Vomiting in an infant - the main causes and what to do about it

Vomiting in young children begins suddenly. She doesn't cause any urges. Sometimes a child may vomit in the middle of the night without any apparent reason or fever, but by the morning he will be completely healthy. In the first year of life, infants burp after feeding, and parents can easily mistake the regurgitation for vomiting.

What is the difference between these states:

1. Regurgitation- involuntary release of eaten food from the stomach through the esophagus, pharynx and mouth. Occurs after feeding, after 10-40 minutes. The baby can vomit milk through the nose. The main reasons are overfeeding, improper attachment to the breast (), inappropriate formula, tight swaddling. Less commonly, fountain regurgitation indicates the presence of diseases of the nervous or digestive system.
   When we are not talking about pathologies, the child feels good after regurgitation, smiles, he is calm and does not cry. At the same time, his weight increases, stool and urination remain normal.
2. Vomit- reflex release of stomach contents out. At the same time, the diaphragm and abdominal muscles contract. The gag reflex is coordinated by the brain, and it gives other signals - pallor, drooling, rapid heartbeat, cold extremities. The volume of fluid erupted from the stomach exceeds the volume of food eaten, since gastric juice is added to it.

DistinguishA baby may have an attack of vomiting from normal regurgitation based on some signs:

• repetition;
• large volumes of fluid expelled from the stomach;
• Bile or mucus is noticeable in the vomit, and curdled milk in the regurgitation;
• the temperature rises;
• the child is worried, capricious, nervous;
• diarrhea begins.

The main causes of vomiting in an infant

Common causes of vomiting in infants are:

• overfeeding and;
• abrupt transition to a new mixture;
• lure;
• food poisoning;
• intestinal infections;
• heat;
• concussion;
• infectious diseases;
• appendicitis;
• ingestion of a foreign object;
• neurological disorders;
• intestinal obstruction.

Overfeeding and the diet of a nursing mother

The health of the newborn directly depends on the organization of nutrition for a nursing mother. The quality of milk and its quantity can be regulated with proper nutrition. If salty, spicy, smoked dishes appear on the mother’s table, this will affect the milk and the stomach of the infant. The consequence of such a diet can be vomiting after feeding, an allergic reaction, anxiety and diarrhea.

Abrupt transition to a new mixture

You can provoke vomiting in a baby by changing the formula. If the formula used by the baby does not suit his body, he often spits up like a fountain, suffers or does not gain weight well, the doctor advises changing it to another. This is done gradually, since the child is accustomed to the old formula and a sudden switch to a new one can cause vomiting.

Lure

A newborn may react to new foods with allergies and vomiting. If the vomiting was a one-time occurrence, there is no need to be alarmed.

To correctly introduce complementary foods into your child’s menu, you need to:

1. Follow your doctor's recommendations for introducing complementary foods.
2. Start introducing new products with one component - grated apple, carrot juice, mashed potatoes. This makes it easier to monitor the body’s reaction to introduced foods and identify inappropriate foods in time.
3. When purchasing baby food, be sure to read the instructions. Pay special attention to the composition, expiration date and manufacturer.
4. Prepare only fresh food for your baby and give purchased purees, porridge or juice from a freshly opened jar.
5. Do not overfeed your baby, even if he is ready to eat a lot of food.

Food poisoning

Beware of large fluid loss in a newborn baby

A serious cause of vomiting, accompanied by diarrhea and high fever, is food poisoning. If low-quality food gets into the baby’s stomach, the body will try with all its might to get rid of it in order to reduce the amount of toxins absorbed into the blood. You can recognize that a child has been poisoned by vomiting like a fountain, which will be repeated regularly. In this case, the child’s condition will deteriorate sharply. He will become weak, lethargic, capricious.

The task of parents is to prevent the newborn’s body from losing a lot of fluid. Every 5 minutes the child should be given boiled water. You need to offer clean water one teaspoon at a time and try not to over-drink, otherwise the irritated walls of the stomach will not be able to hold a large amount of liquid, and the baby will vomit again. After the vomiting stops and the baby pees, the drinking dose is increased to a tablespoon.

Important! Do not resort to self-medication, but urgently call a doctor, even if the vomiting and diarrhea have stopped.

