Food as a cause of vomiting
Before the onset of vomiting, a person feels its approach based on characteristic signs - the heartbeat quickens, nausea, and slight dizziness occur. Immediately after he begins to vomit, he feels much better, since his stomach is free of the remains of undigested food.
That is why vomiting is considered the most dangerous in newborns and young children. They cannot tell their parents that they are sick or refuse to eat food, because many children are forced by their parents to eat.
If a child feels nauseous after eating, in most cases the cause may be related to food intake. Some parents may perceive excessive regurgitation after eating as vomiting. This happens because the baby swallowed too much air while eating.
There may be other reasons for the gag reflex:
- Overeating, especially heavy food.
- Parents force the child to eat by force.
- Eating too fatty foods.
- Introduction of a new food product into the children's diet.
- Allergies to certain foods.
In such cases, one-time vomiting may occur immediately after eating, but the general condition and well-being of the child does not deteriorate. No special treatment is required; all parents need to do is adjust their baby’s diet. But if vomiting occurs after every meal, this may indicate the development of a certain disease.
Why does the baby vomit after feeding?
One of the common reasons for regurgitation of food is overfeeding the baby. Vomiting occurs unexpectedly and does not pose a threat to health.
Sometimes newborns develop pyloric stenosis, a pathology in which food masses cannot penetrate the intestinal tract from the stomach. The disease mainly affects boys. They gain weight poorly and suffer from constipation. Their gag reflex to food is triggered almost every time they try to feed.
In the first months after birth, some babies vomit due to poor absorption of food components, often lactose or fructose. This factor provokes irritation of the stomach and the release of masses entering it. If a baby sucks mother's milk too quickly and takes in a lot of air, vomit may leak from his digestive tract due to aerophagia - “eating air.” If vomiting occurs directly during eating, it signals the development of gastrointestinal diseases.
When a child is in a hurry when feeding or swallows poorly chewed food in small pieces, food lumps create heaviness in the stomach. If the baby does not know how to control the urge to vomit, undigested food inevitably comes out.
But the occurrence of vomiting after eating is not always associated with gastrointestinal problems. Experts explain it by different moments in a child’s life:
- stress;
- acetonemia;
- prolonged crying;
- teething;
- debilitating cough;
- diseases of the brain, bronchi or lungs;
- mucus running down the nasopharynx during a cold;
- treatment with medications.
Vomiting as a sign of illness
Repeated vomiting, which occurs after each meal, may be a sign of pathological processes in the child’s body. Such diseases include:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - gastritis, ulcers, intestinal infection;
- food poisoning as a result of consuming low-quality or expired products or poisoning with chemicals;
- appendicitis, inflammation of the gallbladder and pancreas;
- motion sickness (sea sickness) with a weak vestibular apparatus;
- meningitis, encephalitis, head injuries;
- the child’s constant presence in a nervous environment, frequent stress;
- rotavirus infection;
- pyloric stenosis;
- pneumonia, bronchitis, ARVI.
Also, a gag reflex when eating or immediately after eating can be a reaction to a change in climatic conditions. In such cases, the child may vomit 3 hours after eating. This is due to the fact that the body has not yet had time to adapt to the new environment, which is expressed in a defensive reaction.
Prevention
As you know, prevention is the best treatment. Therefore, in order not to encounter such a problem that the child may suddenly vomit for no apparent reason, you need to take care of the baby and follow the tips below.
- ✿Nutritious nutrition is extremely important. The body must be saturated with all useful microelements and vitamins, so the diet should be varied. At the same time, it is better to feed the child in small portions throughout the day than in large portions three times a day - this helps better absorption of food.
- ✿Also do not forget about regular fluid intake. Give your child only purified water, natural juices and herbal teas.
- ✿Sleep schedule is extremely important for the normal functioning of the body. Normally, the duration of sleep in children should be at least eight hours, and even longer in infants.
- ✿The child needs frequent exposure to fresh air. This saturates the child’s body with oxygen and prevents physical inactivity.
- ✿It is important to monitor the child’s mental state. Constant stress, a depressing environment in the family or school is a direct path to vomiting due to nervousness. Try to provide your child with a healthy psycho-emotional environment and maintain a trusting relationship with him.
