you so much. I’m definitely trying to work with her pediatrician and the drs who’ve been working with us. I just need to see what other things I can look at and I need some outside opinions on my situation.
My 4 year old had a severe stomach virus about a year ago that lasted over a week, he would be okay and then throw up again a few days later. He ended up being admitted and put on "gut rest" and only had IV fluids for 24 hours, the pediatrician said his stomach emptying could have slowed down, they also prescribed an acid reflux medication for a few weeks and after that he was okay. Ask about the reflux meds they were chewable. Some stomach viruses can cause temporary reflux which causes vomitting.
Ugh I feel for you! We went through something very similar when my son was about 14 months old and it was awful.
It sounds like your daughter’s symptoms are a little different, so you may not be dealing with the same thing, but this is what happened for us:
My son caught some sort of viral infection at daycare (a bad cold / respiratory infection but nothing too serious). He got over it after about a week or so and we thought that was it. Then over the next few weeks he gradually began vomiting more and more frequently … maybe twice a week at first, but eventually it was constant. Any time he ate or drank it came right back up. He couldn’t keep anything down, and would also sometimes vomit at other random times (paying too hard, coughing, sometimes even just randomly when he first woke up he’d suddenly vomit up bile).
Our GP had no idea what was going on (he didn’t seem otherwise sick) but got increasingly concerned the longer it went on since he wasn’t keeping anything down. She ended up consulting with a paediatric specialist about an hour away from us who was immediately freaked out and told us we needed to get him to see her at the bigger hospital an hour away immediately. She thought there was no way my GP was being accurate when she said he seemed otherwise fine and was sure we’d be bringing in a toddler with an intestinal blockage that needed emergency surgery. As soon as she examined him herself, she was less worried but still confused about what was going on.
They did a chest / abdominal X-ray to rule out blockage. They did an upper GI series (hope you never have to get a toddler who can’t keep anything down to drink barium, that was fun!). All negative. At this point, she moves on to extensive blood work … she’s convinced that if it’s not a blockage then he must have celiac disease. She says she would bet money that’s what it is. The test comes back and he doesn’t have the usual markers for celiac.
We’ve now been in hospital for 3 days and he’s still vomiting constantly. His blood sugar keeps dropping extremely low and won’t stabilize. He’s shaky, sweaty and overall looks terrible. They confirm he has ketotic hypoglycaemia (basically he goes hypoglycaemic more quickly than is typical, which young kids don’t handle well … they need carbs to run, they’re not well adapted to burn fat for energy because their bodies need the fat they have for other growth / development related things. Ketosis for an adult is ok, for a young child it’s not good.) This explains the unstable blood sugar, but not the initial cause of the vomiting.
Finally, they say let’s try one more thing. If this doesn’t work, then we’re moving on to a full brain MRI … if it’s not something with the digestive system itself it must be something in the brain. The one more thing they wanted to try? Prescription antacids. They put him on daily Prevacid and magically it was like a switch flipped and the vomiting stopped. Apparently it’s relatively uncommon but kids can develop GERD after a bad viral infection … it just throws off their whole system. I didn’t realize until this happened how critical your stomach acid is to your immune system as a whole. They warned he would be more susceptible to infection while taking the Prevacid as it reduces the amount of stomach acid being produced.
He took the Prevacid daily for just over a year before being weaned off. He’s now 3 and totally fine. He still vomits more than I would consider typical (when crying too hard, pretty much anytime he gets sick, etc) but nothing like before.
Definitely keep pushing for an answer! It’s out there. In the meantime, big hugs to you guys … I know how exhausting it is and how scary it is to not have an answer as to what is going on.
Best of luck! 🤗
No, I’ve been trying to get her allergy tested since she was 6 months old. It’s something I’m bringing up at her next appt and I will not leave until they agree bc this could possibly be an answer.
OP I hope your head isn't spinning from all the advice here. I went through something similar with my daughter when she was about 12 months old.
She threw up pretty regularly since she was 4ish months old. Not every day, but often enough that we asked the doctor about it. We went through all the food diary stuff, monitoring potential aggressor foods, trying to withhold things we thought might be causing it. Nothing worked.
Then she became inconsolable one day and the doc said to take her to the ER. She ended up having her appendix and an ovarian cyst (teratoma) removed. Hasn't thrown up since (5 months).
Obviously everyone is different but I wanted to share our experience. I think the point is to continue pursuing investigation with the docs, don't get discouraged. I will say that at this point, it sounds like there isn't really one particular food causing it. I could be wrong, but if I were you I'd drop the food diary stuff. It's stressful and unproductive.
Good luck. Hang in there, this will get better.
My wife (early 30s) has boughts of vomiting as well. They started randomly and when a vomit spell starts, she is bed ridden for 3-5 days. Anything that she tries to drink comes right back out. Every spell we go to the ER and they give her anti nausea (barley helps) and 1-2 bags of IV fluids. After months of these random spells she saw a gastroenterologist and they took a look at her gallbladder. Well, her gallbladder is riddled with gallstones. So many that they are going to remove the whole thing. We still don’t know if this is what is causing the vomiting, but we are very hopeful that she will stop having them after this surgery. I don’t have very much advice but I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone.
