Baby Vomiting

Information Parents Need to Know about Baby Vomiting

If you are a parent of a small child, chances are you will deal with baby vomiting at one time or another. Often, the vomiting is nothing more than eating something that upset the child’s stomach or having a case of the flu. However, because babies are more vulnerable and affected by things more than adults are, if you ever have concern then you should take action. We wanted to provide you with some of the reasons for baby vomiting, which you could use as a guideline.

Immediate Medical Care

There are times with baby vomiting that you need to call 911. While these cases are rare, they do exist. Therefore, if you notice any of the following along with vomiting, seek immediate medical care.

If your baby has distressed breathing or you notice his/her breathing becoming rapid or extremely slow.

If your child appears to be severely dehydrated, this would also be cause for calling 911. Some of the signs you want to watch for include cold skin, extreme sleepiness, being fussy, spots on the feet and/or hands, and sunken eyes.

Emergency Room Visit
Although a trip to the emergency room also means the child needs immediate medical care, the difference with this choice and calling 911 is that 911 is typically associated with a life-threatening situation whereas a trip to the hospital means the child is very sick and needs intervention to avoid the situation from becoming life-threatening. If the baby vomiting includes any of the following, take the situation serious enough to seek immediate help.

If you notice the child acting as if in serious pain, this coupled with the vomiting could be a sign of the child taking a serious fall and having a concussion or even experiencing an intestinal or bowel blockage.

Next, if the baby vomiting has any green bile or blood, even if minor, seek medical care. In this case, something is going on with the intestines that could be major.

If your child has a distended stomach, the problem could be something minor such as gas or it could be the sign of a hernia, problems with the digestive system, or even an intestinal blockage.

Baby vomiting that occurs immediately after your child falls or takes a hit to the head could also be a sign of concussion. Remember, little babies still have soft heads so it would not take much for this to happen.

Phone Call to the Doctor

Sometimes, baby vomiting warrants a phone call to the doctor at which time he or she would determine if a trip to the hospital or an ambulance were needed, or if the baby could simply be cared for at home. In the following situations, it would be far better to have the doctor make the final call.

If the baby vomiting has been going on for 24 hours, it could be the flu but it could also be something more serious.

Again, if you begin to notice the start of dehydration coupled with vomiting, call the doctor. When dehydration starts to be a problem, the signs would include a dry mouth, crying but without shedding tears, low urine output, lethargy, and even dark-colored yellow urine.

If at any time the baby vomiting contains blood, you should at least talk to the doctor. Keep in mind, if the baby has been throwing up for a while or several times, the blood could be from the force but it could also be associated with more serious problems.

If your child’s skin or the whites of the eyes begin to turn yellow along with vomiting, chances are the child has jaundice. Typically, this is seen in newborns but it can happen in older children. The solution would be for the child to stay in the hospital for a few days so a heat light could increase function of the liver.

Finally, if the baby vomiting occurs within 30 minutes from eating, it could be caused from food poisoning or some type of parasite or viral infection.