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)
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!!
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.
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.
yes, my son has this too. He is lactose "sensitive' which means he can eat diary products & partially digest them, but really shouldn't because his system doesn't like it. He was tested by a conventional allergist & they said he wasn't allergic, but they don't test for food sensitivities...his naturopath found out that he was sensitive to milk. So now he's doing fine. She said to keep him away from any milk products except butter because it will cause inflammation in other parts of his body too. So now we don't give him anything with dairy in it & he's doing much better & eatting much more. But we have to look at the ingredients to everything....you'd be surprised how many things have dairy. It's very worth it though.
Sounds like all your responses have been great--this could be lactose related, or a stomach virus or reflux. OR it could be something else. I have known a few kids to throw up with peanut allergies (or legume allergy, which encompasses peanuts.) Keep an eye on it--make a food diary perhaps--and make an appt. for the doctor. I hope she feels better soon.
As you have read there can be a handful of things going on. You really should talk to her dr about this.
If it is acid reflux then they can give her an antacid for it (my little one has had problems with this since she was a newborn. She is almost 3 and very rarely has an episode of it). One thing that i have noticed with my daughter is offer her more bready foods and this really helped with the vomiting. Just recently I found some TUMS for Children. I am not sure on how young though.
Many people dont realize there is a big difference between lactose intolerance and lactose allergy. So you cant test for an intolerance but it may be helpful to see about other foods that may bother her. The best way to test for the inolerance is get her milk without the lactose and see how she does.
FYI: I have noticed that my daughter has a harder time shaking a stomach bug bec of her issue with acid reflux. I give her one of the Childrens TUMS until her tummy is back to normal.
A.,
Describing my daughter to the tee! We also had the "strange" delays between episodes- she would go two to three weeks with nothing then all of a sudden she would start having these vomiting fits with decreased appetite. I got to the point were I could almost predict when it was coming. When we talked to the ped about it she down played it- due to the weird pattern- after the fifth bout in four months we had her tested for every possible intestinal issue- nothing- In the mean time I took her off regular milk and put her on Lactaid- after a month- she seemed to have totally improved. One day after about a month and a half I ran out of the Lactaid and sent her to daycare with regular milk- ONE day and she was a mess- did not vomit but gas was bad and she was so crampy! Never ran out of Lactaid again!!!! Ped says not a "normal" presentation but seems to be an intolerance. She does okay with cheese and yogurt- but I try to limit her daily intake- have not tried her with ice cream. We don't do soy for her- so the Lactaid works for us- there is Whole Vit D- and non-hormone. By the way- we did not see this problem with formula (she was on regular formula from 10 mos to 12 mos) breastfeed prior to that with no problem- seems to just be with the introduction of milk.
Good Luck! the Lactaid is a little expensive but worth her not being sick!
M.
I would suggest you take her to the doctor since it has gone on so long. Just to be careful. At that time you can talk to him about switching to a Soy Milk or lactose free, etc.... Let him guide you on what to use, but if you switch and she is all better........then you will have your answer.
Here is a good powdered vitamin to consider adding in:
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
Time to see the doc as a beginning step. Also take her off of all milk products, periods. If you suspect an allergy, just do away with the culprit. Rice milk is really delicious and a great source of calcium.
Regular milk products that are pasturized and non-organic are toxic to everyone, especially many children. If you went to raw organic milk you would see a difference.
Both my girls had similiar problems, but it was early in the morning shortly after having their milk. After drinking it they would vomit the whole thing up with no warning. Turns out that it wasn't lactose intolerance, it was acid reflux and milk can irritate that. They both outgrew it. So, get her to the doctor, may not necessarily be lactose intolerance, could be something else entirely.
I developed a lactose intolerance during my 3rd pregnancy , had no issues at any other time in my life and can eat dairy with no issues now. The symptoms can present themselves in 3 ways , vomiting , diarrhea & stomach cramps , you can have all 3 at the same time , or just 1 of them , I worked out that it depends on how much dairy you had eaten. As it is happening after some milk (I take it it's just a drink of here and there , or milk on cereals?) , then this is why she is probably just vomiting , she would be a lot more unhappy and vocal if she had the cramps aswell as they REALLY hurt!......I switched to a lactose free milk so was still able to have cereals , I really don't know if a lactose free milk would have the nutritional values that she would need , you would need to ask the doctor about this , I know soy milk is an alternative but I think soy milk has an odd taste and smell and she may not take to that , this is why I stuck with lactose free as I could not tell the difference.
Go see your doctor. She's vomiting when she's sleeping, laying down... this isn't happening during the day when she's sitting upright. She may have virus or other issues. Not wanting eat after throwing up stomach acid is a normal response, it hurts... so she will do what ever it takes to avoid that, even at her young age. Again, go see your pediatrician. Keep a food diary and journal of her activities, when this is happening and her body position. Lactose intolerance usually doesn't show up this late in an infant.
A.,
My son, now 4, had the same thing at about 14 months of age. Took him to the pedi and we took ALL dairy out of his diet and he was fine. We started him on soy and he loved it. He no longer is on the soy and eats yogurt, cheese, drinks small amounts of milk, and has NO problems. Our pedi just attributed to changing from formula/breast milk to parturized milk products! i say take ALL dairy away and see what happens! Just a side note, I always still cooked with it, and there never seemed to be any problems! Good Luck! =]
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.
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.
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 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!
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).
First, I do not have a medical background, just want to tell you a personal story. A friend of mine has a 4 year old daughter and in a very similar story to yours, found her several times over the course of a few months asleep in her vomit. They tried eliminating foods, and soon realized that it was only happening in her sleep. Then, one day at daycare, during naptime, a teacher heard her vomiting and ran over. She was actually in the middle of a seizure. They wound up at a neurologist, and she was diagnosed with a type of seizure disorder that only occurs during REM sleep, I wish I could remember the name of it.
I noticed that all but one of the vomiting incidents that you mentioned were during sleep. As I mentioned, I am no medical professional, but just wanted you to know that this existed, because I had never heard of it before. If it did not happen during naptime at day care, they would not have been aware of it, and would have continued to think it was some type of stomach problem, instead of a neurological one.
AGAIN, I am NOT saying this is what your child has, but just be aware that such a condition exists, so that you can take the proper observation.
Best of luck.
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.
