What Makes a Child Throw Up in a Certain Room?!

[TheFuckingDogs]

So my friend is currently going through very messy separation. She and her kids are having to stay with us occasionally.
She and youngest sleep in a spare room. The past two time’s the child has woken and vomited profusely in the night.
No previous bug or tummy stuff. We do have cats which they don’t at home but the cats would never be in that room. Also have dogs but he’s fine around all these creatures during the day. It’s a mystery to myself and friend who bless her is obviously knackered now and been awake for hours.
Her dc is also autistic so when he wakes he wakes.
Thanks

Could it be anxiety based?

Mould? I remember going to a friends house and I was completely fine until I went into her bedroom and there was mould on the wall, I felt dizzy and sick and went home shortly after. Just a suggestion

I was going to say mould, is there any hidden behind the bed? Also do you use strong detergent or fabric softener. Sometimes that can kind of catch people’s throat and make them gag. For you it might not smell too strong but when people aren’t used to it they might notice the smell a lot more.

Anxiety at waking somewhere he doesn’t know?

New smells?

Hmm, most likely to be anxiety/new smells then I suppose. No mould in that room. It’s just so strange cause he’s slept in other rooms in this house and it hasn’t happened but we but him in that room and it happens every time!

And mummyclover I get the mould thing - if I see it on food items unexpectedly I feel like I’m going to faint 🤣

Are they having lots of extra sweets or anything when staying at yours? Or any mould as pp have said? I can’t think of anything else, though my DD once had three straight weeks of vomiting in the middle of the night. Absolutely fine the rest of the time, just once a night vomiting. Never truly got to the bottom of it, she had antibiotics due to white blood cells in urine (but when it went to the lab it was clear of UTI) and it stopped. Blood test okay apart from low levels of magnesium which GP said would be result of the regular vomiting. After antibiotics and lots of magnesium rich foods & drink she was fine.

Sorry just seen your post re no mould

Carbon monoxide? Any gas appliance in that area of the house?
May not be enough to trigger an alarm but might be enough for someone to react to.

Good point, nannynick. Do you have carbon monoxide detectors, OP? We tend to assume that if there's a leak, everyone in the household will react to it. But that's not the case. Also, the leak could be from next door, not even your own home. I'd get a detector anyway and put it in that particular room to see if it goes off.

foxinbox your post is interesting. And although your case has nothing to do with autism, I notice that the child OP refers to is autistic and I am reminded of the fact that autistic people have lower magnesium levels. So magnesium deficiencies are more common in people with ASD/ADHD.
I wonder what would happen, OP, if your friend tried supplementing her child with magnesium. I give my own son (ASD) magnesium melts to suck on when he's especially stressed/figity/ticcing. Magnesium deficitiency can cause vomitting.

I think she should talk to a doctor. Maybe it’s migraines but doesn’t brain tumours also trigger vomiting?

Is it warmer in that room? Overheating can cause vomitting.

Infrasound? Some places are supposed to magnify it. But maybe more likely the stress of being in a different place.

@ittakes2

I think she should talk to a doctor. Maybe it’s migraines but doesn’t brain tumours also trigger vomiting?

Really???? How on earth did you cone up with that from 2 episodes of vomiting?

Have both visits been more stressful/last minute than the usual visits?

DS1 and I get vomiting migraine when travelling. I feel weird for a day, vomit then feel better. He vomits several times then sleeps.

It’s just so strange cause he’s slept in other rooms in this house and it hasn’t happened but we but him in that room and it happens every time!

Were the times he stayed in other rooms before the separation though? It sounds like stress/anxiety from the split, plus sleeping somewhere different maybe?
Having said that, a different room might work just because if he’s now thrown up twice in that room, it might add to the anxiety if he’s also fretting about being sick again?

Could the child be eating something (not food) that's only in that room? Chewing on a specific blanket or picking at paint or something.

We definitely have CM alarms, you have prompted me to test them though 😳
The person who suggested a warmer environment that’s possible actually - my friend always comments on how warm our house is - she likes that but maybe dc doesn’t, he’s fairly non verbal though so hard to get that kind of info out of him. Thanks for the responses

Could be dehydration if he is not drinking enough because he is out if routine and in unfamiliar surroundings?

Personally I'd simply not put him in that room, just use another room.

There could be lots of possible reasons for him only vomiting when in that particular room e.g

1. Mould
2. Carbon monoxide
3. Wallpaper/ bedspread pattern ( some patterns cause optical illusions of 'movement' which can cause nausea/ vomiting).
4. A particular food you give/gave him
5. Smell (could be of anything he's not used to e.g pot pourri/ neighbours garden plant etc)
6. Noise (subliminal/ unheard by adults)
7. A particular colour/ fabric he doesn't tolerate due to ASD

But whatever the reason, if he doesn't vomit if in another bedroom, simply put him in another bedroom.

If he’s autistic does he have sensory processing issues? He could be hypersensitive to smell - could well be something that you don’t even notice, perhaps something to do with the pets. My twins are both autistic but under sensitive to stimulus generally - I know friends with kids who are hypersensitive to smell have real challenges when going to other houses.