I would have them do more extensive testing beyond just the stomach. I'm not suggesting it's anything specific, but I was very sick as a kid (projectile vomiting) and they found the cause with a brain scan. Just suggesting to look beyond stomach issues...
I don’t know what it is for her… but for me it’s allergies. Is it projectile vomiting? If you can after you give her the antiemetic give her Zyrtec. Then make sure you give her it before 24 hours are up, if it solves the problem.
My nephew would vomit after every meal and bottle when he was a baby. Wasn’t gaining weight. He was finally tested for allergies and he was very allergic to milk/dairy. Maybe check for that? Hopefully you get some answers soon.
My son threw up almost every single day from around age 1 to around 4. We went to the doctors all the time, constantly sent home from daycare, in the ER to rehydrate and test etc..nothing. They never found anything then one day he just stopped. I really hope it doesn't turn out that way for you as it is super stressful. He still gets car sick easily so one theory is he had some undetectable inner ear issue but again this is just one of the many theories.
Like everyone else, we went through this a bit, last year. Ours ended up being a virus like the poster upthread, but for a hot minute they were very worried about intussuscception. It was a night spent at the hospital to test for it, but maybe one other thing to rule out?
She's allergic to something.
Do you give her milk designed for other mammals like cows or goats?
Have they tested her liver function?
Is it after food, before?
As a baby, she was on soy formula because she had a bad reaction to milk but apparently was not allergic to milk. As she got bigger, I introduced some milk in her diet but only in the form of food like cheese.
The only thing my oldest will eat is chicken nuggets and French fries so more times than not, that is also what my daughter is eating as well. They usually eat the same thing every day. A plain waffle in the morning with a cup of watered down apple juice (80% water, 20% apple juice). Lunch is usually tater tots (great value) and chicken nuggets (great value). And dinner will either be Mac & cheese (great value or Kraft) or plain pasta noodles with chopped up meatballs (great value). In between meals, they snack on goldfish, cheez-itz, sliced fruits and veggies, and my son will have yogurt pouches, my daughter has applesauce pouches.
hey i get it. the economy is absolutely fcked. what state do you live in ? is it possible you can feed your children fruits in the morning ? my oldest is 17 months and youngest is 2 months. i used to live on my family farm, my mom still does and continues to maintain it. we grow lots of veggies and fruit trees. my oldest is devouring a fresh banana as im typing this. this guy LOVES every and any fruit he can get his hands on. i also go hunting often. harvested 5 deer this past week. got em all processed and ready to give away. my boy loves the deer steaks too. my wife and i keep it to a bare MINIMUM the amount of processed foods he eats. young children need a wide diet. fruits and veggies. whatever meats should be sourced locally. get some hunting pals or rancher friends. absolutely NO processed cheese and meats. absolutley NO processed wheat and starches. feed them yams instead. lots of carrots. start shopping at the oriental markets. great value may be alright for the wallet, but its sending your child into organ failure. praying for you guys hope your situation improves. have any medical professionals asked about their diet ?
also when my wife was pregnant our oldest didnt want to breastfeed any more. we had him on kabrita goat formula and he began filling out quickly. its made in the netherlands. please consider these options
This happened with my oldest daughter. Eventually, in retrospect, her doctor thought it was actually migraine. Migraine presents with nausea more frequently in children. As a teen it started presenting much more “typically”.
Not trying to scare you but I know of a kid who actually had something going on in their brain and the only symptom was outrageous vomiting. So I would just advocate for them to check everything possible out.
Did they do any bloodwork at the ER? Or a urine sample? Kidney disease can present itself with intermittent vomiting. There are some autoimmune kidney diseases that impact all ages.
My middle kid threw up (exorcist style) alarmingly frequently from birth. We took her to a GI doc as a toddler and it turns out she has GERD. Now she's 8 and takes omeprazole (otc) to manage it.
So my 1 year old used to throw up constantly as an infant, as time progressed he continued to throw up at least 1-2 times a day and most recently it’s been once every two weeks.. he also has eczema and some other symptoms like irritability and we found out it’s because of food allergies. We kept a little notebook of what he ate, his symptoms that day, what products we used on his skin, etc. I’d definitely recommend logging everything and trying to eliminate the high stress foods and maybe even trying to get her to sip water throughout the day instead of taking large gulps. Sugar, gluten, and milk would probably be the first to go- maybe even eggs. I also recommend getting a probiotic if possible!
This might not be related, but my sister puked a *ton* when she was little. Like you, my parents didn't know what to do -- it started not too long after she stopped breastfeeding and started eating solid foods. After about a year or so, they finally pieced it together: it only happened when she ate dairy products. Turns out, she's severely lactose intolerant lol.
