A child in every family is always the main object of attention and care for parents. And when a child suddenly shows signs of ill health, adults perceive it as a disaster. They are lost, not knowing what actions to take to help the baby. Especially often, a similar picture is observed when a child has vomiting. To properly behave in such a situation, it is useful for parents to find out what is the cause of this symptom. After all, vomiting is not an independent disease. This condition is nothing more than an involuntary reflex, a reaction of the body to some kind of stimulus.
Why is vomiting in infants
It is worth noting immediately that the gag reflex is observed in children of different ages, and many factors can provoke this negative reaction.
In infants, most often vomiting occurs due to immaturity of the sphincter of the lower esophagus. This defect prevents the normal intake of food from the stomach into the digestive tract. But over time, the muscles strengthen, digestion improves, and the problem disappears.
If vomiting occurs in a child without diarrhea, what should I do? It is very important not to confuse vomiting and regurgitation, which often happens in children in the first months of life. The regurgitation is caused by the child swallowing air during feeding. If immediately after feeding the baby hold for several minutes in an upright position, the air will freely come out.
A vomiting reflex in infants can be caused by a number of reasons. The most common include:
- binge eating;
- improper attachment to the breast with natural feeding;
- colds;
- teething;
- a consequence of intense motion sickness.
These are all natural causes of vomiting in a child that can be eliminated, or they themselves pass over time. But sometimes the symptom mentioned accompanies hidden pathologies of the heart or liver. Therefore, the most reasonable thing is to notify the doctor that the child has vomited. Especially you can not rely on the case if it is often repeated.
Causes of vomiting in a child of preschool and school age
Quite banal reasons can provoke nausea with the subsequent release of vomit in older children. For example, overwork and even intense fear. But most often this condition is due to more serious factors:
- poisoning;
- an allergic reaction;
- meningococcal infection;
- closed brain injuries (concussion);
- viral respiratory pathology;
- otitis media;
- intestinal infections (dysentery, salmonellosis);
- acute appendicitis;
- non-infectious diseases of the stomach and intestines;
- malnutrition;
- violation of metabolic processes.
Often, nausea and vomiting in a child causes such a common phenomenon as force-feeding. This is often observed when the baby is forced to eat food at home or in the kindergarten that he does not like. But the gag reflex can provoke some external causes:
- long stay in a stuffy room;
- heat or sunstroke;
- strong excitement, fright;
- motion sickness in transport.
As you can see, there are quite a few factors. Attentive parents can sometimes give a specific reason for the malaise of their child, but more often than not the true "culprit" is determined by doctors after a thorough diagnosis.
Important! Adults should remember that only with the help of specialists can a truly effective protective mechanism against vomiting be found.
Classification
The nature of vomiting in children of different age groups is different. Concomitant diseases also affect this factor. Infant vomiting, depending on the causes that caused it and the nature of the poured masses, is classified into the following types:
- with mucus;
- with bile;
- with blood.
To understand what kind of danger to the health of the child each of these categories presents, you should understand their features.
Mucous vomiting occurs in infants. The presence of a secretion from the nasopharynx or bronchi in case of runny nose and cough in a baby is explained by the presence of secretions in the vomit. Mucous impurities also occur in case of poisoning, inflammatory processes of the stomach, overeating.
Bile in vomit can be the result of malnutrition. This is sometimes associated with serious liver and gall bladder problems. This symptom is usually observed with viral hepatitis.
The appearance of blood in the vomit is an extremely negative sign. It can indicate a peptic ulcer, severe poisoning by poisons or mushrooms. Vomiting with blood often occurs when a foreign body enters the stomach. But in any case, the appearance of bloody vomiting requires urgent medical attention, since this symptom means that there is bleeding in some part of the gastrointestinal tract.
An important point! Only a qualified specialist can determine the correct type and nature of vomiting. Therefore, parents should not risk the health of the child, and immediately contact a medical institution when such an alarming symptom appears.
Clinical manifestations
Vomiting in children is extremely rare without other symptoms. In most cases, other clinical signs accompany it, which make it easy to identify the real cause of the ailment. Parents should carefully monitor the condition of the baby in order to subsequently provide doctors with detailed information about the course of the disease.
When vomiting occurs without fever
If the child has vomiting without fever, you need to look for the source of the pathology, because the vomiting reflex triggers some irritation. Among these irritants may be:
- a serious metabolic disorder;
- intoxication caused by drugs or substandard products;
- gastrointestinal diseases, especially with severe diarrhea and abdominal pain;
- pathologies of the nervous system, which are characterized by behavioral disorders: uncontrollability of a child, poor sleep, loss of appetite, etc.
