Vomiting in a child without fever: reasons, what to do, how to stop

The article was prepared by a specialist for informational purposes only. We urge you not to self-medicate. When the first symptoms appear, consult a doctor.

Vomiting in a child without fever or diarrhea is quite common. Naturally, this condition causes serious concern for parents, since they often cannot find an explanation for what is happening. Vomiting for no apparent reason can occur in both babies and older children.

It should be noted that such a condition does not always characterize any serious disease or disorder in the child’s body. However, only a doctor can determine this.

The absence of a fever in a child due to vomiting should not lull parents’ vigilance. After all, nausea and vomiting are not signs of health, and they do not occur normally. It is worth remembering that vomiting in itself is not a disease - it is always a symptom. Therefore, every adult should be aware of what can provoke a similar condition in a child.

Types of vomiting in a child

Vomiting can occur under various circumstances, for example, with traumatic brain injury, poisoning, motion sickness, accompanied by dizziness, fainting and loss of consciousness, be repeated, accompanied by abdominal pain and diarrhea.

If vomiting is not accompanied by fever, then the most likely cause of its occurrence may be disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, food poisoning (expired or low-quality food, chemicals), intoxication after taking medication, dysbacteriosis.

Poor nutrition

Nitrates contribute to the constriction of blood vessels in the brain. They are found in processed meat products (sausages, sausages). They have no effect on an adult, but a child, especially under 5 years old, may experience a headache after excessive consumption.

Various food additives, for example, sodium nitrite or chloride, can also affect your well-being. Excess retinol (vitamin A) in the body has a negative effect on the child’s condition, so vitamin complexes should not be given unless prescribed. Headache appears if the child does not have a meal schedule.

During fasting, the body does not receive the necessary substances, which leads to a deterioration in health and the development of organic pathologies.

Causes of vomiting in a child

Most often, vomiting without fever in a child is associated with diseases or various conditions of the gastrointestinal system. Let's look at some of them.

Pylorospasm or pyloric spasm

Stomach spasm, which most often occurs in newborns due to underdevelopment of the nervous system. Vomiting may be profuse. Such a child is usually restless and does not gain weight well. Pylorospasm should not be confused with regurgitation, which is most often observed when the stomach is full of food.

Intestinal obstruction

Accompanied by severe pain, bloating, cramps, and blood in the stool. Intestinal obstruction in children is most often associated with worms or intussusception, which is the penetration of a section of the intestine into a segment of an adjacent section of the intestine. Vomit may contain bile.

Foreign body in the esophagus

Since children often put anything into their mouths, the entry of a foreign body into the esophagus can provoke an attack of vomiting. If a foreign body damages the mucous membrane of the esophagus or stomach, blood may be found in the vomit.

Food poisoning

Vomiting is common with food poisoning - for example, from expired or poor-quality foods, or eating unwashed vegetables and fruits - and may be accompanied by diarrhea. In some cases, the temperature rises.

Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, acute gastritis, gastroduodenitis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis

These diseases can occur due to poor diet, abuse of fried, smoked, and fatty foods. In these cases, vomiting is often accompanied by diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and bloating. An increase in temperature is usually not observed, but in some cases it can reach 37°C. In some forms of gastritis, blood may be present in the vomit. With gastroduodenitis, the nature of the stool is changeable, prolonged constipation can be replaced by diarrhea. In acute pancreatitis, the nature of vomiting attracts attention - it is repeated and profuse. In this case, the contents of the stomach are released first, followed by bile and the contents of the duodenum. Such vomiting threatens to dehydrate the child’s body. Vomiting in acute cholecystitis is usually not accompanied by diarrhea. The child is usually bothered by pain in the right hypochondrium and bitterness in the mouth.

Dysbacteriosis

Disturbance of the intestinal microflora due to long-term use of antibiotics is often accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. It is important to be careful when taking antibiotics, since they are harmful not only to pathogenic microbes, but also to normal microflora.

Other diseases

Vomiting can also develop in diseases not related to the gastrointestinal tract, such as:

traumatic brain injuries, such as concussion or contusion;
psychogenic trauma - can be provoked by stress, anxiety, emotional turmoil;
dysfunction of the vestibular apparatus;
metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus, lactose intolerance, etc.).

If vomiting is not accompanied by fever, then the most likely cause of its occurrence may be disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Photo: @karolina-grabowska, pexels.com

Liver dysfunction

The liver cleanses the blood coming from the intestines from endo- and exotoxins. If the organ fails to cope, then harmful substances penetrate into the bloodstream, which affect the functioning of all body systems.