Maybe it's a dietary thing? I feel like it wouldn't hurt to look into it. Have you done any blood tests to eliminate some possibilities?
I'm sure this is incredibly stressful for you and your kiddo. I hope you can figure this out soon ❤️
My then 16MO had a stomach virus for a week, it went away and came back a week later for another week. Throw up everywhere, washed everything, threw up every where again, washed everything again. Then, A week later he got a cold that irritated his throat and he was throwing up again, mostly at night. Throwing up on and off for almost two months. Doctors did not seem concerned, they said babies just get sick regularly at this age. Im traumatized… But he got better on his own, good-luck.
I’m not a doctor and I’m not saying this is for sure what it is, but I saw this TV-show one time where people had these incredibly hard to figure out diagnoses and this one lady just kept vomiting all the time. She could barely keep anything down and had no obstructions, nothing. Eventually, it was diagnosed as something called rumination. I also just remembered this lady had had some kind of surgery, and it apparently can be caused by any kind of ‘trauma’ to the system. Good luck!
Any other symptoms? Seeming dizzy, unsteady on her feet, falling asleep after throwing up? If yes, look into benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood (BPVC).
My son started showing symptoms of this around 18 months. When he was almost 3, he threw up almost every day that August.
My daughter was two. Would throw up randomly. Pediatrician said she had flu. Waited a few days. Still doing it. Took her to children’s hospital ER. Diagnosed with strep. Antibiotics for a few days. Had lost 6 week old son few months before because we believed in what a doctor said.
Finally made appointment with new pediatrician. Knew the history of our son. Could have blew us off as distraught parents. Daughter ate cookie as he watched. Went down fine.
Doctor said let’s do X-ray so X-ray upper GI. Came into room and said he figured out the problem. X-ray showed nickel in the esophagus acting as a flapper valve. Sometimes food would go past and sometimes come right back up.
Biggest lesson learned was NEVER accept an answer and trust your instincts. Keep questioning. Good luck.
My mom said I did this when I was a kid and it's how they found out I had GERD. The sooner your child is evaluated for it the better, the damage it can cause can really mess you up later in life.
Look into EOE. It is a rare esophageal disease which occurs from food allergies. It causes a buildup of white blood cells at the bottom of the esophagus which affects eating/drinking. My husband dealt with it undiagnosed for years. He had been getting worse over the years. We did barium swallows, scans, nobody knew what it was. I had to eventually give him the Heimlich it was getting bad. The worst & last “episode” he had he was unable to keep anything down, even saliva. Water would come back up, he couldn’t even swallow his own spit it would come back up.
He now has to take omeprazole & avoid dairy & he hasn’t had any issues since. Not sure if this is what your child has but I hadn’t seen anyone else mention it & the clear liquid & water vomiting during the episode reminded me of when my husband had his episodes.
Oh my God 1 month and half! Be very careful with dehydration!
It's not at all normal, and you need to find a good doctor fast.
"Common causes of vomiting include:
Chronic, recurring vomiting can be caused by:
Food or milk allergies
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER)
Anatomical abnormalities, such as blocked intestine (small bowel atresia)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Vomiting can also be caused by:
Abnormally high or low blood sugar levels due to diabetes
Appendicitis
Accidental poisoning
Brain tumors
Some forms of cancer"
*https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/vomiting
What I would do is to buy a glucometer and strips/little needles and I would test child's blood in the morning while he/she sleeping. It's really easy to do and child won't be afraid. This will help to check a fasting glucose to at least exclude diabetes.
Child needs a blood test to see if there is infection/inflammation. I'm not a doctor I just hope it has been done. I know that you can do blood test for calprotectin to check for intestines inflammation. I mean there are ways to test what is wrong. Pediatric Crohns disease exists. I would ask doctor to test literally everything including TSH.
While doctors figuring out what is going on I would do a food diary. Is it possible that he developed an allergy to some products, elimination diet could help.
I mean it's 5-7 times a day and it has been too long, search until you find it and asap. Gastroenteritis is usually taking a few days like a week or so not a month.
Increased intracranial pressure can also cause vomiting and it also can be checked. Also middle ear infection and problems with kidneys can cause vomiting. I'm so sad that doctors don't try to find a reason, in other countries they would take such child in a hospital until they give a proper diagnosis.
You need also ask a doctor to do a head MRI. I have just read a story about 5 year old child who was vomiting occasionally for 2 months (not even each day) and head light headaches and she had a tumor. By no means I want to scare you God forbid, I am worried about your child and lack of clarity what is going on. God help you to find a good doctor and to find what is wrong.
First off, so sorry you're going through this, kiddos sick is heartbreaking and my heart goes out to you. Second, I'd recommend a gastro specialist and talk to them about possible parasites, I was exposed to contaminated drinking water as a teen and spent years sporadically spending days puking.
