Infant vomiting

Vomiting in a baby is a serious symptom that should alarm the mother and prompt her to act immediately, that is, to contact a pediatrician with this problem. Vomiting differs from the standard regurgitation that is so typical for newborns. Vomit is often ejected so actively and in such quantities that it resembles fountains.

The child strains, strains, after the vomiting ends, the baby's skin turns pale, he himself becomes apathetic, lethargic, often loses his appetite. Even if a single case of vomiting was intense, you should not self-medicate, you must definitely call a doctor at home. If there are bile components in the vomit (yellow-green inclusions), an ambulance is called.

What causes vomiting in infants?

Vomiting in infants can be associated with various reasons. Often, high temperature causes nausea, and then vomiting. Of course, such a gag reflex is a consequence of the underlying disease, but it is considered an independent disease.

Also, vomiting in a baby can be a single event, although profuse. If the child feels well after the vomiting has stopped, then most likely it was a reflex case, possibly from overeating. That is, in fact, there was profuse regurgitation. If the baby is restless, whiny, or, on the contrary, becomes quiet, lethargic, you need to seek medical help. It should be noted that frequent vomiting, which is repeated regularly in the first month of a newborn's life, is an alarming signal indicating problems with the digestive system. The child's condition should be constantly monitored by a doctor, sometimes such a baby is hospitalized.

Vomiting in infants may be associated with the reflexive removal of a medicinal substance. If a child for some reason takes medications, especially those with a bitter taste, he has a natural desire, certainly unconscious, to remove the bitterness from the body. Since the reflexes of babies work well and actively, vomiting is the only way to get rid of the unpleasant irritant.

In addition, overfeeding, both with mother's milk and formula, is a common cause of the gag reflex in a child. This cause should be tracked using the baby's food diary and eliminated at the first opportunity.

In addition to the above, vomiting can be caused by a change in diet. This can be a change in formula, a change in the mother's diet if breastfeeding. You should pay attention to the composition and expiration dates of milk formulas for artificial feeding. When a child begins to receive complementary foods, innovations can also be accompanied by a gag reflex. Vomiting in infants in such situations is explained by an inflammatory process of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. This is how the gastrointestinal system reacts to substances that are unusual for it. The mother can eliminate this cause herself by adjusting the portions of complementary foods - they should be very small and increase gradually.

More serious causes are functional disorders of the digestive system, which are present in the body, regardless of food intake. We are talking about gastritis and other inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract. In these cases, vomiting in an infant is accompanied by an upset stool, such symptoms require seeking medical help.

Fortunately, poisonings rarely occur, but still, when a baby receives stale products or insufficiently processed in a hygienic sense. General digestive upset is a protective function of the small organism, which, with the help of vomiting and loose stools, tries to cleanse itself of toxins.

More serious pathologies, in which vomiting in infants is possible, are usually identified by an attentive, competent pediatrician, who will do everything to prevent the exacerbation of the disease.

Vomiting in a baby is, of course, an unpleasant and sometimes alarming phenomenon. However, if you follow the rules of nutrition, sanitary and hygienic standards, and regularly visit or examine a pediatrician, such a manifestation of the child's reflex system is only temporary.