Now you know what to do to prevent nausea and vomiting in your child, and what actions to take if this does happen. The main thing is not to panic and do your best to contribute to the successful recovery of the child.
Symptoms of vomiting in diseases
If vomiting and nausea after eating do not cause a general deterioration in the child’s well-being or an increase in body temperature, in most cases they are caused by food factors. If vomiting is a sign of a developing disease, other symptoms are often added to it, which will help to make a correct diagnosis.
With food poisoning and intestinal infections, numerous vomitings most often occur, which are accompanied by diarrhea and increased body temperature.
An allergic reaction may also cause redness, rashes, and itching of the skin. With pyloric stenosis, a small child experiences intolerance to breast milk, profuse vomiting after each feeding, dehydration, low body weight gain.
If vomiting attacks are provoked by acute respiratory infections, additional symptoms are added to them - cough, runny nose, redness of the throat, high temperature.
An acute attack of appendicitis can be identified by such characteristic signs as the appearance of nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain. With meningitis, encephalitis, and brain injuries, constant vomiting attacks are observed, which do not alleviate the baby’s condition at all. These may be accompanied by intense headaches, dizziness, and convulsions.
How does nausea manifest after eating in infants?
Most often, vomiting after eating in infants manifests itself in the form of regurgitation; in most cases, this is a normal phenomenon of ridding the body of excess air that the baby swallowed while eating. The frequency of regurgitation should not exceed 3 times a day after feeding. If the process of regurgitation occurs more often and is accompanied by poor health of the child, lethargy, and fever, then these symptoms may indicate the development of pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. In such cases, a pediatrician will need to be called to your home with further examination and treatment for the baby.
When medical help is needed
In case of sudden, but isolated vomiting in a child, which is not accompanied by an increase in body temperature or other changes in his condition, you can do without calling a doctor. Most likely, the cause is the food you eat or overeating. Parents need to give the baby an adsorbent drug and carefully monitor his condition.
If vomiting attacks are accompanied by fever, weakness, and lethargy, you should definitely show the child to a pediatrician. You should urgently seek medical help in cases where vomiting occurs several times, fever begins, stool becomes loose or is absent for more than 12 hours.
Also considered a reason for an urgent visit to the hospital is the appearance of blood impurities in the stool or vomit, or the child’s consumption of medications, chemicals, expired, canned foods or mushrooms before an attack.
Possible reasons for refusing complementary feeding
The first thoughts of parents when a child refuses complementary feeding: what to do and who to turn to for clarification of the situation. If this problem occurs for the first time or recurs from time to time, the first thing you need to do is calm down and think. You can probably fix it yourself if you rule out the cause.
Child's unpreparedness for complementary feeding
. Until 4–6 months, the sucking reflex is strongest. And against this background, chewing skills develop very slowly. Therefore, if a child pushes the first complementary foods out of his mouth, regardless of their taste and composition, perhaps the baby is simply not ready for such nutrition. The child’s readiness for complementary foods is evidenced, among other things, by his attempts to “suck” porridge or puree fed from a spoon. He seems to be chewing food, rubbing it with his gums and tongue.
Unusual taste of the product
. Many foods can cause unpleasant taste in a child. These are not necessarily foods or dishes with a sharp or “exotic” taste or smell. For some children, the effect of novelty is enough: after trying a banana, pumpkin or other unfamiliar complementary food for the first time and not appreciating its taste, the child refuses this product. But if you persistently offer him such a dish, the baby may begin to resist even when trying to feed him familiar and favorite dishes.
Unusual consistency of products
. The need to gradually increase the density of complementary foods and reduce the degree of grinding of products is caused by the characteristics of a particular age of the baby. So, the first complementary foods should have a homogeneous and semi-liquid consistency.
Incorrect temperature of complementary foods
. The oral mucosa of a child is very sensitive. And a baby, accustomed to the temperature of mother’s milk or an adapted formula, can react very negatively to a temperature shift even 1–2 °C above or below normal.