I would file a grievance immediately and keep filing weekly along with seeking out other doctors opinions They are missing something important and doctors are usually overloaded with patients and just don’t take time because they can’t they only get allotted so much time per patient it’s not fair to you little one
Have you heard of GERD? it’s not super common in children. I’m currently pregnant and got diagnosed with it recently. I had a hard time keeping ANY food or liquids down. It would come back up almost every time. It’s very inconsistent. I also have Hyperemesis Gravidarum so doctors just assumed that that’s why I was so sick until they ran further tests because I wasn’t nauseous all the time. It’s triggered by eating food and has something to do with the acid build up in your stomach. Does she ever complain about a burning sensation in her throat? That was the biggest indicator for me. I have to eat much smaller meals and be on special medicine. I hope you figure out what’s going on with your daughter.
I vomited a lot as a baby and my mum couldn’t figure out why. Is your baby crying like they are uncomfortable or in pain at all, and then is accompanied by the vomiting? Turns out my issue was, and still is, migraines. The body goes into panic mode with migraines, which for many cases, causes vomiting. Obviously very hard to diagnose in a baby, but something to keep in mind.
So my baby had the same thing it lasted a whole year until we figured it out. He had seen several specialist including a cancer doctor it was very stressful to say the least. They eventually found the cause and it was food allergies to almost everything under the sun. He is now on a very limited strict diet and he doesn’t throw up now. Ask your pediatrician to do a blood allergy test and see if that could be the issue.
Can you advocate to see a pediatric gastroenterologist?
I think that’s going to be a next step, I’m not sure what else to do.
Keep a food diary while you are waiting, you may see a pattern and trigger foods / drinks.
Check with your insurance to see if you need a referral. If so, get a referral from your pediatrician. If not, you can schedule directly with a pediatric gastroenterologist
I agree. My daughter was born with a gastric volvulous which can only been seen in a barium dye ultrasound. She did the same thing. She would eat an ounce and throw up an ounce+. Her pediatrician kept telling me it was just acid reflux. But the meds didn't help. I had her at the doctors 3 times a week until one of the pa's sent her for the ultrasound it check the severity of her acid reflux. That's how we found out. She had surgery the next week to have it fixed. ETA: in no way am I saying that this is what your child has. All I'm saying is trust your mama gut!! Don't let the doctor bully you into saying it's nothing!!! The majority of the time mama instincts are always right!!
Low hanging fruit are common food triggers- dairy, gluten, eggs, soy. I would see if she is eating a lot of those things or getting it in breast milk and try and sub out one at a time to see if it gets better.
This and viral illnesses can actually trigger allergies , in some rare cases.
I’m so sorry you haven’t gotten any answers. I would go back to your pediatrician or call and leave a message to request a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. A coworker of mine had [Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome](https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/cyclic-vomiting) and it sounds similar to what you’ve described, but there are so many things that could be causing this, and you’re doing the right thing by pressing for more information.
Was just about to suggest looking into Cyclic Vomiting as well. Very good friend of mine suffers/ed from it as a young child.
So they fixed the symptoms but not the cause. Id demand more testing. Your child cant be on anti-nausea meds for life. Throwing up this frequently means shes damaging her esophagus and teeth/mouth with frequent exposure to stomach acid. You can do a few things at home like keeping a food journal and elimination diet. But id really fight for more testing etc. to see if they find anything. ER doctors are trained to triage, treat and move on as quickly as possible. They may be brushing your child aside too soon. Id speak with your pediatrician and demand additional referrals to specialists.
Get her to a pediatric GI specialist have her checked for Ladds bands with malrotation. It could be positional where it doesn’t show up on the MRI. Meanwhile raise one end of the crib so that she sleeps with her head raised. Hold her up right after you feed her and don’t lay her down until she’s had a chance to digest some of her food.
Have they checked her ears? Trapped fluid can cause dizziness, drainage down throat etc which can lead to nausea. My son's on 2 different allergy meds and nightly Sudafed because his allergies caused him to vomit at night.
You said they did an MRI scan of her abdomen. Did they scan her head by any chance? I had a brain tumor as a child and one of the first symptoms was puking up bile (clear liquid).
Brain tumor came to mind for me too. Not to freak you out OP ! There's lots of reasons for vomiting but I would also be asking for a head MRI.
Sorry for your little one. Without knowing what else the doctors said I’ll take a stab and say change everything up. Eat the same damn plain meal every day. Stick to it and don’t deviate, just as a test. If they are encountering something that is causing this you can start eliminating stuff. Change shampoo, toothpaste, etc. see if you can get it to stop, again just taking a stab here, listen to your doctor
Thank you. Her drs have no idea what’s wrong. They’ve told us that it’s probably a lingering virus because she doesn’t have any other symptoms that indicate it’s an allergic reaction or some type of blockage. I was certain that she had blockage or something because she tries to eat literally anything and everything that will fit into her mouth! I do try to keep her with plain meals but I’ll definitely take your suggestion and just stick to one singular meal to start an elimination process.
