Dyspeptic disorders: nausea, vomiting in children

Date of publication: 04/01/2016

until March 31

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Vomiting is the expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. This is how the body protects itself from getting into the stomach something that shouldn’t be there (toxins, poor-quality food, foreign bodies). The gag reflex is quite complex, involving various muscle groups. It is controlled by the vomiting center in the brain. Therefore, in reality, the causes of vomiting are quite varied, and not all of them are associated with problems of the gastrointestinal tract.

More about vomiting

Vomiting occurs more often in children than in adults, especially at an early age. This is due to the underdevelopment of the systems responsible for digesting food (they are formed over several years); In particular, young children lack mechanisms to prevent food from moving from the stomach back into the esophagus.

Content

• Causes of nausea in a child Nausea due to “nerves”
• "Toxic" nausea
• Nausea caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Situations when a child complains of nausea are not uncommon, especially at an early age. Every parent has encountered this unpleasant phenomenon at least once.

Nausea refers to discomfort in the stomach and epigastric region. The logical conclusion of this condition is vomiting, that is, the “evacuation” of food and bile from the stomach. Usually accompanied by symptoms such as increased salivation, pale skin, decreased temperature and blood pressure, sweating and even fainting. It can be either episodic or permanent (depending on the reasons).

Binge eating

If the baby begins to feel sick almost immediately after dinner and has eaten a lot, then we can talk about overeating. Most often, this phenomenon is observed if some event is celebrated in the evening and the table is bursting with various dishes.

You can help your child by giving him some hot tea and Linex in a therapeutic dosage for his age. After gagging, the baby should be allowed to rinse his mouth thoroughly to prevent the mucous membrane from being corroded by hydrochloric acid.

Dinner for children of any age should be light and consist only of healthy foods.

Causes of nausea in a child

Based on their origin, the causes of nausea can be divided into several categories.

Nausea in a child due to “nerves”

The central nervous system is involved here. The condition occurs when:

• head injuries and concomitant concussions;
• hypertensive or hypotensive crisis (sharp increase or decrease in blood pressure). This phenomenon is not uncommon in children during adolescence, when the body experiences hormonal overload, and surges in blood pressure occur quite often. Vomiting may provide relief, but not for long;
• encephalitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain);
• the presence of benign neoplasms in the brain (slowly progressing and not metastasizing);
• meningitis (inflammation of the brain);
• malignant tumors of the brain, cerebellum;
• "sickness" in transport. This condition is associated with weak functioning of the vestibular apparatus. It may disappear completely with age. If your child is prone to such conditions, you should not travel long distances, and you should always have antiemetics with you. The peculiarity of this type of nausea is its suddenness. Vomiting does not bring relief, after it the condition may even worsen. Source: Lilenko S.V. Motion sickness in children and adolescents: pathogenesis, symptoms, prevention and treatment // Russian Pediatric Journal. 2016; 19 (1):49-54. DOI 10.18821/1560-9561-2016-19 (1)-49-54

If a child experiences repeated nausea without fever (or with low temperature) and diarrhea or without vomiting, there can be a variety of reasons. Such conditions are reasons to immediately consult a doctor. With timely treatment, the prognosis is generally favorable.

"Toxic" nausea

It is associated with the presence in the body of toxins of various origins that circulate through the circulatory system:

• The most common cause of this ailment is poisoning from stale foods that contain E. coli. You can also be poisoned by various poisonous plants (mushrooms) or by exceeding the permissible dose of medication. Poisoning in a child, in addition to nausea, causes fever and abdominal pain, diluted stool; Source: E.O. Komarovsky Handbook of sensible parents. Part 2. Emergency care. Eksmo-Press, 2011
• renal failure. It can be caused by a number of diseases - from congenital insufficiency to acquired pathologies. If the kidneys do not perform their function properly, an excess amount of toxins appears in the body, causing permanent nausea;
• liver failure. The liver, like the kidneys, performs the function of removing toxins. Liver cell destruction (which can be acute or chronic) also causes occasional nausea in children;
• various types of benign and malignant tumors;
• thyrotoxicosis (associated with dysfunction of the thyroid gland) - poisoning of the body with hubbub.

Nausea caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

• gastritis – inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach. Nausea appears after eating and may also be accompanied by a burning sensation and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, heartburn;
• taking certain medications (for example, antibiotics). You should carefully study the side effects of the medicine, and if such symptoms appear, ask your doctor to prescribe another drug;
• duodenitis (inflammation of the duodenum);
• pancreatitis – inflammation of the pancreas. The child experiences nausea after eating. May be accompanied by bitterness in the mouth, a feeling of heaviness in the right hypochondrium, bloating;
• appendicitis. One of the signs of inflammation of the cecum, in addition to pain in the side, is periodic nausea. If you suspect appendicitis, you should immediately call an ambulance;
• peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum - the formation of wounds on the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract;
• cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and cholelithiasis. Accompanied by a feeling of bitterness in the mouth;
• tumors of the gastrointestinal tract;
• disruption of the gastrointestinal tract (natural movement of food and feces through the digestive system). It often occurs due to a foreign object swallowed by a child;
• congenital pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.