Negative experiences with complementary foods
. If a child begins to refuse complementary foods out of the blue, but still demonstrates a good appetite (actively suckling at the breast or formula) and there are no signs of health problems, the reason may lie in some unpleasant incident during previous feedings. Perhaps the child coughed while eating and was afraid of it. Or maybe he didn’t like the taste, temperature or consistency of the previous dish so much that even familiar complementary foods make him wary.
Unusual sequence of foods during complementary feeding
. It is recommended to introduce complementary foods before breastfeeding or bottle feeding. A hungry child is much more willing to try a new dish or eat a portion of the “usual” vegetable puree or porridge. And when he is full, after feeding he becomes more picky, and failures with complementary feeding can be caused by this.
Basic treatment methods
Treatment of nausea and vomiting that occurs in children after eating directly depends on their cause. The first thing parents need to do is calm down and under no circumstances panic. You do not need to give your baby any medications on your own until the doctor arrives. This can only worsen his condition.
It is necessary to ensure that the baby does not become dehydrated - for this he is given rehydron, warm water, a solution of a tablespoon of sugar and salt per 1 liter of warm water, or weak potassium permanganate. The liquid should be drunk in small sips every 15 minutes. In no case should you give your child food - he should be on a drinking diet exclusively for at least several days after the attacks.
For rotavirus and intestinal infections, treatment is prescribed only by a doctor. Food or chemical poisoning requires urgent emptying of the stomach contents. To do this, you can give the child a solution of rehydron, enterosgel in small portions, wait a little and try to induce artificial vomiting. And be sure to call a doctor, especially if after all the measures the baby’s condition has not improved.
In the event of an acute attack of appendicitis, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance, since delay in this case is very dangerous. There is no need to give your child medications - they can relieve acute attacks of pain, which will significantly complicate the diagnosis.
Only a specialist - a pediatrician or gastroenterologist - can determine the cause of vomiting and nausea, who will conduct all the necessary studies and prescribe treatment. It is important for parents to remember that self-medication in such cases is unacceptable.
Vomiting in a child after eating is an alarming symptom that frightens and worries parents. When studying the condition, physiological and pathological triggers are noted. If a gag reflex occurs, you must seek help from a doctor to eliminate the symptoms, treat the main provoking factor, and stabilize the water and electrolyte balance in the body.
How to deal with the gag reflex
To restore the water-electrolyte balance, disturbed by frequent vomiting, the child is given plenty of fluids to drink. The water is given slightly warm. Compotes, juices and soda are contraindicated in this case. If the baby refuses water, it can be replaced with a decoction of rose hips, chamomile, St. John's wort or sweetened tea.
Children under 1 year of age should be given about 70 ml of liquid after each vomiting. For babies older than one year, the dosage is increased to 100 - 150 ml. You should not force the baby to drink. Signs such as:
- lethargy;
- dry skin;
- irritability;
- retraction of the fontanel;
- drying of the mucous membrane of the lips;
- lack of urination for 3 to 4 hours.
It is better not to insist on taking any food at this time. For a day or two, the child needs to be given fluids, giving him 2 tsp. water every 5 – 10 minutes. As your health improves, the baby is offered half a cup of broth, water or tea.
Approximate amount of fluid recommended for a child after vomiting (per day per kilogram of weight):
- up to 1 year: from 130 to 200 ml;
- from 1 to 5 years: 100 – 170 ml;
- from 6 to 10 years: 75 – 110 ml.
Among the medications to tame vomiting, children are given Regidron, Glucosolan, Atoxil. If the reflex has developed due to nervousness, the condition is corrected with tablets of the nootropic drug Pantocalcin or its analogue - Pantogam syrup. Liquid medicine is convenient to give to infants, but its side effects in the form of angioedema, conjunctivitis and urticaria can be dangerous for the little ones.
If the release of vomit occurs against the background of fever and diarrhea, you should immediately call a doctor. A small amount of gastric contents can be collected in a vessel and submitted for laboratory testing.
- If you notice that your child is vomiting when eating rough food, change the child's diet. Don’t focus your baby’s attention on the problem, just prepare dishes for him with a liquid, porridge-like or puree-like consistency.