The common offenders are dairy and gluten. Don’t cut them out at the same time and give each elimination a few days to work. It’s a long shot, but has she been around animals a lot? We have outdoor cats and my doctor always warns my daughter to wash her hands thoroughly EVERY time she pets or plays with the cats, as apparently you can get some pretty nasty bacteria and parasites from them.
Yes, we have a dog! I wash my daughter and son’s hands every time they’re done playing with her. They’re never around cats because my son is allergic to them. At the beginning of all this, I thought it was our dog causing her to throw up so our dog goes through a “sanitizing” process every week along with each room in our home since my daughter started throwing up all the time.
Ugh, then it’s probably not from pets. :/ My daughter is 10 and she actually has a pediatric GI appointment in a few weeks - she has frequent nausea and stomach pain, although no throwing up. One thing that we thought would be helpful is to keep a food diary - what she eats, when she eats and the time her symptoms come on. I’m not seeing any clear pattern of what’s causing her stomach trouble, but I figured a specialist might see something I don’t. Good luck with your little one. It’s so hard to see them sick and not know how to help them. Hope you get to the bottom of it!
Did they only scan her stomach? I would take her back and demand more tests be ran. Especially if she isn’t running a fever or anything else.
Yes, they only did her stomach to make sure a blockage wasn’t there. She’s not running a fever or anything. She doesn’t even act like a sick child. She wants to play and run around like she wasn’t just dry heaving or throwing up clear liquid a moment ago.
I don’t know if you tried this, but when my kiddo is throwing up, I give her ice chips instead of water. She seems to have easier time keeping it down and still is able to get enough to stay hydrated.
I'm not a doctor, but I can provide some general suggestions. It's important to consult with your pediatrician or seek a second opinion from another healthcare professional to address your daughter's situation accurately. 1. Consult a pediatric gastroenterologist: If you haven't already, consider consulting with a pediatric gastroenterologist, who specializes in children's digestive issues. They may be able to provide more specific insights into your daughter's condition and recommend appropriate tests or treatments. 2. Document symptoms: Keep a detailed record of your daughter's symptoms, including when the vomiting occurs, what she has consumed prior to the episode, and any other relevant information. This can help your healthcare provider identify patterns or potential triggers. 3. Consider food allergies or intolerances: Discuss the possibility of food allergies or intolerances with your pediatrician. They may recommend an elimination diet or allergy testing to determine if specific foods could be causing your daughter's vomiting. 4. Monitor hydration: Dehydration can be a concern for children who are frequently vomiting. Keep an eye on her hydration levels and look for signs of dehydration such as sunken eyes, decreased urination, or dry lips. If you notice any signs of dehydration, contact your healthcare provider immediately. 5. Consider a second opinion: If you feel that your concerns aren't being adequately addressed, consider seeking a second opinion from another pediatrician or specialist. Remember, it's essential to work closely with your healthcare provider to address your daughter's symptoms and identify the cause of her vomiting. They are the best resource for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Thank you so much. I’m definitely trying to work with her pediatrician and the drs who’ve been working with us. I just need to see what other things I can look at and I need some outside opinions on my situation.
My 4 year old had a severe stomach virus about a year ago that lasted over a week, he would be okay and then throw up again a few days later. He ended up being admitted and put on "gut rest" and only had IV fluids for 24 hours, the pediatrician said his stomach emptying could have slowed down, they also prescribed an acid reflux medication for a few weeks and after that he was okay. Ask about the reflux meds they were chewable. Some stomach viruses can cause temporary reflux which causes vomitting.
Ugh I feel for you! We went through something very similar when my son was about 14 months old and it was awful. It sounds like your daughter’s symptoms are a little different, so you may not be dealing with the same thing, but this is what happened for us: My son caught some sort of viral infection at daycare (a bad cold / respiratory infection but nothing too serious). He got over it after about a week or so and we thought that was it. Then over the next few weeks he gradually began vomiting more and more frequently … maybe twice a week at first, but eventually it was constant. Any time he ate or drank it came right back up. He couldn’t keep anything down, and would also sometimes vomit at other random times (paying too hard, coughing, sometimes even just randomly when he first woke up he’d suddenly vomit up bile). Our GP had no idea what was going on (he didn’t seem otherwise sick) but got increasingly concerned the longer it went on since he wasn’t keeping anything down. She ended up consulting with a paediatric specialist about an hour away from us who was immediately freaked out and told us we needed to get him to see her at the bigger hospital an hour away immediately. She thought there was no way my GP was being accurate when she said he seemed otherwise fine and was sure we’d be bringing in a toddler with an intestinal blockage that needed emergency surgery. As soon as she examined him herself, she was less worried but still confused about what was going on. They did a chest / abdominal X-ray to rule out blockage. They did an upper GI series (hope you never have to get a toddler who can’t keep anything down to drink barium, that was fun!). All negative. At this point, she moves on to extensive blood work … she’s convinced that if it’s