Daughter Throws up All the Time!

My son did the exact same thing. Going to restaurants was a nightmare for awhile. He did that until he was just turning 3. He's almost 4 and he hasn't done that in a long time. He out grew it and I hope your little one will outgrow it too.

Hi K.,
You may want to rule out two things allergies and acid reflux or a combination of both. These are pretty typical symptoms of a build up of mucus which triggers the gag reflex but sometimes kids have some acid reflux in combination which makes it really easy to puke. Good luck! T.

My 5 1/2 year old has a easy gag reflex too. His started when we found out he had a milk allergy at 9 months. Everytime he has a cold, eats too much dairy(he is allowed now) or cries too hard he throws up. Same with coughing. Now that he is older he can control it better. The doctor has never been too concerned, but it wouldn't hurt to ask your doctor about it.

you might want to take her to the doctor. There is this thing called gurd, its causes kids to react like you described. It is cureable, I think. My son threw up a lot when he was little, He's grown out of it now,( 5 years old) It seemed like he'd throw up 2 times of what he took in. Sometimes they are just sensitive, a doctor can tell you whats going on and if it is a problem.

Hey K.-
My son never had this problem, but my friend's son did. He always puked for many different reasons, like dog hairs, too big of bites, sticking his hands in his mouth, stringy foods, crying too much and others too. It sounds exactly like your daughter! She always just swore it was a sensitive gag reflex but the doctors told her that a person/ baby just doesn't have a "sensitive gag reflex" so they said it could be acid reflux. So the doctor prescribed medication for him and she said it didn't help but just a little. I know that doesn't help much. Your daughter isn't just the only one, just be carefull with the things that you know could make her puke, like make sure she takes smaller bites or her food is cut real small or she doesn't cry to long/hard. Good Luck, I'm sure it is trying!

K., your poor little girl! I would have her gag reflex checked. There are things the Dr can do for it. I grew up with a bad gag reflex - but mine was not as sensitive as your daughter's. I just puked on the dentist everytime I got my teeth cleaned, she soon learned not to hang the little vacume thing on the side of my mouth! lol...I know it is horrifing to see your little girl like that. My son also has shown signs of it. But talk with her doc. My mom had to see 3 before someone believed her about mine. Good luck to you!

I know how you feel!

My daughter never spit up as a small baby - not even a normal amount - then when she turned 1 year old, several things happened at once... she got the chickenpox vaccine which gave her a very mild case of chickenpox and she contracted the flu (this was all Jan 2007) and began vomiting. But the vomiting never stopped even after the flu was over - and it continued after each and every meal for 4 months!!! When we finally did go to see a pediatric specialist (we had to wait for about 8 weeks for the appt!), she said that our little girl was suffering from 2 things - allergies that were causing her stomach to swim in mucus, making it volatile and queasy, and second a condition called "Post viral gastric pyloris (sp?)" which is to say that after the flu and chicken pox, her stomach muscles, which are supposed to move the food from her stomach to her bowels, stopped working (as they do during a virus) and never started back up again (at least not at a decent enough pace to keep things from getting backed up). And so every time she ate, everything would "hit a wall" and be pushed back out...

In the end, there was not a great deal that we could do in terms of treatment really, we just had to wait it out, and over the next month or so it did slowly stop due to starting an allergy med (singulair) and just the natural progression of the PVGP. The doctor said some people (this is a condition that affects adults as well as children) suffer with it for up to 18 months - and there's no way of preventing it or being able to tell who it will happen to - just luck of the draw and you roll the dice every time you get a virus.

I don't know if this has anything to do with your daughter - but it may give you a place to start - especially if she is also experiencing alot of allergy symptoms. Good Luck!

My stepson did the same thing up until he was around 4 or 5. He has a very sensitive gag reflex. My husband does as well. If they brush too far back they can trigger the gag reflex. The difference is being older they can sometimes keep from throwing up. My stepson would put too much food into his mouth and trigger it and would throw up all over his plate. More than likely she will grow out of some of it and just be able to compensate for the sensitivity.

Hello,
My daughter used to do the same thing & the Doc said she just had a very strong gag reflex. She would throw up when she would cry too hard! She was recently diagnosed with acid reflux & is on Prevacid which has helped quite a bit. If your daughter wakes up frequently during the night crying, has a lot of runny noses, & bad coughs, you may want to check her out for reflux. Best of luck to you.

Sorry I don't have any advice but I can tell you my 29 mo old son is exactly the same. If bites are too big, he cries too much or coughs too much - everything comes up. I always just thought it was a sensitive gag reflux. Didn't know there were so many other things it could be. He is just getting over the flu and while he has been better for a few days - he tossed up his dinner. I don't think he was "sick" throwing up but something was too big, he ate too fast (being hungry) or the like. I can tell when he is sick throwing up cause he cries more about it. Otherwise he just kind of looks surprised that something came up.

Good luck! I may (GENTLY) try to look down his throat as well.

Does your daughter get colds easily? My friends daughter was the same way and she caught every cold that came along and had sore throats all the time. The doctors decided to remove her tonsils and she hasn't puked once since then. The doctor said that her tonsils were overly sensitive which caused her to vomit alot and caused her to be sick with cold like symptoms pretty much year round. The little girl is 4.5 yrs old and this has gone on since she was around 18 months, she had her tonsils removed in early August and no puking or colds since.