Due to the entry of toxic substances into the blood, an intoxication syndrome develops, in which the functioning of the endocrine and nervous systems, hematopoiesis, blood circulation, urine formation, and urination are disrupted, and immunological reactivity is reduced. Many metabolic products are toxic, and if liver function is impaired, they are not neutralized. This means that you don’t necessarily have to eat or drink something poisonous to become poisoned.

The liver cannot fully perform its function if its tissues are inflamed (hepatitis), replaced by fibrous tissue (cirrhosis) or fatty tissue (hepatosis), or not supplied with oxygen (heart attack, ischemia). With liver diseases, weakness, headache, nausea occur, performance decreases, the skin turns yellow and itches, urine becomes dark, and feces become light.

Inflammatory processes occurring in the gallbladder and pancreas can also affect the functioning of the liver.

What to do and how to stop vomiting in a child

If your child is vomiting, you should first call a doctor. Before his arrival, the child should be given plenty of fluids to drink - warm, slightly salted or still mineral water. You can also try herbal decoctions, for example, from chamomile, mint, etc. The liquid will relieve the gastrointestinal tract, help remove toxins and replenish fluid loss.

During an attack of vomiting, it is important to ensure that the child is in a position that facilitates the passage of vomit and does not choke. To do this, the baby needs to be turned on his side and held in a semi-upright position. After vomiting, it is necessary to rinse your mouth and free it from vomit. You do not need to give your child any medications or do gastric lavage yourself. Only a doctor can give appropriate prescriptions after establishing the causes of vomiting.

Also, you should not try to feed your child when he is vomiting. You can stop vomiting if it occurs during feeding by holding the baby in an upright position. Liquid food can be given to the child no earlier than two hours after the end of vomiting.

After vomiting, the child must follow a gentle diet and drink enough fluids. The child can be given porridge made from rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, low-fat vegetable soups, baked apples, boiled vegetables, crackers, and jelly.

Development mechanisms

During the act of vomiting, rapid emptying of the gastric cavity occurs through the oral cavity. The vomiting center is localized in the medulla oblongata, excited by the slightest impulses from the stomach cavity, renal structures, liver, vestibular apparatus, uterus, appendages, and any irritation of the nerve centers. For example, many people experience strong vomiting when smelling foul odors. Often, stimulation of the vomiting center can occur under the influence of medications, vitamins, and toxic drugs. Before the actual act of vomiting, a person feels nauseated, breathing becomes rapid and shallow, and salivation increases. The anatomical mechanism of vomiting looks like this:

lowering the diaphragm:
closing the glottis (to prevent stomach contents from entering the respiratory system);
spasm of the lower gastric cavity;
relaxation of the upper stomach.

Due to the rapid contractile movements of the muscles of the peritoneum, all the contents from the stomach are thrown out through the mouth, producing an act of vomiting. Vomiting helps a person get rid of dangerous substances, accelerate the elimination of toxic compounds, and prevent poisoning. The urge to vomit is inherent in nature and performs a protective function for the entire body.

Preventing vomiting in a child at home

It is necessary to observe the rules of personal hygiene, wash your hands before eating. Wash and process fruits and vegetables well, pay attention to the expiration dates of products. Monitor the child and limit access to medications, household chemicals, and discourage putting foreign objects in the mouth. Limit the amount of unhealthy food in the diet, large quantities of confectionery, etc. Seek medical help in a timely manner if the child complains of abdominal pain, abnormal bowel movements and other characteristic symptoms. Do not self-medicate.

In which case, immediately consult a doctor

If there are any signs of deterioration in the child’s condition, the first thing to do is contact a pediatrician or call an ambulance. This should not be delayed especially if the situation is extremely difficult. You should not hope that everything will return to normal on its own if the baby is very weak, cries continuously, or, on the contrary, has stopped responding to others. Alarming symptoms include slow or weak pulse, cold extremities, constant drowsiness, the appearance of circles under the eyes, changes in the color of the skin and mucous membranes.

When communicating with a doctor, you should remember all the circumstances that preceded the deterioration of the child’s health. We must remember what the patient ate over the past 24 hours, whether there have been any recent blows or injuries, or signs of infection in the body. Based on the history and clinical picture, the health worker will decide which child needs examination and draw up a plan for further action.

Why is nausea dangerous?

