Q: A couple of years ago our local newspaper published a very interesting article about young people who have unexplained vomiting spells. Unfortunately, I have discarded the article and cannot find it on line. My British friend has a 7-year-old granddaughter who has been going through that strange ailment for the past 9 months. No cause for it has yet been found. Would you please discuss this subject once again? Thank you so much. I do LOVE your column which I feel is so informative and unbiased.
A. Thank you for the compliment.
Childhood vomiting is not a disease but it is a symptom of many possible conditions that include emotional stress, concussion, appendicitis, a blockage in the digestive system, flickering lights, a reaction to specific odors, milk or food allergy, coughing, intestinal blockage, the ingestion of a toxin, food poisoning, intense pain, head trauma, eating too much, a viral infection, an illness that induces a emotional distress, and countless other possibilities that differ according to age. Gastroenteritis, the most common cause in children, can be from bacteria, parasite or a virus that can be acquired in school, at a day care center, restaurant, and countless other places. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the viruses that cause some gastroenteritis are spread through close contact with infected individuals who may share food, drinking vessels and eating utensils. Therefore, to prevent the virus from infecting individuals of all ages, hand washing or using anti-bacterial hand sanitizers and disinfecting contaminated surfaces is important.
Following a bout of vomiting your granddaughter should refrain from eating solid foods for 24 hours. She should ingest drinks that contain electrolytes such as Pedialite or sports drinks, frozen pops, gelatin water (one tsp flavored gelatin in four ounces of water), sugar water (½ tsp in four ounces of water), or the World Health Organization formula of 6 tsp sugar/one half tsp salt and a liter of water, to prevent www.CVSAonline.orgdehydration.
There is a condition referred to as cyclic vomiting syndrome that can occur in children and adults which presents as “three or more discrete episodes of vomiting, varying intervals of completely normal health between episodes, and episodes that are stereotypical with regard to timing of onset, symptoms and duration.” For more information on this condition, log on to Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Association at www.CVSAonline.org.
If the vomiting continues longer than 24 hours or if it begins again once she resumes her normal diet, if she has a temperature of over 100.4 degrees, vomits blood or a substance that resembles coffee grounds, she should either be seen by her pediatrician or should visit the emergency room of her local hospital for a thorough examination, testing and perhaps X-rays to determine the underlying cause. At any age, but particularly as young as she is, she must be frightened with this occurrence. Her pediatrician needs to get to the bottom of things and help her back to recovery.