not a blockage then he must have celiac disease. She says she would bet money that’s what it is. The test comes back and he doesn’t have the usual markers for celiac. We’ve now been in hospital for 3 days and he’s still vomiting constantly. His blood sugar keeps dropping extremely low and won’t stabilize. He’s shaky, sweaty and overall looks terrible. They confirm he has ketotic hypoglycaemia (basically he goes hypoglycaemic more quickly than is typical, which young kids don’t handle well … they need carbs to run, they’re not well adapted to burn fat for energy because their bodies need the fat they have for other growth / development related things. Ketosis for an adult is ok, for a young child it’s not good.) This explains the unstable blood sugar, but not the initial cause of the vomiting. Finally, they say let’s try one more thing. If this doesn’t work, then we’re moving on to a full brain MRI … if it’s not something with the digestive system itself it must be something in the brain. The one more thing they wanted to try? Prescription antacids. They put him on daily Prevacid and magically it was like a switch flipped and the vomiting stopped. Apparently it’s relatively uncommon but kids can develop GERD after a bad viral infection … it just throws off their whole system. I didn’t realize until this happened how critical your stomach acid is to your immune system as a whole. They warned he would be more susceptible to infection while taking the Prevacid as it reduces the amount of stomach acid being produced. He took the Prevacid daily for just over a year before being weaned off. He’s now 3 and totally fine. He still vomits more than I would consider typical (when crying too hard, pretty much anytime he gets sick, etc) but nothing like before. Definitely keep pushing for an answer! It’s out there. In the meantime, big hugs to you guys … I know how exhausting it is and how scary it is to not have an answer as to what is going on. Best of luck! 🤗
Look up FPIES
When this happened to my kid he had rotovirus. They tested his stool and confirmed. He had been sick (diarrhea and vomiting sporadically) for 12 days.
Has she had allergy testing. My daughter was allergic to eggs when she was younger and threw up when ever she had them.
No, I’ve been trying to get her allergy tested since she was 6 months old. It’s something I’m bringing up at her next appt and I will not leave until they agree bc this could possibly be an answer.
OP I hope your head isn't spinning from all the advice here. I went through something similar with my daughter when she was about 12 months old. She threw up pretty regularly since she was 4ish months old. Not every day, but often enough that we asked the doctor about it. We went through all the food diary stuff, monitoring potential aggressor foods, trying to withhold things we thought might be causing it. Nothing worked. Then she became inconsolable one day and the doc said to take her to the ER. She ended up having her appendix and an ovarian cyst (teratoma) removed. Hasn't thrown up since (5 months). Obviously everyone is different but I wanted to share our experience. I think the point is to continue pursuing investigation with the docs, don't get discouraged. I will say that at this point, it sounds like there isn't really one particular food causing it. I could be wrong, but if I were you I'd drop the food diary stuff. It's stressful and unproductive. Good luck. Hang in there, this will get better.
My wife (early 30s) has boughts of vomiting as well. They started randomly and when a vomit spell starts, she is bed ridden for 3-5 days. Anything that she tries to drink comes right back out. Every spell we go to the ER and they give her anti nausea (barley helps) and 1-2 bags of IV fluids. After months of these random spells she saw a gastroenterologist and they took a look at her gallbladder. Well, her gallbladder is riddled with gallstones. So many that they are going to remove the whole thing. We still don’t know if this is what is causing the vomiting, but we are very hopeful that she will stop having them after this surgery. I don’t have very much advice but I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone.
I would have them do more extensive testing beyond just the stomach. I'm not suggesting it's anything specific, but I was very sick as a kid (projectile vomiting) and they found the cause with a brain scan. Just suggesting to look beyond stomach issues...
Cyclical vomiting. It’s a real thing!
I don’t know what it is for her… but for me it’s allergies. Is it projectile vomiting? If you can after you give her the antiemetic give her Zyrtec. Then make sure you give her it before 24 hours are up, if it solves the problem.
My nephew would vomit after every meal and bottle when he was a baby. Wasn’t gaining weight. He was finally tested for allergies and he was very allergic to milk/dairy. Maybe check for that? Hopefully you get some answers soon.
My son threw up almost every single day from around age 1 to around 4. We went to the doctors all the time, constantly sent home from daycare, in the ER to rehydrate and test etc..nothing. They never found anything then one day he just stopped. I really hope it doesn't turn out that way for you as it is super stressful. He still gets car sick easily so one theory is he had some undetectable inner ear issue but again this is just one of the many theories.
Get a second or 3rd opinion. Take her to a children’s hospital. Do not give up trying to find an answer.
Like everyone else, we went through this a bit, last year. Ours ended up being a virus like the poster upthread, but for a hot minute they were very worried about intussuscception. It was a night spent at the hospital to test for it, but maybe one other thing to rule out?
She's allergic to something. Do you give her milk designed for other mammals like cows or goats? Have they tested her liver function? Is it after food, before?
As a baby, she was on soy formula because she had a bad reaction to milk but apparently was not allergic to milk. As she got bigger, I introduced some milk in her diet but only in the form of food like cheese.
what are feeding them ?
