Vomiting

Hi M.,

My daughter (now almost 8) was my gag-n-puker. ;) It is a combination of having a sensitive gag reflex AND a behavior issue!

I read somewhere that something like 6% of kids do this (mostly girls), and no, there is nothing physically really wrong with them. The gag reflex issue would also manifest itself when she had a cold and would swallow too much phlegm, so we encouraged her to blow her nose constantly! (sorry for the details, but something to look out for!)

She did this until she was four, by the way... once she figured out she could manipulate it she really tried to use it against us! By that age, she knew if she didn't hit the toilet she would have to clean it herself. That pretty much put a stop to it.

It's interesting that you mention the juice b/c K still starts coughing sometimes when she drinks water. And it took 3 visits at 6 months apart to get xrays done at the dentist b/c she still her moments.

Hang in there--it may get worse before it gets better, but it will get better!

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My oldest used to do this too though he started when he was one. It is a poor gag reflex though some people who get irritated with children easily love to try to convince you it's behavioral. Watch her cues and make sure you have a bucket handy. Don't make a big deal about it and make sure you have a steam cleaner. That was when we bought our first one. She will out grow it but until then, there's nothing you can do but to try to distract her from having the tantrum in the first place.

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I have seen this in an older child. he vomits after drinking juice unless it is given to him a couple hours after he has had breakfast.

I can understand the juice thing. When I was a kid, if I drank juice too fast or drank a bunch of juice before I ate, I would inevitably throw up! And the same has been true with my kids. Poor gag reflex could be part of it, but I also think the acids in juice may have something to do with it. I rarely give my kids juice. If I do serve juice, we always have to drink a glass of water before hand...then we take slow sips of juice rather than downing a whole glass at once. And, this seems to work for us! Hope this helps.

Sounds like your daughter may have a high gag reflex - but also have a hard time regulating her emotions. My daughter from day 2 turned herself blue when she got really upset. She never held her breath to the point of passing out, but that immediate reaction of being very upset would make it hard for her to take a second breath. The nurse in the hospital freaked out thinking she was choking - later I realized that this was just her behavior. It happened rarely, but continued to happen until this past year. She still sometimes takes that first breath a little too long, but she no longer gets to the blue point. I started very early in trying to teach her how to calm down. What has worked for us is that I calmly tell her, "Ok, I'm going to count to 3 and after that we're going to take a deep breath to help stop crying." The first couple of times I had to count to 3 two or three times to get her calmed down enough. My daughter couldn't respond to a lot of discussion during one of her tantrums. So I limited the talk until after a few minutes of her being calm. Now all I have to do is count and she takes her breath and can stop herself. Sometimes she can do it on her own, sometimes she tells me she needs help calming down. I think that's fine. Young children need to be taught coping skills and it's our job to help them. I don't think ignoring is going to work - your daughter needs help learning how to navigate her behavior so that her body works for her rather than against her. Good luck.

Hi M.
Anything is possible, but gag reflux is not to be fooled with.
Lately I have been big on telling life with kids is a game, much like checkers or risk, you have to second guess your opponents move and play accordingly to win the game. Right? Well, my advice is to recognize what happens to make her that upset and avoid it. For instance, if you making her pick up her toys causes a war that turns into gag reflux then ask her to pick up her toys, then instead of forcing and causing the temper tantrum, start singing "this is the way we pick up our toys....." or whatever and make it a fun activity for both of you. It wouldn't take near as long and is much less stressful than cleaning up.
Gag reflux malfunction is what they diagnosed our 12 year old with after a 3 week hospital stay for anorexia. If we had been able to tell them she had it, she would not have been hospitalized. Be thankful for the diagnosis and I pray that she out grows it. Unfortunately at 6 years when I should have told MD that she was still gagging alot, we had gotten so used to it, and the MD's had told us she just had a slow digestive tract for so long I finally believed them and stop talking about it. OOooops. She was medicated for it for about 2 years and seems fine now although the anorexia diagnosis seems to haunt her.
May God bless you with a healing for this
K. SAHM of 4, 37, 32, and twin girls 18. Married 38 years and our 32 year old made us grandparents on Tuesday.

