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 he alth, adults perceive it as a catastrophe. 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. In order to behave correctly in such a situation, it is useful for parents to find out what causes the appearance of this symptom. After all, vomiting is not an independent disease. This state is nothing more than an involuntary reflex, the reaction of the body to some kind of stimulus.
Why do babies vomit
It is worth noting right away that the gag reflex is observed in children of all ages, and many factors can provoke this negative reaction.
In infants, most often vomiting occurs due to the immaturity of the sphincter of the lower esophagus. This defect prevents the normal flow of food from the stomach into the digestive tract. But over time, the muscles strengthen, digestion improves, and the problem disappears.
If a child vomits without diarrhea, what should I do? Highlyit is important not to confuse vomiting and regurgitation, which is common in babies in the first months of life. Regurgitation is caused by the baby swallowing air during feeding. If you hold your baby upright for a few minutes immediately after feeding, the air will escape freely.
Gag reflex in infants can be caused by a number of reasons. The most common include:
- overeating;
- improper breastfeeding breastfeeding;
- colds;
- teething;
- the consequence of intense motion sickness.
These are all natural causes of vomiting in a child that can be eliminated, or they themselves disappear with time. But sometimes the mentioned symptom accompanies hidden pathologies of the heart or liver. Therefore, the most reasonable thing is to inform the doctor that the child had vomiting. Especially one cannot rely on the case if it is often repeated.
Causes of vomiting in a child of preschool and school age
To provoke nausea with the subsequent release of vomit in older children, quite banal reasons are capable. For example, overwork and even severe fear. But most often this condition is due to more serious factors:
- poisoning;
- allergic reaction;
- meningococcal disease;
- closed brain injury (concussion);
- viral respiratory pathology;
- otitis media;
- intestinal infections (dysentery, salmonellosis);
- acute appendicitis;
- diseases of the stomach and intestines of a non-infectious nature;
- malnutrition;
- violation of metabolic processes.
Often, nausea and vomiting in a child is caused by such a common phenomenon as force-feeding. This is often observed when a baby is forced to eat food that he does not like at home or in the kindergarten. But some external causes can provoke the gag reflex:
- prolonged stay in a stuffy room;
- heatstroke or sunstroke;
- strong excitement, fear;
- motion sickness in transport.
As you can see, there are quite a few factors. Attentive parents can sometimes name the specific cause of their child's illness, but most often 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 defense mechanism against vomiting be found.
Classification
The nature of vomiting in children of different age groups is different. Concomitant diseases also influence this factor. Children's vomiting, depending on the causes that caused it and the nature of the poured out masses, is classified into the following types:
- with slime;
- with bile;
- with blood.
To understand the danger to the he alth of the child each of these categories poses, you should understand their features.
Mucoid vomiting occurs inbabies. The presence of a secret from the nasopharynx or bronchi, with a runny nose and cough in a baby, is explained by the ingestion of vomit. Mucous impurities also occur in case of poisoning, inflammatory processes of the stomach, overeating.
Bile in the vomit may be due to malnutrition. Sometimes it is associated with serious liver and gallbladder problems. This symptom is usually seen in viral hepatitis.
The appearance of blood in the vomit is an extremely negative sign. It may indicate a peptic ulcer, severe poisoning with poisons or mushrooms. Vomiting 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.
Important moment! Only a qualified specialist can determine the correct type and nature of vomiting. Therefore, parents should not risk the he alth of the child, but immediately contact a medical institution when such an alarming symptom appears.
Clinical manifestations
Vomiting in children rarely occurs without other symptoms. In most cases, it is accompanied by other clinical signs, by which it is easy to identify the real cause of the ailment. Parents should carefully monitor the baby's condition in order to subsequently provide doctors with detailed information about the course of the disease.
When vomiting occurs without fever
Ifchild vomiting without temperature - you need to look for the source of the pathology, because the gag reflex is triggered by some kind of irritation. These irritants may include:
- serious metabolic disorder;
- intoxication caused by drugs or substandard products;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, especially with severe diarrhea and abdominal pain;
- pathologies of the nervous system, which are characterized by behavioral disorders: uncontrollability of the child, poor sleep, loss of appetite, etc.
