Need Advice About Child Who Gets a Cold and Vomits

My 21 month old has the same thing every time she gets a cold. Even the suggestion of food- for example saying to her, honey are you ready for breakfast? she will gag and when there is enough mucus, throw up everywhere. The worst is when she is sleeping and it gets all over her crib. I took her to the doctors yesterday and asked him about it and he said they see this in kids with reflux but it will go away by the time they are five. There is not much you can do about it but the other moms gave some good suggestions (like having towels ready)- I try to run her into the bathroom where the tile is easier to clean up than the carpet. Good luck!

I have had the same thing happen to me when I was younger. I found that I was more nausous from the post-nasal drip if I had an empty stomach. Snacking on small amounts of saltine crackers or toast and having a little bit of pop would help. I know pop is unhealthy but for some reason my mom would give me a little bit when I had an upset stomach and it helped me feel better. She would transfer it between two cups until it was not so fizzy. She would give me 7up or coke but I've heard Ginger Ale is good too. I think it was her doctor that told her to give me a little de-fizzed coke. Also, I would avoid giving her foods that are difficult to digest like milk (which is also mucus-producing) or fatty foods.

My son gets like this sometimes. Sometimes he just runs to the bathroom and sits there but nothing happens. I think it has to do with post-nasal-drip. I use this as a reminder that they really have to blow their noses. With a 3 yr old, I know it can be hard. I would have her checked by an ENT specialist just to make sure her adenoids are not too large causing issues. My daughter had hers removed with her tonsils. The doc said she would most likely outgrow them but since she suffered sleep apnea along with snoring and grinding her teeth we elected to have them removed. Her tonsils were so large they almost touched. If her adenoids are large, you can ask if this is the problem or if it is just an issue she will grow into like a lot of other things. To try to prevent a cold for her, give her vitamins with a little extra C and try to have her wash her hands often. This might help.

Hi J., Does she eat alot of dairy products? That used to happen to my boys a little bit. The mucus sits in their tummy and they cant digest it so it just comes up. I think milk products make the mucus thicker, could be just me though.

You can buy a rubber suction bulb to extract the mucus. Ask the pharmacist to explain how to use it. Mucuc drips sometimes for days down the throat until the stomach can't hold any more. That's when the vomiting starts. The stomach does not break down mucus. I would use a vaporizor in her room with Vicks in it's spout. The hot air and salve help break up the congestion that already starts building before you get the first sign. These things will help her, they've helped me for years. I've had sinus problem since my teen years. Good luck and bless that little one. By the way, keep her off the dairy products during these sick days. Dairy builds phlem and will make her cough more and vomit.

J.
I too have a couple of kids with a horrible gag reflex. I would try to build up your immune system so he does not get sick. Eating lots of fruits and veggies and small amounts of lean meats avoid juice and too much dairy. Good Luck
J.

My child is now 4yrs. but i also my wife and i also had the same problem and to date. my daughter has the same issues or problem. like u we worried,but dont worry like you just said. make sure she can hold some lite food like chicken soup and liqiuds,no pop or sugary drinks. its hard to see your child like so. if you can with the mucus in her nose get it out the way you used to dont whats called but round pointy blue tool when their infants get as much mucus out. through the nose. she might like it. But it seem to work for us. f.y.i. our child also lasts about ,2wks. with cold or cough. just make sure medicine is taken like told (depending on med.). hope this helps io know it really stinks to see a child like so but we must stay strong always for them . from parent to parent!!! may your child get better sooner then you think.

My 2 year does this too. It's horrible. What worked this last time was a suspension syrup. I am traveling today but will get the name of it and send it to you. I sleep with her elevated too even if it means she sleeps in the crook of my arm. No dairy either. No milk, yogurt, cheese, etc... I basically gave her only water to drink.

Hi J.,

It's possible your daughter's vomitting is due to post-nasal drip. I would recommend something like Benadryl (an anti-histamine) or some sort of expectorant (guaifenisin -- in some types of Robitussin and, even better, in Mucinex -- do they make Mucinex for kids?) to break up the mucus. Hope that helps!

R.

Sounds like my son when he was little. He is now 14 and has a weak gag reflex. When he was a baby he would run, get out of breath, cough, and then puke. Now he has seasonal allergies and the post nasal drip during the night leads him to vomit in the early morning hours. It's just who he is. We have used Zyrtek syrup at night to keep the allergies down and that alleviated the upset stomach/vomiting in the morning. But even now, in middle school he often is late to school when the allrgies are kicking up because we wait for the worst of the nausea to subside. Hey the good thing is at 3 years old he could reliably tell us if he was going to throw up. Most kids can't be counted on to tell until they are 6 or so

Just a thought here, but has your doctor checked her WHOOPING COUGH? I think that a blood test is needed for that. Good luck.

My 8 month old was doing this last week. He also is a bit gaggy with solid foods that aren't pureed. Doctor wasn't concerned. One thing that would help with the drip is a saline nasal spray and then a bulb syringe. I still suction out my 3 year olds nose when he is really congested.

My 6 year old son is the same way. The doctor says it is a sinus infection. We are on our 2nd dose of Amoxicillin. They also checked his ears for infection. Things are going better, however i know where you are coming from the first couple day he was getting sick 3 or 4 times during the night. That makes for a long night with no sleep. Good luck!