Good to know: morning vomiting in a child (without fever) indicates central nervous system problems.
Vomiting combined with fever
The condition of the child with vomiting is greatly aggravated by an increase in temperature. Hyperthermia is a constant companion of inflammatory processes. Therefore, if the child has vomiting and fever, this indicates the presence of a focus of inflammation in a small body. For children, especially toddlers of the first three years of life, this combination threatens with serious complications. The situation can develop in a negative scenario in just a few hours. To prevent this, with vomiting and temperature in a child, it is urgent to call a doctor or emergency medical care.
An important point: with a combination of vomiting and hyperthermia, it is important to determine how these two symptoms relate in time. If fever first came to light, it was most likely the cause of vomiting. With the simultaneous appearance of two signs, there is every reason to suspect an intestinal infection.
Combination with other symptoms
Vomiting is a very expressive clinical sign that can be used to identify a number of diseases. But in conjunction with other symptoms, it helps to more accurately diagnose an ailment. Here are just a few examples of the possible outcome of a pathological alliance:
- Vomiting in combination with abdominal pain - indicates an infection or food poisoning.
- A headache combined with a gag reflex is a clear sign of a concussion.
- Foamy vomiting is a dangerous form characteristic of hepatitis, meningitis.
- Watery vomit occurs with prolonged starvation or colds.
- Vomiting of a fountain in infants is most often the result of overfeeding, but such a sign can also speak of complex developmental abnormalities.
Single vomiting in young children is a common reaction to an irritant. But with its repeated or repeated manifestation, it is urgent to show the baby to the doctor.
How to stop a child from vomiting
In a similar situation it is impossible to panic. The nature of the assistance largely depends on the age of the victim: if the child is not one year old, parents should call a doctor, and if the vomiting continues, it is better to call the emergency room.
Before the arrival of the doctors, do the following:
- The child must be laid, and his head turned to the side. In case of repeated vomiting, place a towel. It is better to hold a baby in his arms in a horizontal position.
- A sick child should not be given to eat. Older children can gradually drink plain water, rice broth or mineral water without gas.
- The actions of adults should be calm, parents must strongly support the patient.
- In case of possible hospitalization, it is necessary to collect the baby's things and hygiene products.
- It is necessary to leave vomit and feces, so that it is easier for doctors to determine the nature of the pathology.
- If the child continues vomiting or diarrhea, it must be washed and, if necessary, changed after each act.
What drugs can be given for children with vomiting
How to stop vomiting in a child? Home treatment comes down to localizing the symptoms. The set of medicines that will help alleviate the condition of the child is wide, but not all are suitable for self-medication.
- To prevent the following attacks of vomiting, the Smecta drug should be given in a dose corresponding to the age of the child. "Smecta" with vomiting in a child is extremely effective. It is a natural sorbent, so it copes with the manifestations of intoxication. "Smecta" with vomiting in a child acts softer than activated carbon and does not kill the intestinal microflora. This medicine is allowed to be given even to infants, but with intense vomiting, it is better to use candles.
- If the child has a temperature above 38 degrees, it is necessary to lower it. For this purpose, rectal suppositories, which include an antipyretic component, are more suitable.
- To maintain a normal water-salt balance, water-salt solutions and glucose are given.
- In case of drug poisoning, gastric lavage is done. This procedure is carried out by specialists within the walls of a medical institution.
- In infections, antibiotics are always prescribed.
- Severe bouts of vomiting are blocked with antipsychotics.
Special attention! Parents alone can only lower the temperature and use the Smecta preparation to normalize the child’s well-being. The remaining drug therapy is prescribed and controlled by a doctor.
Possible complications
If your child has vomiting, treatment should be started immediately. If you do not take actions aimed at eliminating the reflex, such complications may follow:
- severe dehydration, which is fatal;
- injuries of the pharynx, esophagus;
- aspiration pneumonia resulting from vomiting in the respiratory tract.
The cause of mortality is often not only dehydration - very young children can choke on emetic contents. Therefore, parents should always be next to a sick baby.
Preventive actions
The complex of preventive measures to prevent vomiting in a child includes:
- Timely treatment of any disease.
- Quality control of baby food products.
- Strict adherence to hygiene standards of care.
- Creation of such conditions that medicines, household chemicals were inaccessible to children.
- Seeking help from specialists. Any medicine can be given to a child only with the permission of a doctor, the same applies to traditional methods of home treatment.
Conclusion
Various reasons can cause a gag reflex in a child. Parents must remember that only their competent actions will help the baby. In such a serious situation, when the risk of complications is so great, self-medication is simply unacceptable. After all, the price of this option to solve the problem is too high - the life of the child.