How do I stop my 13 month old making himself sick?!

[DMF1976]

I have a 13 month old son, and for the past 6 months, he has developed a "habit" of putting his hands down his mouth and making himself sick.
Doctors/paediatric specialists cannot explain it, other than advising I distract him when he does it.
I don't believe it's teething related, and he has no allergies.
I'm hugley worried as he is a low weight baby anyway (between 2nd and 9th centile), so he doesn't have any excess weight to lose!
Has anyone else suffered this with their baby/toddler?
Any advise would be hugley appreciated!
Thanks x

Are you sure about the allergies? My DS used to choke on his fingers. In hindsight, his airways were probably swelling. Could you ask the GP to check his IgE levels?

Thanks - I hadn't thought about that. We are seeing a paediatric gastroenterologist next week, so I will ask for an IGE check then.
Was DS's "finger choking" due to any particular allergies?
Swelling of the airways sounds pretty scary!
Have you managed to resolve the fingers down the throat issue and how??

He was mostly breast fed at the time. It was peanuts passing through my breast milk. He also had issues with sesame, wheat and dairy but the wheat and dairy were gut / mucus related rather than neck / airways. Removing his problem foods stopped the fingers down the throat. It might not be the same for your DS but it is worth considering. (I don't believe at this age, this can be 'behavioural' but think it must be driven by something) Also, for what it us worth, DS also had a significant gut bacterial imbalance, after treatment with antibiotics, he grew, almost literally before my eyes. How is your DS's skin, his mucus production and his bowels?

That's interesting. My little boy suffered with ingested meconium during my 27 hour labour, so he may well have some level of gut bacterial imbalance as a result. He has eczema (also present in both sides of the family), mucus is generally thicker when he has a cold, and bowel movements are regular/look fairly normal in colour/consistency. However, he has suffered with 5 bouts of gastroenteritis in the last 6 months (hospitalised twice), which tends to come on once he's picked up a cold. It's such a nightmare, as it seems that when he gets a runny nose and cough, it then develops into serious vomiting, diarohea and weight loss! Such a vicious circle for the poor little chap! The doctor's have put him on soya milk in the past, as they thought he had secondary lactose intolerance after each bout of sickness & diarohea, but he now drinks cows milk quite happily, and loves all types of cheese and yoghurt. He's also eaten pesto with no side effects, but hasn't had peanuts/sesame etc yet. So maybe it is more of a gut bacterial imbalance balance, but why would this cause him to put his fingers down his throat? Thanks for your advice - I now have lots of questions to ask paediatric gastroenterologist tomorrow!