My daughter has got acid reflux and she is the same way. It doesn't take much if any sinus and she is likely to throw up. I've dealt with it so much that I'm almost immune to the whole thing. Although I've never known exactly what makes it better/worse, I do know that the last cold was much better. I've started getting proactive with medcine. I don't wait till she starts getting sick or acting sick - I give her benadryl at the first signs of a runny nose or sinus issues and I make sure escpecially at night when things are normally worse to keep giving the medicine for several days after the worst of the cold is behind us. Be careful that she has a little food on her stomach before you give the medicine because I've had times when the sugar in the medicine triggers vomit. I also restrict most sweet and sugary foods. Chiana can't handle them well anyway, so if her stomach is upset I know they won't set well at all. If she does vomit, and feels like eating afterwards she gets toast or crackers. The only other thing I can suggest is keeping towels or blankets near by to try to save furniture and carpet and keep a bucket or tub around to grab on the way to the bathroom in case she doesn't make it. Good luck!

This has happened to my 3 year old daughter and it turned out she actually had an ear infection and the pediatrician said it is common for kids to vomit with the infection. So you could have that checked if you haven't been to dr. already. My son had this too and it turned out he had a reflux problem that is greatly irritated by mucus caused by post-nasal drip from colds and is worse with his seasonal allergies. We have used a nasal spray and that greatly reduced the post-nasal drip problem. You can also ask your dr. to refer you to a gastrointerologist to have them check her out. We have an excellent one out of Loyola.

My daughter has done this after literally every cold she has had since she was 18 months old. She was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis (not bronchitis, though they are similar, it's not caused by smoking around a child) So her doctor prescribed a breathing machine and Albuterol to help break up the mucus and get it out of her lungs. After the first breathing treatment she was already looking significantly better and he also said to have her do breathing treatments every four hours (she's almost five now so I don't remember exactly) That worked and she got better, no more throwing up. Ever since then, it still happens. Every time she gets a cold the mucus builds up and makes her throw up. I still don't know why it still happens to her and I'm pretty sure she doesn't get bronchiolitis every time. But I still give her one breathing treatment right after it happens and it always helps (some times she needs more but rarely.)

This also sometimes happens to my 2 year-old - pretty gross, but it seems every time he is sick there is just a huge volume of mucus, and unless he has a massive sneeze, it just all drains down his throat. It's maddening because we aren't supposed to be giving cold medicines these days with all of the warnings, and my pediatrician has always been anti-cold medicine for babies anyway. I noticed a post below about giving Benadryl - they have even updated their own website to alert parents not to administer Benadryl to children under 4.

So what's worked wonders for us is the saline nose spray. I noticed 1 other post below mentions it. There are several brands - buy one that's made for kids so it's super gentle. There is Ocean for Kids and Little Noses. You spray it right into her nose (she probably won't love it, but it's better than vomiting!). It breaks down the mucus, making it thinner, and therefore easier for her to pass instead of it sitting in her stomach. Mucus is also super acidic, so a build-up of it does cause vomiting, and also diaper rashes for younger ones when passed in stool. The saline helps break it down and does wonders relieving both the vomiting and the diaper rashes.

Also we run a humidifier at night - regarding the one that you put medicine like Vick's into - that isn't recommended for kids her age. We have one made by Vick's but just run it with water in it, we don't use the medicine. Also sleeping on a pillow so her head is elevated can help too.

Best of luck, and those warm months can't come soon enough!

J.-
I am not sure if you have sought the help of a chiropractor. Chiropractic has been shown to increase the immune system so your child will be able to fight infections better as well as drain mucus properly. I have found in my practice that chiropractic adjustments clear colds faster and patients have reported that themselves and their kids get sick less often after starting chiropractic care. Since I have not see your child I don't know if there are other things happening as well, I am just speaking from experience from myself and other patients. If you have questions feel free to call the office or to find a pediatric chiropractor in your area go to www.icapediatrics.com.
In health,
Dr. J. Aardema
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Hi, my son vomits with colds too due to the congestion, particularly after he wakes or begins eating breakfast. The doctor kept telling me he has a sensitive gag reflex and some kids vomit very easily. I do plan to have his tonsils out as they are enlarged and that is supposed to help with that...although it's primarily for sleep apnea.

My kids did this,too. I told a friend about it who is a nurse. She said to give them coke. She worked in the intensive care unit, and she said they used coke to clean out the tubes. It cuts the mucus. It used to help my kids a lot. I always try to keep coke on hand for this reason. My oldest son still has a touchy stomach when he has a cold, and he's 19!

Hi J.,
My niece was the same way. Dairy products cause your body to produce more mucus & it takes a week to 10 days for it to totally get out of your system after you stop eating dairy. I would cut all dairy products from her diet. I know this seems extreme, but it really does work. You can't just stop them when she gets the cold because it takes so long for the dairy to totally get out of the system. You can replace the protein & calcium with soy milk & other soy products. A lot of juices have calcium added & you can get protein from lean meats & fish. If you have concerns, talk to a nutritionist. Regular Dr.'s tend to not be informed enough on these subjects.