- For children under 3 years old, give ginger drink (1/6 part of the powder per glass of warm water) against vomiting. They need to drink healthy water 3 times a day. per day 1 – 2 tsp.
- Prepare a drink to prevent dehydration from 1 tbsp. l. peppermint and a glass of boiling water. Wrap the jar in a warm towel and wait half an hour. Strain the steam and give the child something to drink every 3 hours.
Causes of vomiting in a child after eating
Reasons that provoke the development of urges after eating:
- In infants, after feeding with breast milk, it may occur when the volume is excessive, typical for children who are bottle-fed. Milk has a liquid consistency and is in an undigested state.
- When overeating in older age, vomiting without fever after eating is characterized by a single manifestation. After the stomach has emptied, relief comes. In the masses you can find undigested pieces of foods taken previously.
- When teething in the period up to 1.5-2 years, it can be observed after eating. It is caused by increased salivation; when feeding, the baby swallows viscous saliva, irritates the gastrointestinal mucosa, and a vomiting reaction occurs. Characterized by the addition of loose stools and elevated temperature.
- When eating heavy fatty foods, the pancreatic enzymatic system cannot cope with the load after eating. Within a few hours, nausea, pain in the epigastric region, diarrhea with the appearance of discolored feces and drops of fat may appear.
- When introducing new food products into the diet of an infant or older children, as a manifestation of individual intolerance and allergy to a new food component.
- Poor quality products with bacteria provoke the development of diseases of the digestive tract (infection with rotavirus, intestinal flu, poisoning, toxic infections, salmonellosis, botulinum toxin).
- It can be caused by stress when parents force them to eat, scold them for poor appetite, or try to feed them something the child doesn’t like.
- The infectious agent is in the water in which food is prepared - contamination by wastewater from the general water supply system, lack of filtration or boiling of water.
- If you violate the therapeutic diet (diet tables) with the consumption of large amounts of sweet or starchy foods, the body cannot cope with the load.
- As an acclimatization reaction when changing place of residence, especially when moving to warm countries where exotic types of fruits are common, unusual food for a child. Vomiting is observed as a defensive reaction.
What to do after?
When the acute condition has passed and the bouts of vomiting no longer recur, you can begin to offer the child food. No need to insist! Give the opportunity to eat according to your appetite. After food intake, it may well be reduced. You should start with light dishes: fruit or berry jelly, compote, biscuits, weak tea with crackers, rice porridge, noodles, baked apples. You can offer soups, but not with fatty broth. After 2-3 days you will be able to eat a normal diet, but fatty, fried, and too spicy foods. Remember that a child's stomach still needs to be restored to normal, so give food in small portions, but often.
Vomiting in a child is a reflexive ejection of undigested foods, bile, mucus and other impurities from the stomach through the mouth. Vomiting is preceded by intense salivation, dizziness, pallor, intermittent breathing, lacrimation, and nausea. This leaves a feeling of a scratched throat, an unpleasant taste and a pungent odor. The causes of vomiting lie not only in stale food. Various poisonings, pathologies of the nervous system, head injuries and infectious diseases are also accompanied by this symptom.
What diseases can be caused
Repeated vomiting after each meal of any food in a child is provoked by concomitant diseases, congenital pathology of the gastrointestinal system. Regardless of the severity of the manifestations, the duration of clinical symptoms, or age, treatment is necessary with a medicinal effect on the underlying disease; there is a danger to health and life with the rapid development of dehydration and the risk of death.
