2 Year Old Has Had Cough for 2 Weeks Has Started Vomiting

Kids who don't know how to blow their nose tend to vomit the phlegm to get rid of it. It's a common response, especially if your child has a strong gag reflex. Our now four year old had this happen to him a lot last winter. He was three at the time and every night he would vomit as the mucus stayed in his throat and would irritate him. (Think about how uncomfortable you feel when you have mucus in your thoat- you know how to spit it out, they don't).

For us, it progressed from nightly vomiting, to twice, then three times a day, for a peroid of two months (as long as the cold lasted). So, in other words, for us it got a lot worse. Because he was vomiting the phlegm up so much, his esophagus got more and more irritated, which meant more stuff would bother him, he would vomit more, and finally ended up with something more like acid reflux. He had to take medicine to heal the esophagus. And all this because the mucus caused a gag reflex..... It was really scary for us, he lost a lot of weight; and started becoming a picky eater. But now that he knows how to blow his nose right, he no longer has this problem. Moral of the story is, the doctors will tell you it's normal, but it can become a catch 22 (vomit to get rid of mucus, irritate esophagus, keep vomiting). Hopefully your son's cold won't last as long as my son's did, and he'll learn how to blow his nose sooner. :)

Good luck.

A little about me:

I have three boys. A 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 6 month old I am totally inlove with (we were trying for a girl too).

2 moms found this helpful

Hi C.!
This fall the same thing happened to my son. The pedi said it was just a cold at first, and then when I started hearing phlem they told me to go to the ER because they suspected phneumonia. It turned out that "thanks" to the doctrs who failed to provide the right care, his cold turned into a sinus infection...
They gave us some antibiotics though, and it was gone in several days.

1 mom found this helpful

Both of my son's have food sensitivities and allergies. A couple of years ago my younger one was sick and would only eat an organic stawberry cereal we had. Then he started vomiting and continued to vomit for about another 2 -3 wks. We then decided it must be a reaction to the ceareal since that is all we could get him to eat. Turns out he's allergic to corn. He had similar symptoms to your child. Running around playing and then he would vomit. We cut out the corn and he got better.
With food allergies it causes swelling on the organs on the inside. If you live in portland area there is a great Naruropath Rita Bettenberg at the natural Child and family birth center that can test for food sensitivities. It is worth it. The sooner it goes treated the less health problems your child will have when he/she grows up.
Good Luck!!!

1 mom found this helpful

This exact same thing just happened to my 3 year old. I did take her into the Dr. because she had been up all night the night before coughing. The following morning she threw up. I called the Dr. and they had me bring her down. They took chest x-rays to make sure all was good in her chest. She threw up one other time on me on the way out and she was better by that night. I know the flu has been going around, but I have a feeling that was just her bodies way of getting rid of all that stuff in her chest. Good luck - hope your little one feels better soon.

1 mom found this helpful

I also have a son, who is six now, and he has had that problem multiple times. He has had sinus infections in the past and when the mucus starts to drain he doesn't spit it up so it drains right down into his stomach. Which causes him to have an upset stomach and vomits. He automatically feels better right away too. When I was a child I had many sinus infections and colds and I would also have the same problem. It would make my stomach upset and I would vomit too. But you do feel so much better afterwards. I don't know if your doctor has suggested to use saline solution in his nose to help breakdown the mucus. I use a neti pot with my son now that he is older. It helps alot. If you haven't called the doctor you should. They might might want to see him just to make sure he is okay.

1 mom found this helpful

First off, I would call the doctor and see if you should bring him in.

Second, I have personally had coughs that were so harsh that they caused vomiting. Is your son coughing that hard?

W. B.

1 mom found this helpful

Yes I am familiar with this. You didn't say if he was coughing right before this happened. If he is coughing right before this happens you should have your doctor listen to his lungs. Coughing to the point of vomitting may indicate something else is going on. I have had this happen with more than one child. One child it was asthma another it was just a cold with a bad cough. It could just be he is coughing up phelgm as you thought. Its the only way he has to get rid of the phelgm. You could try a nighttime vaporizer the nightlight ones work fine.It helps with the cough and phelgm.
Good Luck

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter used to do something like that. She would be fine, then usually when sleeping or laying down she would throw up white "snotty" stuff, then she would be fine again. Once she learned to blow her nose it's gone way down! The doctor told me it's because her sinuses and nose were draining. She couldn't blow her nose so the stuff would go to her stomach. The only way to get it out was to throw up. Kind of gross... sorry! Also no fun for your son.

1 mom found this helpful