Good to know: CNS problems are indicated by morning vomiting in a child (without fever).
Vomiting combined with fever
The child's condition during vomiting is greatly aggravated by fever. Hyperthermia is a constant companion of inflammatory processes. Therefore, if a child has vomiting and fever, this indicates the presence of a focus of inflammation in a small body. For children, especially babies of the first three years of life, this combination threatens with serious complications. The situation can develop according to a negative scenario in just a few hours. To prevent this, if the child is vomiting and has a temperature, it is urgent to call a doctor or emergency medical care.
Important point: with a combination of vomiting and hyperthermia, it is important to determine how these two symptoms correlate in time. If the fever was the first to make itself felt, most likely it was she who caused the 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 combination with other symptoms, it helps to more accurately diagnose the disease. Here are just a few examples of the possible outcome of a pathological alliance:
- Vomiting combined with abdominal pain - indicates an infection or food poisoning.
- Headache combined with a gag reflex is a clear sign of a concussion.
- Foamy vomiting is the most dangerous variety characteristic of hepatitis, meningitis.
- Watery vomit occurs with prolonged fasting or a cold.
- Vomiting fountain in babies is most often the result of overfeeding, but such a sign can also indicate complex developmental disabilities.
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
You can't panic in a situation like this. The nature of assistance largely depends on the age of the victim: if the child is under a year old, parents should call a doctor, and if vomiting continues, it is better to call the ambulance.
Before the paramedics arrive, do the following:
- The child must be laid down, and the head turned to one side. In case of repeated vomiting, put a towel. It is better to hold a baby in your arms in a horizontal position.
- A sick child should not be given food. Seniorchildren can gradually drink plain water, rice water or mineral water without gas.
- The actions of adults should be calm, parents are obliged to support the patient in every possible way.
- In case of a possible hospitalization, it is necessary to collect the baby's belongings and hygiene care.
- It is necessary to leave vomit and feces to make it easier for doctors to determine the nature of the pathology.
- If the child continues to vomit or have diarrhea, he should be washed and, if necessary, changed after each act.
What drugs can be given for vomiting children
How to stop vomiting in a child? Treatment at home is reduced to the localization of symptoms. The range of medicines that will help alleviate the condition of the child is wide, but not all are suitable for self-medication.
- To prevent the next attacks of vomiting, you should give the drug "Smecta" in a dose corresponding to the age of the child. "Smekta" with vomiting in a child is extremely effective. It is a natural sorbent, so it copes well with the manifestations of intoxication. "Smecta" with vomiting in a child acts softer than activated charcoal 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 suppositories.
- If a child has a temperature above 38 degrees, it is necessary to lower it. For this purpose, rectal suppositories are more suitable, which contain an antipyretic component.
- To maintain a normal water-s alt balance, water-s alt solutions and glucose are given to drink.
- In case of poisoninggastric lavage is done with medicines. This procedure is carried out by specialists within the walls of a medical institution.
- Antibiotics are always prescribed for infections.
- Severe bouts of vomiting are blocked with antipsychotics.
Special attention! On their own, parents can only lower the temperature and use the drug "Smecta" to normalize the child's well-being. The rest of the drug therapy is prescribed and monitored by a doctor.
Possible Complications
If your child is vomiting, treatment should begin immediately. If you do not take actions aimed at eliminating the reflex, the following complications may follow:
- severe dehydration leading to death;
- trauma of the pharynx, esophagus;
- aspiration pneumonia resulting from inhalation of vomit.
The cause of mortality is often not only dehydration - very young children can choke on vomit. Therefore, parents should always be close to a sick baby.
Prevention measures
The set of preventive measures to prevent vomiting in a child includes:
- Timely treatment of any disease.
- Quality control of baby food.
- Strict hygiene care.
- Creating such conditions that medicines, household chemicalswere out of reach for children.
- Referring to the experts for help. Any medicine can be given to a child only with the permission of a doctor, the same applies to traditional home treatment methods.
Conclusion
Different reasons can trigger 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 high, self-medication is simply unacceptable. After all, the price of such a solution to the problem is too high - the life of a child.