A disease that provokes the symptom of vomiting | Clinical picture | Treatment tactics |
Intestinal infection, gastritis, gastroduodenitis, poisoning | Repeated urge, which is accompanied by a rise in body temperature, diarrhea, pain in the abdomen | Drink a lot to remove toxins, prevent dehydration, using the fractional drinking method |
Food allergies | After eating a certain product, urticaria due to an immunological reaction to food, moodiness | Avoid allergenic foods and drink a lot |
Pyloric stenosis | Observed in newborns immediately after feeding, loss of body weight to a critical condition | Urgent visit to a surgical hospital, treated with surgery |
Pylorospasm | Periodic vomiting due to impaired muscle regulation | The doctor adjusts the diet and, if necessary, prescribes antispasmodics |
Brain lesions (meningitis, trauma, encephalitis, compression of brain tissue by a tumor) | Does not bring relief, neurological symptoms and characteristic disturbances of consciousness are observed | Comprehensive treatment by a pediatrician, neurologist, and pediatric infectious disease specialist |
Seasickness | Symptoms appear when motion sickness occurs at sea, on a train, in a car with a weak vestibular system | Taking medications for motion sickness that are prescribed by your doctor |
Acetonemia | With an increase in the content of ketone bodies in the blood and urine, characteristic symptoms are observed, which is caused by a violation of the diet, diabetes mellitus | Carrying out an acetone test, seeking help from a pediatrician |
Infectious diseases of the respiratory tract | Inflammatory reaction of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity with pain, cough reflex can provoke nausea due to irritation of the cough center in the brain | Therapy of the underlying disease |
Acute appendicitis | Accompanied by pain, weakness, convulsions, low-grade fever in a child | Contacting the surgical department of the hospital |
Parasitic lesions | With helminthic infestation, migration of parasites after eating, short periodic urge to vomit may occur | Carry out a thorough diagnosis of the body, treatment for worms |
How to fix the situation
Follow the timing of introducing complementary foods
. Pediatricians, including Dr. Komarovsky, recommend not introducing any complementary foods until the baby is 4 months old. But even after reaching this age, the introduction of complementary foods is more often caused by the mother’s desire to improve and diversify the baby’s diet and much less often by an objective need (the child is not gaining weight well, he needs to switch to diet food, etc.). Therefore, six months is considered the optimal age: at 6, 7 months and older, the child’s needs are no longer satisfied only with mother’s milk or an adapted formula in its absence.
Avoid "tasty" additives
. Attempts to improve the taste of cereals, vegetable or meat purees with various additives (sugar, butter, etc.) are understandable: the mother is concerned about the baby’s refusal to eat healthy foods and is trying to correct the situation. But this will only lead to an unjustified increase in the calorie content of complementary foods. And a child, already accustomed to tasty dishes, in the future may categorically refuse any complementary foods if they are not flavored with sugar, butter or other additives.
Don't be too pushy
. The most reasonable thing would be to perceive the child’s refusal not as a categorical “no”, but as “a little later.” A dish that the baby does not like should be excluded from the diet for the next 1–2 weeks and offered to the child again only after this time.
Don't give up too quickly
. It may take up to 10–15 trials for a child to evaluate a new food, each 1–2 weeks apart. Therefore, several refusals of porridge or vegetable puree do not mean that it is time to cross this complementary food off the menu. This can lead to the child forming food stereotypes and agreeing only to those dishes that he appreciated the first time. And his diet will be relatively poor.
Focus on the child's condition. Attempts to feed a child porridge or puree when he does not feel well, has not had enough sleep, or is simply not in the mood are most often doomed to failure. Moreover, if such situations are repeated regularly, the child may develop a negative attitude towards complementary foods in general. Therefore, in all situations where the child is not in the mood for experiments, you should treat this with understanding and not insist. A few days without complementary feeding will not make a difference, and when everything returns to normal, the baby will eat the dish you offer with appetite.
Avoid distractions
. Attempts to feed the child porridge or puree, distracting him with toys, cartoons or other maneuvers, can be successful. But, having gotten used to it, the baby may begin to refuse complementary foods if it is not accompanied by this show.
Features of vomiting in a child
The difference between vomiting after eating in childhood is the absence of warning signs; the child may begin to vomit at rest. Children are more prone to rapid dehydration with loss of electrolytes, which poses a danger to the baby's life.
No temperature
It occurs against the background of eating disorders, overeating, absorption at too fast a pace (stretching the walls of the stomach provokes vomiting). The way out of the situation is to normalize food intake and instill the right habits.
1-2 hours after eating
Vomiting in a child after several hours of eating may indicate poisoning, exacerbation of chronic pathology (gastritis, ulcerative processes) and as a reaction to new foods.
Immediately after each meal
If every time a child eats, characteristic symptoms appear, it is recommended to consult a specialist doctor; this is an alarming sign of the presence of concomitant pathology in the body, diseases of internal organs that require drug correction.