Intestinal infections

Causes the same symptoms as food poisoning - diarrhea, vomiting, fever. Coping with an intestinal infection at home is extremely difficult. The child loses a lot of fluid, vomits bile every half hour, and the infection spreads throughout the body, poisoning other organs. If you do not call an ambulance in a timely manner, convulsions may begin from the high temperature. Inpatient treatment will allow you to intravenously replenish fluid loss, cleanse the body of poisons, destroy pathogenic bacteria, and stabilize the intestinal microflora.

Important! Intestinal poisoning is fatal to a child’s life and requires hospital treatment.

Heat

The gag reflex is provoked by high temperature. It appears against the background of intestinal and infectious poisoning, overheating, and teething. When an infant has a fever (temperature rises above 38.5 degrees) caused by infectious diseases, viruses or a cold, you cannot hesitate. The child is frequently given warm drinks and given antipyretic drugs.

Concussion

Breasts at 4-5 months are very mobile. But newborn babies also manage to turn around and, unexpectedly for their mother, fall from the changing table, crib or sofa. First of all, you shouldn’t get lost and reproach yourself for an oversight.

The baby needs to be monitored if:

• he lost consciousness;
• cries for no reason and for a long time;
• his coordination of movements was impaired;
• he vomited.

These are signs of a concussion. Parents need to call an ambulance. The doctor will order an ECHO and x-ray to rule out any suspicion of head injuries. Even a week after the fall, dangerous symptoms may appear. Identifying and treating a missed disease will be much more difficult. Therefore, if the baby falls, it is better to consult a doctor and get diagnosed.

Infectious diseases

Vomiting can signal various infectious diseases - hernia, meningitis, hepatitis, pneumonia, encephalitis, gastroenteritis, etc. If there are other symptoms indicating the presence of a disease, you should immediately contact a doctor. Timely treatment can save the life of a newborn and save him from serious consequences.

Appendicitis

In addition to vomiting with appendicitis, infants experience nausea, bloating, diarrhea, fever, lethargy, and weakness. Experiencing severe attacks of pain, the child draws in his legs and screams shrilly. Palpation of the abdomen causes a painful reaction. Parents must immediately call an ambulance.

Ingestion of a foreign object

If a baby swallows a large object, it can get stuck in the esophagus. By inducing vomiting, the muscles will begin to contract intensely, and blood may be found in the vomit. If the baby manages to push the object out, there is no need to worry. But when difficulty breathing occurs and drooling increases, you need to urgently call an ambulance.

Neurological disorders

They are found mainly in premature babies and underweight infants. The causes of the disease are fetal hypoxia, birth injuries, and asphyxia. Constant vomiting in infants is provoked by hyperactivity, convulsions, and strabismus. After diagnosis, such children require observation by a neurologist and inpatient treatment.

Intestinal obstruction

A dangerous disorder that occurs in the first postpartum days. The newborn has a bloated abdomen, and bile and original feces (meconium) are detected in the vomit. Such a child requires serious treatment, in which feeding is carried out intravenously.

What to do if your baby is vomiting

How to help your baby with vomiting, when stomach contents come out of the mouth like a fountain:

• after excessive regurgitation or vomiting, you should definitely call a doctor;
• the mother needs to reassure the child, not panic and remain calm. The baby will feel it and calm down himself;
• You need to wash the child’s face, remove the vomit and ventilate the room. The smell causes another gag;
• after vomiting, it is advisable to keep the child in an upright position, do not move him or pull him;
• You can’t give your baby something to drink right away. A large volume of liquid will provoke new vomiting;
• stop feeding and give clean boiled water in small sips. For newborns, you can drip liquid from a pipette, bottle, or give water from a teaspoon every five minutes. The child’s stomach will be able to hold this amount of liquid and he will not be at risk of dehydration.

Vomiting is a serious symptom and does not occur without a reason. You cannot prescribe medications to your child yourself. It is better to wait for the doctor and follow his recommendations.

Important! Before the doctor arrives, you should not give an enema, clean the stomach, or give the child antiemetics or painkillers. They can make diagnosis difficult. Even experienced doctors cannot immediately determine the cause of vomiting. Therefore, they offer inpatient treatment, where the baby will be monitored until other symptoms appear.

If vomiting occurred once, there is no bile, blood or mucus in it, the baby was not overfed or given spoiled food, he does not have diarrhea, parents need to carefully monitor his well-being. You don’t have to call an ambulance, but even in this case you shouldn’t put off visiting a doctor.