Toddler Vomiting

Your child can vomit for a number of different reasons.  Stomach bug, something they ate, coughing too hard, motion sickness or triggering their gag reflex.  Sometimes when your child has a cold they can vomit because there is mucus dripping down their throat into their stomach.

This can cause them to feel nauseous.  When having a cold your child can also vomit if they start coughing too hard causing their gag reflex to become triggered.  Usually vomiting for these reasons is no cause of alarm.  If vomiting persists though after the coughing episode you will want to call your doctor.

Vomiting isn’t fun for anyone.  It can make your child become very scared.  Best thing for you to do is to stay calm if your child throws up.  Your child can feed off your emotions so if you start to worry they will become more worried as well.  Rinse their nose and mouth to make sure all vomit has been removed.

Make sure your child is sitting up leaning slightly forward when vomiting, or lying on their side.  Avoid having them laying flat on their back, they could swallow back or inhale the vomit and cause aspiration.  Finding the cause of what is causing your child’s vomiting can help proceed with what is the best course of treatment.

If it seems to be from something your child has eaten.  You will want to take a period of time to rest the stomach.  Usually this is about 24 hours for solid foods.  This allows your child to not overload their stomach that is unsettled by something they previously ate.  Also gives the body time to work out that food causing trouble.  Make sure though that your child is drinking fluids.  Tiny sips.

Beware of Pneumonia

If your child is vomiting while having a cold, then getting rid of excess mucus is your best bet.  This can be done by encouraging your child to blow their nose.  If they aren’t old enough to effectively blow their nose you can use a bulb syringe to suck mucus out of their nose.  If your child has asthma a cold can exacerbate the asthma.  If your child starts coughing and cannot stop, use their emergency inhaler.  Keep an eye on your child’s breathing and cough.

If you start to notice them wheezing, struggling to get a breath,  fever, or chills your child may be showing signs of pneumonia.  It has been shown that honey may be a cough suppressant for children.  Giving them a tablespoon of honey if they are over the age of one can be a natural cough suppressant to help stop them from coughing too hard to the point of vomiting.  A warm shower or bath can also be helpful and soothing.  Plenty of rest.  Allow your child to just lay when they need to or take a nap.  There are also cough drop lollipops for children.  This could also be a good option to help your child control their cough.

Beware Of Dehydration

Vomiting can cause dehydration.  Dehydration can happen very quickly in children.  Signs of dehydration are lethargy, no urine for 6-8 hours, extremely dark urine, refusing any fluids for 6-8 hours, dry mouth, or sunken eyes.  You can check your child for dehydration by pinching their skin lightly and if it doesn’t bounce back right away this can show dehydration.

Encourage your child to take tiny sips of drink.  If they don’t feel like eating, that is alright, as long as they are drinking.  Drink things like water, or Pedialyte.  Too sugary drinks such as juice or sports drinks can cause dehydration.  If your child will drink a warm tea like chamomile, peppermint, or ginger can help their cough and cold.

Other signs to look for along with dehydration are fever, vomiting several times an hour, bloody vomit, greenish vomit, stomach pain, uncontrolled dry retching, vomit after prescription medicine, projectile vomit or bloody diarrhea.  If your child has any of these you will want to reach out to your doctor.

After your child vomits make sure you clean out their mouth and nose.  Then slowly start with small sips of rehydration.  Focus on about one to two tablespoons an hour.  Don’t push it too much.  You can give your child electrolyte popsicles as well to help rehydrate.  Adding in an electrolyte solution into their water can help hydrate them faster.  Try to avoid sugary beverages.  Once your child’s stomach seems settled and they are ready you can offer small amounts of food.  Things like crackers, toast, rice, and mashed potatoes are good options.  Other things like fruits, vegetables, chicken, or yogurt are other good choices.

Your child vomiting can be scary.  Try to remain calm and remember that usually vomit is no single reason to be overly concerned.  Finding the cause of the vomit will help you treat it quickly.  Don’t give your child anything over the counter to stop the vomiting unless you have spoken to their doctor.

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