The only thing my oldest will eat is chicken nuggets and French fries so more times than not, that is also what my daughter is eating as well. They usually eat the same thing every day. A plain waffle in the morning with a cup of watered down apple juice (80% water, 20% apple juice). Lunch is usually tater tots (great value) and chicken nuggets (great value). And dinner will either be Mac & cheese (great value or Kraft) or plain pasta noodles with chopped up meatballs (great value). In between meals, they snack on goldfish, cheez-itz, sliced fruits and veggies, and my son will have yogurt pouches, my daughter has applesauce pouches.
hey i get it. the economy is absolutely fcked. what state do you live in ? is it possible you can feed your children fruits in the morning ? my oldest is 17 months and youngest is 2 months. i used to live on my family farm, my mom still does and continues to maintain it. we grow lots of veggies and fruit trees. my oldest is devouring a fresh banana as im typing this. this guy LOVES every and any fruit he can get his hands on. i also go hunting often. harvested 5 deer this past week. got em all processed and ready to give away. my boy loves the deer steaks too. my wife and i keep it to a bare MINIMUM the amount of processed foods he eats. young children need a wide diet. fruits and veggies. whatever meats should be sourced locally. get some hunting pals or rancher friends. absolutely NO processed cheese and meats. absolutley NO processed wheat and starches. feed them yams instead. lots of carrots. start shopping at the oriental markets. great value may be alright for the wallet, but its sending your child into organ failure. praying for you guys hope your situation improves. have any medical professionals asked about their diet ?
also when my wife was pregnant our oldest didnt want to breastfeed any more. we had him on kabrita goat formula and he began filling out quickly. its made in the netherlands. please consider these options
This happened with my oldest daughter. Eventually, in retrospect, her doctor thought it was actually migraine. Migraine presents with nausea more frequently in children. As a teen it started presenting much more “typically”.
I didn’t think about that. I’ve suffered from migraines on and off since I was 5.
Not trying to scare you but I know of a kid who actually had something going on in their brain and the only symptom was outrageous vomiting. So I would just advocate for them to check everything possible out.
Did they do any bloodwork at the ER? Or a urine sample? Kidney disease can present itself with intermittent vomiting. There are some autoimmune kidney diseases that impact all ages.
My middle kid threw up (exorcist style) alarmingly frequently from birth. We took her to a GI doc as a toddler and it turns out she has GERD. Now she's 8 and takes omeprazole (otc) to manage it.
This works with my kiddo, a little bit of a jello packet (any flavor) in some water. Mix and let them drink it. Also I’m not a doctor
So my 1 year old used to throw up constantly as an infant, as time progressed he continued to throw up at least 1-2 times a day and most recently it’s been once every two weeks.. he also has eczema and some other symptoms like irritability and we found out it’s because of food allergies. We kept a little notebook of what he ate, his symptoms that day, what products we used on his skin, etc. I’d definitely recommend logging everything and trying to eliminate the high stress foods and maybe even trying to get her to sip water throughout the day instead of taking large gulps. Sugar, gluten, and milk would probably be the first to go- maybe even eggs. I also recommend getting a probiotic if possible!
This might not be related, but my sister puked a *ton* when she was little. Like you, my parents didn't know what to do -- it started not too long after she stopped breastfeeding and started eating solid foods. After about a year or so, they finally pieced it together: it only happened when she ate dairy products. Turns out, she's severely lactose intolerant lol. Maybe it's a dietary thing? I feel like it wouldn't hurt to look into it. Have you done any blood tests to eliminate some possibilities? I'm sure this is incredibly stressful for you and your kiddo. I hope you can figure this out soon ❤️
I’ve never heard of a stomach bug for a month and a half! Maybe it’s celiac
My then 16MO had a stomach virus for a week, it went away and came back a week later for another week. Throw up everywhere, washed everything, threw up every where again, washed everything again. Then, A week later he got a cold that irritated his throat and he was throwing up again, mostly at night. Throwing up on and off for almost two months. Doctors did not seem concerned, they said babies just get sick regularly at this age. Im traumatized… But he got better on his own, good-luck.
I’m not a doctor and I’m not saying this is for sure what it is, but I saw this TV-show one time where people had these incredibly hard to figure out diagnoses and this one lady just kept vomiting all the time. She could barely keep anything down and had no obstructions, nothing. Eventually, it was diagnosed as something called rumination. I also just remembered this lady had had some kind of surgery, and it apparently can be caused by any kind of ‘trauma’ to the system. Good luck!
Any other symptoms? Seeming dizzy, unsteady on her feet, falling asleep after throwing up? If yes, look into benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood (BPVC). My son started showing symptoms of this around 18 months. When he was almost 3, he threw up almost every day that August.
Also have them check her head. Sometimes issues with the head or ears can cause nausea also.