The appearance of nausea (except for that which occurs against the background of hysterics and violent games, screams) is a reason for parents to worry and see a doctor. This is a sign of problems and various pathologies of the body, for which treatment is often necessary. It is subjectively more difficult for children to tolerate nausea, even than vomiting, because it does not bring relief and creates even more unpleasant symptoms. Although nausea is not a disease, but only one of the symptoms, it is important not to ignore such complaints. But while older children may complain that they feel sick, it is more difficult to recognize this in babies - signs of nausea include refusal to eat and drink, whims and periods of paleness, with perspiration on the forehead and contraction of the muscles of the pharynx and abdominals. If you sweat profusely, your legs and arms will be icy and pale.

Due to nausea, it is prohibited to take medications against nausea and vomiting, make dietary adjustments, and treat the baby yourself. It is important to see a doctor and find out exactly all the reasons .

Alena Paretskaya, pediatrician, medical columnist

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Nausea as neurosis, hysteria

Children often begin to feel sick after violent and noisy games, sharp and powerful, prolonged overexcitation of the nervous system, both positive and negative. Hysterics, crying and screaming, choking with tears often lead to nausea and even one-time vomiting, but after calming down, all symptoms disappear. This is due to the immaturity of the nervous system and its rapid overexcitation due to excessive stimuli and the release of excess stress hormones, hyperventilation (frequent and intermittent breathing during hysterics).

How can I help you?

It is important not to overexcite the child, avoid hysterics and prolonged crying.

Pathologies of the nervous system, trauma, brain tumors

Damages to the central organs regulating all vital functions - the brain or spinal cord in children, as well as problems with the response of the peripheral nervous system can cause nausea . In this case it has a neurogenic (central) character. In children and adolescents, nausea also predicts or accompanies migraines.

note

Often painful and almost constant nausea accompanies serious and dangerous pathologies, injuries or lesions of the central parts - meningitis or encephalitis, and it also often forms as a reaction to a concussion or contusion of the brain.

This kind of nausea can occur either in isolation or accompanied by rare bouts of vomiting that does not bring relief; there may be severe headaches and dizziness, double vision and disturbances of consciousness.

Neurological pathologies, along with nausea, are often accompanied by a general disorder - excitability or lethargy of children, their sharp tearfulness and whims, refusal to eat, regurgitation, decreased motor activity, prolonged sleep or insomnia.

At an early age, nausea is accompanied by heart-rending screams and hysterics, bulging fontanel, hysterics, neurological symptoms and fear of light. Fever and convulsions may occur, often with complete loss of consciousness, which is life-threatening and requires immediate calling an ambulance and hospitalization for examination in a hospital.

Diagnostic methods

Before prescribing a course of treatment, the psychogenic nature of the gag reflex is clarified. With similar symptoms, childhood diseases that cause nausea are diagnosed: chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, mumps. An experienced doctor determines their presence or absence by the manifestation of characteristic symptoms: rash, swelling, red spots on the skin. To identify the disorder, the doctor asks the child and parents a number of questions:

does vomiting cause discomfort?
whether treatment was carried out with antibiotics and other toxic drugs;
what is the emotional state of the child;
parameters of the daily routine - duration of sleep, study, rest;
when and under what circumstances attacks occur;
Do you feel sick in the morning?

To determine the severity of a psychogenic disorder, the following is carried out:

MRI of the brain - the parameters of the secretory glands, membranes, and the difference in neuron potentials are examined;
encephalogram – the dynamics of the passage of nerve impulses, a complex picture of reactions to stimuli;
biochemical blood test for hormonal activity.

If the disease is not an eating disorder, we refer the patient for further examination and treatment to a gastroenterologist or endocrinologist. We also accept patients from other medical institutions with a diagnosis of eating disorder or symptoms similar to this mental disorder, if treatment for other diseases has led to eating disorder.

Parental behavior

Children's crying, changes in condition, and the onset of vomiting make parents think. It is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection and measure the temperature. You can't leave the situation to chance. The sitting child is held upright. The reason for this is to prevent vomited food from entering the lungs. When the child is lying down, he is turned over on his side. The reason is similar. In other positions, it is allowed to lie exclusively under the supervision of an adult with the head turned to one side.

The mouth and face should be washed regularly with water to prevent skin irritation. Applies to infants; older children are able to do this on their own. Infants have stomach pain along with vomiting, but in the intervals between urges they feed as prescribed by the doctor. A prerequisite is to take special solutions that restore electrolytes in the body. Every 2-3 minutes the child should take sips of the solution. Due to the dehydration of the baby’s weak body, he needs to be given water after each emptying of the stomach.

Vomiting is not a common occurrence, but a possible symptom that provokes a serious illness. Repeated vomiting serves as a wake-up call for parents. A small child is not able to fully combat most causes of vomiting. When the situation does not improve, the disease progresses, call a doctor.