My two and half year old does that. She doesn't actually vomit but she gets herself to the point to gag. It was just a temper tantrum and she just wanted her way. I only tested this once and I talked and agreed to something she wanted and the whole gag thing stopped. Now, I dont' even mind it. I just let her tantrum and if she gags or vomits I tell her quietly that if she vomits she is going to stay like that because I am not cleaning it up. I know it sounds cruel but I dont' give the attention to her because of the vomit. I know its hard but try not to give her the attention. They feel if they vomit we are going to feel bad for her

I've seen some kids that will vomit after a temper tantrum because they inhale so much air they end up with too much air in their stomach. It needs to come out someway and unfortionatly it brings "stuff" with it. It was both physical and emotional as well. How to stop the temper tantrum is what I still have not figures out! A.

My son did the same thing. The thing that worked was to move him away from the vomit and clean it up. If he vomitted a second time, we waited for him to calm down and then had him clean it up - with assistance of course.
- J.

Has she had reflux in the past? Sometimes that can be due to reflux. But, even if it is - there's really not much you can do about it - there's medication, but in my opinion, I wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary - and in this case, it probably wouldn't really stop the vomiting. With the juice - does she drink it faster than other liquids? Or - is it with certain juices (like cranberry or orange which are very acidic - but not apple?) Those are signs of stomach stuff too (not alarming - or anything that needs intervention beyond monitoring what she consumes for a little while).

Is there any way to interrupt the tantrum - well, ward it off? That probably sounds like a stupid question and some kids just tantrum. With my 2 yr old - she is ridiculously good and I don't necessarily think it's all my doing - so take this with that grain of salt!! LOL

When she's asking for something - I reflect it back (it came from some parenting technique of course I can't remember right now - maybe screamfree parenting?). Even if she's not allowed to have/do it - "Yes, honey - I know you want to jump off the roof of the house" and repeat as many times as it takes for her to realize I'm understanding her want at the moment. Then, when she's a little calmer - I tell her that she can't do (whatever it is she wanted) and give very simple explanation as appropriate. Then, if she misbehaves or breaks a rule - she goes in Time Out the Nanny911 way.

She has never thrown an all out tantrum - like I say - she's just good without my parenting skills no matter how good or lacking they are! So - I don't know that it's a solution, but maybe just trying to intervene so she doesn't get so upset?? I'm sure you've tried different things to intervene too! Good luck!

I would call r doctor they truly know best. If u don't trust yours than mine is amazing...###-###-#### Dr. Martocci
Barb G.

Hey M.,

My daughter who is 2 doe sthe same thing and has done it since she was around 18 months old. Nothign to worry about like the doctors said. It's a combination of a sensitive gag reflex and temper. I just sit with my daughter and tell her to calm down and that it will be ok. SHe gets herself so wroke dup that she starts to gag and then will throw up. SHe actually did it in her sleep a few days ago, and again last night after having a bad dream. My daughter is very dramatic. She can be very cheerful and then very dramatic and cry as though someoen were kiling her. Which is why she will get herself so worked up that she vomits sometimes. All you can do is talk to her while she's upset. Rub her back and keep saying it's goign to be okay you jsut have to calm down and relax. She has to teach herself not to get so worke dup that she begins to chock on her flem/saliva.

At this age they are still tryign to figure things out and some kids are more, I call it "dramatic" than others. SHe has to realize the affects of getting so upset.

Good luck,

M.

I have witnessed children who throw up on purpose when throwing a tantrum for the attention, I dont know your child, but I would assumje it is part of the tantrum, no serious problems going on.

As for teh juice, is there something in it upsetting her stomache....If it makes her vomit i would stop giving it to her or maybe look for a gentler brand. Pear juice is very gentle.

Hi Mommy M.,

I would advise you to allow her to tantrum and vomit if she needs to. There is nothing wrong with her gag relex. Some children get very upset hence making themselves sick. My ababy does it, she is colic and my 2 year old twins went through the same thing. Just be sure to comfor her after she is done and allow her to tantrum in the bathroom or outside if possible. We wouldn't want to make more work for ourselves. Also watch how much she is eating. Good Luck
M.

Hi M., Yes, some children cry until they vomit and use it to get their way. I don't know your child but go with your gut. The 2 year old will do many things to show their independence. This is a stage that will pass. Don't give in to it. Best wishes, Grandma Mary