20 answers

Possible Lactose Intolerance?

I'm in desperate need of some advice about my 14 month old daughter. Two weeks ago my husband and I found her in her crib one night, sleeping in her own vomit. She had no other symptoms, no fever, no fussiness, just the vomiting. We cleaned her up and put her back to bed only to be woken again in the night to another episode of vomiting. She wouldn't eat much the next day and I kept her away from milk figuring it wouldn't be good on an upset stomach. By the following day she seemed to be doing better and I started giving her milk again. Day 4 she woke up vomiting nothing but stomach acid (she still wasn't eating much.) I gave her small amounts of Pedialyte throughout the day and attempted to get her to eat some toast and bananas but she still wouldn't eat much. Day5 she again seemed to be doing much better and had a slight appetite. Then Day 6 she vomited her breakfast and only ate small amounts during the day. Into the weekend (days 7 and 8) she was getting back to her normal self and we were letting her have milk again. All week long she did great and almost had a normal appetite. Then at the end of this past weekend (day 15) we found her yet again sleeping in her vomit and went through the whole routine again.

I started to wonder if maybe it was the milk that is bothering her stomach. Although I can't imagine why the milk didn't bother her for an entire week. I thought about calling the pediatrician but am not sure there's much they can tell me other than to try cutting out the dairy. I'm just wondering if anyone else out there has had a simliar situation or if anyone knows if this can be how a "lactose intolerance" can present itself? Any help at this point would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
A.
(A part time working mom of a 3 1/2 year old son and a 14 month old daughter)

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

So after yet another episode of vomiting Friday morning (which would make this going on 3 weeks...) I took her in to the pediatrician. She agreed to start doing some tests so we could find the culprit. After keeping her off dairy for the week and still having a vomiting episode, the MD said she didn't think the lactose intolerance was likely. So we're starting with stool samples to test for parasitic infection (yes... parasites.) She had a bout of diarrhea today and we dropped off the sample this afternoon. If it comes back negative she wants to try treating her for reflux. But with the addition of some episodes of diahrrea, I don't think reflux is likely. I suppose we'll see what happens... I'll keep you all updated. Thank you so much for the advice and support!!

Featured Answers

I would try not giving her milk on a trial basis and then go from there. Consult her doctor and tell them all what has happened.

1 mom found this helpful

I've never heard of a lactose problem presenting itself that way. It's more likely a stomach bug or food poisioning that she's struggling with. My daughter also vomited in her sleep at about 20 months and the next day, I was vomiting too. It seemed that for her, it was that she had too many raisins with her dinner and they "rehydrated" in her tummy until it all came back out.

More Answers

I would try not giving her milk on a trial basis and then go from there. Consult her doctor and tell them all what has happened.

1 mom found this helpful

I've never heard of a lactose problem presenting itself that way. It's more likely a stomach bug or food poisioning that she's struggling with. My daughter also vomited in her sleep at about 20 months and the next day, I was vomiting too. It seemed that for her, it was that she had too many raisins with her dinner and they "rehydrated" in her tummy until it all came back out.

When my daughter was about the same age, she came down with something very similar. It was about 2 weeks intermittent vomiting.
It turned out just to be a stomach bug. Our ped. said it sometimes drags out after the virus is gone, because their stomach is still irritated. She suggested we give only very small amounts of food and drink but very frequently (think grazing).
Lactose intolerance us usually presented by bloating, discomfort and loose stools - not vomiting (Lactose is digested in the small intestine, not the stomach).

I know cow milk can't be digested fully- especially by little ones (cheeses and yogurts should be ok though).
Has she had a runny/stuffy or congested nose? My son got sick and had a bad stuffy nose and for three days he would throw up at night because they cannot digest mucus, so when it would drain into his stomach at night he would throw it up.
I would definitely talk to your doctor thought, because weeks of vomiting is very bad for young ones who need so many calories and nutrients daily.
Good luck, I hope you find out soon!

My daughter is 9 yrs old now and she has just become lactose intolerant. She had been complaining about having really bad gas and cramps and feeling really sick to her stomach. My daughter is a drama queen so I really didn't play into it to much. So I decided to not let her have milk for a few days and she didn't get cramps or gas or sick. So I went and bought her some lactade supplements to take when she drinks her milk or has a bowl of cereal before school. She did great and hasn't had any problems. With your little one only be 14 mths old I would try switching her to a lactose free milk. I would still talk to your doctor but it just sounds like milk is a problem. My daughter seems to do ok with cheese and yogurts its the milk. Good luck. Best wishes.

I'd also recommend calling the pediatrician immediately.

Lactose intolerance is usually symptomatic through GI issues (bloating, pain, diarrhea, nausea) but not usually vomitting. The fact that there was bile in the vomit (when you said stomach acid) shows that there's something else going on that the stomach had already emptied its contents and was still upset.

Your pediatrician will be the best person to tell you if this is milk/dairy related or if it just happens to be coincidental.

cow's milk is for calves, not humans. cow's milk in any form is harmful to all humans, only some people react more strongly than others. dairy products are absolutely not necessary for health, in fact they cause many diseases. there are many much better sources of calcium (leafy greens, seeds, etc). you would be doing a wonderful favor to your entire family by stopping cow's milk products for all of you. having said all this, it is possible that there may have been some other cause of your daughter's symptoms. i would recommend that if taking her off of all dairy doesn't bring her back to perfect health, you take her to a health practitioner.

My daughter had something similiar happen when she was about 15 months old. She got the stomach flu but kept throwing up for over 2 weeks afterwards! We couldnt figure out what was wrong. Then for months she kept throwing up randomly. Finally we went and got her blood tested for allergies (finger pricks) and she was allergic to eggs, gluten and dairy. It was likley activated by getting the stomach flu the first time. So I would get her tested for allergies if you can! Hope that helps and she feels better soon
M.

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