Diagnostic features
☝ Treatment of vomiting is a useless exercise, because vomiting in a child without fever is not a disease in itself.☝
Vomiting only indicates the presence of problems in the body. Therefore, for successful treatment, the cause must first be diagnosed.
Diagnosis is carried out using the following methods:
- Visual inspection. This method consists of a visual examination by a doctor of vomit and, based on various characteristics (color, smell, consistency, presence of impurities), determining the diagnosis.
- Laboratory research. A method that helps confirm or refute a diagnosis.
- Instrumental diagnostics. It consists of examining the child using various instruments - ultrasound, X-ray, FGDS, ECG.
Once the diagnosis is confirmed, appropriate treatment is prescribed.
Do not force feed your child after vomiting.
Methods and means of treating vomiting
According to the recommendations of Dr. Komarovsky E.O. It is necessary to take first aid measures for the child (drink in small portions, do not feed during the acute period), call a doctor.
- prescribing sorbent drugs in age-specific doses (Enterosgel, Smecta, Atoxil, White Coal) to eliminate inflammatory processes and eliminate pathogens;
- the use of rehydrants to restore water and electrolyte balance (Regidron, Gidrosec, Oralit, Humana-electrolyte);
- therapy of the underlying disease: surgery for acute appendicitis and pyloric stenosis, treatment of acute respiratory infections, rehabilitation of chronic foci of infection, use of anthelmintic drugs in the presence of signs of parasitic infestation (Vormil, Pirantel), antihistamines to stabilize immune reactions, reduce symptoms of nausea (Loratadine, Alerzin, Fenistil).
The choice of treatment regimen for the child and diet is selected by the doctor individually, based on a diagnostic study.
Digestion in the stomach
The stomach is a kind of tool for processing food. The stomach capacity is about 2.5-3 liters. Food enters it through the esophagus. At the very beginning, food is broken down into fats, proteins and carbohydrates, and what is not digested is sent to the initial part of the small intestine (duodenum). When a person eats food, special acids are produced in the stomach, which help it to be divided into organic substances and digested. The stomach has walls that reliably protect it from the effects of acids. Food can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours to digest. The indicator depends on the composition, calorie content, and heat treatment of food products.
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Reasons why the stomach cannot digest food
Fatty, spicy and sour foods can cause heaviness in the stomach.
Common causes of dyspepsia are considered to be poor eating habits and insufficient knowledge of nutritional rules. Eating dry food and snacking on the run will sooner or later have a bad effect on your health. There are some foods that the body simply does not accept and thus rejects, which is why the stomach “stands”. Inconvenience and heaviness in the stomach can appear due to overly fatty, spicy, or sour foods. Alcoholic drinks can cause a number of inconveniences, as they can stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid and burden the walls of the stomach.
Here are some other causes of dyspepsia:
- slow metabolism when the digestive organs work poorly;
- the presence of microbes in the gastric mucosa;
- poor stimulation of gastric juice secretion;
- alcohol abuse in large quantities (applies to adults);
- the presence of a disease - gastritis (can affect both adults and children).
There are cases where the normal functioning of the stomach is disrupted due to hormonal imbalance (mostly in pregnant women). If a person feels unwell in the morning, experiences heaviness in the stomach long before breakfast, this indicates that he likes to eat heavily at night, which is strictly forbidden to do, since the stomach should rest at night just like the rest of the human organs. Knowing the reason why the stomach does not process food in any way allows you to start treatment on time, force you to follow a diet, and develop a certain eating routine.
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Types of disease
Salmonellosis is an acute intestinal infection caused by Salmonella.
Dyspepsia is divided into two groups: organic and functional. In the organic process, serious damage to the organs of the gastrointestinal tract is not detected, only disruptions occur in their functioning. In functional cases, pathologies of the stomach and intestines are detected. These are much more serious violations. Dyspepsia is also divided by type of disease and depends on the reasons that provoked these diseases. For example, an intestinal infection can become a provoking factor. Dyspepsia caused by it is divided into several types:
- Salmonellosis. Accompanied by elevated body temperature, upset stomach, general weakness, and vomiting.
