10 Month Old with Sensitive Gag Reflex and Vomiting When Coughing

A chiropractor will fix this K.. He most likely has a hiatal hernia, which is very common and easily resolved.

A hiatal hernia means that a part of the stomach is pushing up against the sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus - the 'hernia' part comes from the fact that it "bubbles" up into the tube, resembling a hernia. Most hernias are more dangerous.

This type, however, is very common - even adults have it. As a matter of fact, it is estimated that over half of reported "acid reflux" cases in the US are caused from hiatal hernia's, which are more easily resolved with a simple manipulation that anyone can learn than from pharmaceuticals.

So, go to a local chiropractor and ask them about the possibility that you son has a hiatal hernia. You will most likely feel better in less than a heart beat.

Hi K.-while reading your request, I found myself nodding the whole time. My daughter started this exact thing at the same age. She would also vomit from gagging on food and then ALWAYS when she had a cold. It was also from the mucus. She will be 5 this summer and we have finally found some relief...you are on the right track with the asthma. My daughter is currently on oral prednisolone and she has the albuterol nebulizer. We started taking her to see a pediatric allergy/asthma specialist. He explained to me that all the times that she was in her coughing attacks/vomiting at night (like your son did) she was actually having asthma attacks. She was also diagnosed with pnuemonia alot when she was a toddler (those were also asthma attacks-they look the same under x-ray). My daughters asthma is allergy and viral induced. I would keep on that track to get your little boy some relief. I never knew that this type of thing could be asthma...I really thought she was just sick a lot and had a very high gag relex...we finally have relief from 4 years of this. Good luck!
As a side note-my daugther never swalled meconium and there is also no family history of asthma.

Have you checked out reflux? My son coughs until he throws up usually during or within an hour after meals. Last month after an episode of vomiting food was in his lungs & had trouble breathing for several hours. His reflux also worsens quite a bit during a cold or sickness. Just throwing this out there as a different avenue to check out.

I recently asked our pediatrician about the sesitive gag reflex my nearly 3 year old has. He had a terrible cold a few weeks ago and would wake me in the night because I thought he was about to throw up when he coughed.
The dr.(not our regular dr.) asked if he had asthma or a type of breathing related problem when he was younger. Yes, he did! he had RSV when he was about 7 months old. She said that children with asthma or other may have a sensitive gag reflex.
She recommended using the nebulizer when he is sick to open up the airways a bit more and that should help with the gag reflex a bit when coughing.

My husband also has a very sensitive gag reflex - every time he brushes his teeth he gags. Maybe it in his genes.

I hope you find out more.
J.

My first three children had those symptoms, though only one had the "albuterol baby" issues. They didn't want to label her ashmatic, and I'm glad they didn't because she did grow out of it just before her 4th birthday.
Here is what I found out years later. The multitude of immunizations messes with the immune system, the exact opposite of what we expect it to do, and can cause all sorts of autoimmune disorders, such as: asthma, allergies and diabetes.
I stopped immunizing my infants and I never had those issues again!
There is a doctor one the Disaster Preparedness commitee for our country who recommends not immunizing until your child is at least 2 years old, when their brains are much closer to fully developed, and to do shots one at a time spaced 6 months apart.

I have had 4 children since I stopped immunizing my children as infants, and not one of them has had the projectile vomiting! One of my first three also has immunization injury, and thankfully that has been eliminated in the other 4, too, by not injecting them as infants. (they are so much healthier, too! Did not expect that!)

Hi K.,

Wow, it sounds just like my son but he is older, he just turned 3. About a year ago my son started throwing up when he would cough or run around to much. The Doctor suggested a nebulizer and we thought he might have asthma but I noticed that the throwing up only happens when he is sick like with a cold or cough. Unfortunately, he has been sick a lot this winter. I think that he has a really sensitive gag reflex and when he is sick the mucus gathers in his stomach and comes up really easy. Granted this is my theory but it really only happens when he is sick.

We stopped the neb about 2 months ago and have only had one throwing up incident (when he had a cold) so it is getting better. My son has also learned to slow himself down when he starts getting our of breath. I don't have any answers for you but I just wanted to let you know that we have been going through the same thing.

I hope things get better but I definetely feel your pain. Good luck and let me know if you find out anything more.

M.

This sounds familiar to me. I have an 8 year old with a very sensitive gag reflux and reactive airways (not quite ashtma) and an 11 year old with allergies and asthma. It sounds like your son might be headed in the asthma direction, but there are preventative medications he could be on to help this and to decrease the mucus. If your pediatrician isn't helping I would ask to see a specialist or get a 2nd opinion. I haven't tried it yet with my kids (but might this summer), but have heard good things about chiropractic care for breathing and mucus problems. Your little guy could also have some allergies that are adding to the problem. My oldest had a dairy allergy at that age. You might also want to ask the doctor about testing for that. Good luck--I can empathize with the vomiting.

Does you child have any digestive issues? Like foul smelling or mucus in his diapers?

My daughter has a very sensitive gag reflex and vomited a lot. Even hard crying would set her off. She just turned 4 and it has gotten progressively better over the past year. My mom told me I was the same! So hopefully, he'll grow out of it a bit eventually! Good luck!