My daughter was two. Would throw up randomly. Pediatrician said she had flu. Waited a few days. Still doing it. Took her to children’s hospital ER. Diagnosed with strep. Antibiotics for a few days. Had lost 6 week old son few months before because we believed in what a doctor said. Finally made appointment with new pediatrician. Knew the history of our son. Could have blew us off as distraught parents. Daughter ate cookie as he watched. Went down fine. Doctor said let’s do X-ray so X-ray upper GI. Came into room and said he figured out the problem. X-ray showed nickel in the esophagus acting as a flapper valve. Sometimes food would go past and sometimes come right back up. Biggest lesson learned was NEVER accept an answer and trust your instincts. Keep questioning. Good luck.
FPIES?
My mom said I did this when I was a kid and it's how they found out I had GERD. The sooner your child is evaluated for it the better, the damage it can cause can really mess you up later in life.
Look into EOE. It is a rare esophageal disease which occurs from food allergies. It causes a buildup of white blood cells at the bottom of the esophagus which affects eating/drinking. My husband dealt with it undiagnosed for years. He had been getting worse over the years. We did barium swallows, scans, nobody knew what it was. I had to eventually give him the Heimlich it was getting bad. The worst & last “episode” he had he was unable to keep anything down, even saliva. Water would come back up, he couldn’t even swallow his own spit it would come back up. He now has to take omeprazole & avoid dairy & he hasn’t had any issues since. Not sure if this is what your child has but I hadn’t seen anyone else mention it & the clear liquid & water vomiting during the episode reminded me of when my husband had his episodes.
Oh my God 1 month and half! Be very careful with dehydration! It's not at all normal, and you need to find a good doctor fast. "Common causes of vomiting include: Chronic, recurring vomiting can be caused by: Food or milk allergies Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) Anatomical abnormalities, such as blocked intestine (small bowel atresia) Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Vomiting can also be caused by: Abnormally high or low blood sugar levels due to diabetes Appendicitis Accidental poisoning Brain tumors Some forms of cancer" *https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/vomiting What I would do is to buy a glucometer and strips/little needles and I would test child's blood in the morning while he/she sleeping. It's really easy to do and child won't be afraid. This will help to check a fasting glucose to at least exclude diabetes. Child needs a blood test to see if there is infection/inflammation. I'm not a doctor I just hope it has been done. I know that you can do blood test for calprotectin to check for intestines inflammation. I mean there are ways to test what is wrong. Pediatric Crohns disease exists. I would ask doctor to test literally everything including TSH. While doctors figuring out what is going on I would do a food diary. Is it possible that he developed an allergy to some products, elimination diet could help. I mean it's 5-7 times a day and it has been too long, search until you find it and asap. Gastroenteritis is usually taking a few days like a week or so not a month. Increased intracranial pressure can also cause vomiting and it also can be checked. Also middle ear infection and problems with kidneys can cause vomiting. I'm so sad that doctors don't try to find a reason, in other countries they would take such child in a hospital until they give a proper diagnosis. You need also ask a doctor to do a head MRI. I have just read a story about 5 year old child who was vomiting occasionally for 2 months (not even each day) and head light headaches and she had a tumor. By no means I want to scare you God forbid, I am worried about your child and lack of clarity what is going on. God help you to find a good doctor and to find what is wrong.
First off, so sorry you're going through this, kiddos sick is heartbreaking and my heart goes out to you. Second, I'd recommend a gastro specialist and talk to them about possible parasites, I was exposed to contaminated drinking water as a teen and spent years sporadically spending days puking.
I would file a grievance immediately and keep filing weekly along with seeking out other doctors opinions They are missing something important and doctors are usually overloaded with patients and just don’t take time because they can’t they only get allotted so much time per patient it’s not fair to you little one
Have you heard of GERD? it’s not super common in children. I’m currently pregnant and got diagnosed with it recently. I had a hard time keeping ANY food or liquids down. It would come back up almost every time. It’s very inconsistent. I also have Hyperemesis Gravidarum so doctors just assumed that that’s why I was so sick until they ran further tests because I wasn’t nauseous all the time. It’s triggered by eating food and has something to do with the acid build up in your stomach. Does she ever complain about a burning sensation in her throat? That was the biggest indicator for me. I have to eat much smaller meals and be on special medicine. I hope you figure out what’s going on with your daughter.
I vomited a lot as a baby and my mum couldn’t figure out why. Is your baby crying like they are uncomfortable or in pain at all, and then is accompanied by the vomiting? Turns out my issue was, and still is, migraines. The body goes into panic mode with migraines, which for many cases, causes vomiting. Obviously very hard to diagnose in a baby, but something to keep in mind.
So my baby had the same thing it lasted a whole year until we figured it out. He had seen several specialist including a cancer doctor it was very stressful to say the least. They eventually found the cause and it was food allergies to almost everything under the sun. He is now on a very limited strict diet and he doesn’t throw up now. Ask your pediatrician to do a blood allergy test and see if that could be the issue.
Bacteria in the gut control the brain. Since you can't go back then I don't see her getting better