- Dysentery. Causes damage to the large intestine, manifested by diarrhea mixed with blood.
- Intoxication. It is formed as a consequence of poisoning with some harmful substances, during past infections.
Dyspepsia with a lack of digestive enzymes is divided into types: gastrogenic, hepatogenic, pancreatogenic, enterogenic. In addition to these types of disease, there are others:
- nutritional – a consequence of an incorrect lifestyle;
- putrefactive - the result of eating too much meat and fish, perhaps not always fresh;
- fatty – provoked by an excessive amount of fat in the daily menu;
- fermentable form - occurs when food products such as beans, baked goods, sweets, as well as drinks in the form of kvass and beer are used.
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How long does it take to see a doctor?
A doctor's help is necessary if frequent regurgitation occurs in children under 1 year of age.
You should rush to see a doctor, regardless of the child’s age:
- repeated indomitable vomiting after eating, when drinking water (there is no possibility of oral rehydration, the risk of dehydration increases);
- disturbance of consciousness (delirium, stupor, loss of consciousness), which requires treatment with intravenous infusions in the intensive care unit;
- accompanied by repeated diarrhea;
- high temperatures over 38 degrees;
- severe abdominal pain;
- vomiting after eating with blood;
- the fact of consumption of canned food, mushrooms, berries of unknown origin, chemical substances (vinegar, detergents);
- the child has no stool for more than 12 hours.
Don't put off asking for help.
Mechanisms of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain
Nausea is an unpleasant sensation in the epigastrium (upper abdomen) and behind the sternum. It can occur as a separate symptom or in combination with others, such as pain, heartburn, belching, fever or diarrhea. As a rule, a small child can rarely accurately determine whether he is only worried about nausea or abdominal pain, and children may not even understand what “nausea” means and what parents or doctors are asking him about.
Nausea in a child often ends with vomiting, or involuntary release of stomach contents (less commonly, intestines) through the mouth. Under the influence of various irritants (toxins, drugs, unpleasant odors or sights), a lowering of the diaphragm, closing of the windpipe and a sharp contraction of the smooth muscles of the stomach and abdominal muscles are observed. As a result of this, the contents of the stomach are thrown out.
Abdominal pain appears as a result of abnormal contraction of the muscle fibers of the diaphragm, accumulation of gases in the intestines, and irritation of various receptors of the intestinal mucosa by toxic substances.
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If vomiting is about to occur in an adult, then before this he will feel some warning signs in the form of slight dizziness, nausea, arrhythmia, tachycardia. In addition, there may be a headache, lethargy, as well as increased sweating and periodic stomach cramps. Next comes the gag reflex, which will give the person significant relief. After all, the stomach and upper respiratory tract will finally be freed from undigested food and bile juice. After vomiting, a person, as a rule, begins to analyze what exactly could have led to such unpleasant sensations. It could be food poisoning, overeating, excessive consumption of fatty and spicy foods.
But when a child starts vomiting, he cannot tell you that he is feeling sick, that he is dizzy, that he is going to vomit. This is especially true for newborns and children under 7 years of age who do not understand what the symptoms of nausea and vomiting are. The child is able to describe his feelings if vomiting has not occurred for the first time and he approximately knows its signs.
General description of the pathology
The stomach is the organ in which food is digested. The volume of an adult's stomach can reach up to 3 liters; in small children this figure is an order of magnitude smaller .
Food enters the stomach cavity through the esophagus and is broken down into individual elements - proteins, fat and carbohydrates. If the body needs energy, the brain gives a signal to the stomach, in which the level of hydrochloric acid begins to increase, which is necessary for processing food. This process can occur at different speeds; carbohydrates can be processed in as little as 2 hours, while fats can take up to 5 hours to digest. If the stomach stops digesting food or does not digest it fully, then this condition is called dyspepsia . In this case, such unpleasant symptoms as attacks of nausea, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and a feeling of constant fullness occur. If this disease is not diagnosed in time and treatment is not started, the consequences can be quite serious.
Dyspepsia is often observed in people who abuse processed and fast food products.