If a child periodically experiences nausea, this is a serious reason to contact a pediatric gastroenterologist, who will prescribe tests. The sooner treatment is started, the more favorable the medical prognosis will be.

Vomiting or regurgitation?

In infants, vomiting should be distinguished from regurgitation. With regurgitation, as with vomiting, the contents of the stomach return to the mouth. However, this happens once, immediately after eating. The reason is overfeeding or swallowed air. The air exits back through the esophagus; a slight tension of the abdominal muscles is enough for this. This fundamentally distinguishes regurgitation from vomiting spasms, in which both the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm are involved. When vomiting, the child behaves restlessly, turns red from overexertion, and after an attack he feels weakened.

What to feed a child with nausea and vomiting?

Many parents do not know what their baby’s diet should be if he is constantly vomiting. With repeated vomiting (especially in case of poisoning, when it is accompanied by diarrhea), the baby loses a lot of fluid, which threatens dehydration. It is necessary to give small portions of water, dried fruit compote, cooled herbal teas or rosehip decoction. Under no circumstances should you use sugary water or carbonated drinks for drinking - this can dramatically worsen the condition. Also, you should not let your child drink a lot of liquid at a time - this can provoke a new attack of vomiting. Source: E.O. Komarovsky Handbook of sensible parents. Part 2. Emergency care. Eksmo-Press, 2011

In each case, the doctor gives individual recommendations on the child’s nutrition, but the general principle is this: the load on the gastrointestinal tract should be reduced as much as possible. It is necessary to remove smoked, over-salted, fatty foods from the diet. Porridge with water, jelly, homemade compotes and crackers, steamed cutlets and vegetables - all this belongs to a gentle diet and will help the baby recover faster.

Medical doctors have extensive experience in treating gastrointestinal diseases in children. Advanced examination methods and qualified doctors will help you quickly identify the causes of nausea in a child and begin effective treatment.

Sources:

1. Lilenko S.V. Motion sickness in children and adolescents: pathogenesis, symptoms, prevention and treatment // Russian Pediatric Journal. 2016; 19 (1):49-54. DOI 10.18821/1560-9561-2016-19 (1)-49-54
2. E.O. Komarovsky “Handbook of sensible parents. Part 2. Emergency care." Eksmo-Press, 2011

The information in this article is provided for reference purposes and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Don't self-medicate! At the first signs of illness, you should consult a doctor.

Elimination of vomiting using traditional medicine methods

Peppermint tea will help eliminate vomiting.

Traditional medicine is effective in treating many diseases, and vomiting in children is no exception. So at home you can stop vomiting in the following ways:

1. Using an aqueous dill solution. Pour a glass of boiling water over a teaspoon of the plant’s fruits and allow to cool. Even infants can be given this solution. Should be taken one teaspoon at a time. If you feel better, you can increase the dosage.
2. Using green tea. You can add a little sugar or honey to it before taking it.
3. By resorting to the help of a fruit such as quince. It is very effective in combating bouts of vomiting. Before use, you should either bake it or grate it on a fine grater, and then eat it little by little.
4. In case of bilious vomiting, you can resort to mint tea. This kind of medicine is prepared like this. Crushed peppermint leaves in the amount of 2 tablespoons are brewed with a glass of boiling water and left for 2 hours. Then take a tablespoon 5 times a day.
5. You can also make a solution similar to Regidron yourself. In a liter of boiled water, half a spoonful of soda and salt are dissolved. Add 4 tablespoons of sugar there. Afterwards, everything is thoroughly stirred and after cooling, this solution is ready for use.

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Stressful situation

There are often cases when a child does not want to go to kindergarten and, amid hysteria, begins vomiting in the morning. This phenomenon refers to psychological problems and can be eliminated independently. To do this, it is enough to calm the baby down, tell him how interesting it is to play with other children and how many toys there are in the kindergarten.

If no amount of persuasion helps and the child refuses to go to a child care facility, you should not break his psyche and lead him through force, this will not lead to anything good. In this case, it is better to leave the child at home for a few days and invite your beloved grandmother.

Vomiting in the morning in newborns

Newborns may also vomit in the morning, most often as a result of overeating or excessive swallowing of air while sucking at the breast. Parents should be alert if the vomit contains inclusions of fresh or digested blood. This may indicate severe congenital pathologies.

If a newborn is vomiting profusely, he needs to be shown to a pediatrician immediately!

Vomiting in the morning in children is not at all uncommon. If this condition occurs once, then most likely there is nothing wrong, and the child simply overate. If the urge is repeated frequently, you need to consult a specialist; this may be the first symptom of a dangerous disease.