Daughter sick once then fine (every so often)

[Misscbu17]

I’m a tad baffled and wonder if anyone has also experienced this phenomenon.

This has happened 3 times over a 6 month period so every few months ….. my 7 year old daughter is randomly sick in the early hours (always seems to be 1am-ish.) Goes to bed as normal, happy and feeling well then suddenly vomits with no warning (so you can appreciate the mess and shock/worry!) is sick for a few minutes then is perfectly fine and goes straight to sleep and wakes up fine too.

She always has a snack and milk before bed and would think if it was this it effect her each night if this was the issue. I can’t seem to pin point what it is.

To note she was never a sicky baby or young child.

Has anyone else experienced this? ❤️

Is she able to articulate when her tummy or chest are sore? This sounds a little similar to the beginning stages of when I had gastritis - it built up very slowly over a few years but if I ate and then lay down straight away/slept (so no walking around or standing up straight) I would wake in the night and vomit. I’d be fine again straight away and fall asleep again.

I didn’t necessarily always have ‘tummy pain’ it was more a tightness in my chest or a nauseous feeling.

My son went through a big phase of this from the age of about 5-10 and it peaked when he was 8-10. It was always either just after falling asleep or a couple of hours after falling asleep. He’s in his teens now and it still happens once or twice a year but he mainly grew out of it. Our GP thought it was cyclic vomiting syndrome which seems to be similar to migraine although with no headaches involved (yeah, weird). It’s a nuisance because even though it happened regularly, I could never say for sure whether it was his usual problem or a stomach bug until well into the next day so he missed a lot of school because of it.

I’ve got no tips for you, I’m afraid. We did work out that certain foods made it more likely to happen, as did getting too hot during the day (although it never happened until the night) and being over tired. However, getting rid of all of those factors didn’t guarantee it wouldn’t happen, just reduced the likelihood. And sometimes he’d have one or two of the factors but be absolutely fine.

It sounds like it could simply be indigestion from the snack and milk before bed. Does she have them very close to lying down at bedtime, or is it at least an hour before she brushes her teeth - for the sake of dental health?

Hi all,

Sorry your little ones have suffered too but also reassuring this happens to others and all of the above makes sense of what it could be!

Yes she’s good at communicating aches and pains and didn’t mention anything before bed. Was happy etc, all normal each time. I think what makes me uneasy is the fact it’s all normal and then suddenly she is sick without warning.

I am going to try and say no to a snack before bed as she normally has it, milk then brushes teeth and lays straight down. Last night she was passing wind alot so I am wondering if it’s an intolerance or food too close to bed so it can’t digest etc.

I think I’m just slightly anxious because one of the times she was sick all over herself whilst laying on her back as she had no warning, so her face was covered (she obv then sat up), so I now worrying each night about her chocking as it comes with no warning to her which is the worst.

Thanks all x

Mine did this.

it turned out to be a dairy allergy. Always happened when she’d had more dairy than normal.

took me years to figure out. She developed bad acne on her face and back at 12, nothing worked. She was the one who decided to cut out dairy as she’d seen it on TikTok.

within 2 weeks the acne resolved, she’s not had the periodic vomiting, better bowel habits, ( she had a lot of wind, episodic constipation/diarrhoea) and she says the low level nausea that was constant has gone. She didn’t even realise how she felt was not normal so never complained.

i’d try cutting the milk rather than the snack to start.

Hi you've had some good advice already . But just wanted to pop on and say my DD went through similar when she was younger . The sick was always the same colour and smelt horrific (sorry) and I managed to pin point it in the end to a certain food she couldn't digest or tolerate. Soon as we stopped the food she stopped being sick . Hope you get to the bottom of it .

Mine did this ( years ago now!! ) and the doctor put it down to the enlarged lymph nodes in her neck due to fighting off current bugs pressing on her gag reflex when she laid down at night . Happened about 5-6 times over a couple of years , then stopped .

Mine did this, it was when she was too hot. She very occasionally does it now, always when she is overheating. Usually when we have had the central heating on and then forgotten to turn it off or open a window. Doctors weren't concerned.

What did you identify as the culprit food wise?x

What food was she intolerant to? I’m going to order an allergy test x

I used to do this (randomly vomiting for no obvious reason and then absolutely fine afterwards). Turned out to be lactose intolerance.

The apparent randomness may be due to how much she's already had that day and whether the bedtime milk has tipped her over the edge so to speak

Bear in mind some allergy tests don’t show.

can’t remember which way round it is but with dd and allergy, the dr explained there’s two types of reaction- the first is the anaphylactic type which is immediate and shows up on skin prick tests. The second is a different type of antibody which is slower to produce, and causes the symptoms we saw in did- skin, vomiting a few hours later, GI issues etc. that antibody doesn’t show up on allergy tests and the only way to know is to exclude for two weeks and see if it helps.

Thanks everyone! All this advice is so so helpful and has given me loads of advice and things to try…. It’s a mindfield with human bodies isn’t it! I’m going to keep a diary and try and reduce the intake of dairy etc x

I really think this could be it and the fact of most days it’s ok and sometimes it just goes over what her body can handle as such, hence then expelling from her body and she’s fine. X

I do one vomit then am fine sometimes. It's often when the kids are ill so possibly just a reaction to a bug? I prefer it to beong sniffly for days tbh

I would get a baby monitor and have it on loud just for your peace of mind

My DD used to do this, started as a toddler, turns out banana was the cause took me 4 years to work it out though. Shes not allergic and actually likes banana but doesn't eat them anymore as hates being sick. Must be some sort of intolerance I think.

I have a histamine intolerance. Initially I had pseudo anaphylaxis but now it's better controlled my only symptom is waking up at 2 am and being violently sick now and them. I'm usually fine after that unless I throw up my meds at the same time and go into withdrawal.

I think it's definitely worth considering the role of diet. My sister projectile vomited until 2 and then was frequently sick until aged 40 she went vegan. My daughter has a dairy allergy and my mum sees many similarities to my sister so we think she may have had a dairy allergy as a child and never developed full tolerance and when she had too much she was the sick.

Watching with interest.

My daughter is 4 and in the last 7 months she has been very sick in the night 5 times and then fine the next day. Each episode follows a very similar pattern. It's usually around 4am that she suddenly wakes up shouting for me racing to the bathroom and is violently sick. Over the course of the next hour or two, she will be sick in the same way about 4 more times. Sometimes complaining her tummy hurts, but often falling asleep between each bout of sickness. Once she's finished throwing up bile she will sleep soundly until the morning when she wakes up as good as new and wants to eat and drink again as normal! Sometimes, she will have mild diarrhoea the next day, too, but not always. But otherwise fine.

We took her to the doctor after the third episode and they seemed unconcerned but sent her for blood tests. The first blood test came back with a high platelet count? So we had a follow up test. The platelet level had reduced, so the doctor dismissed us.

I'm considering contacting the doctor again as it's just so odd. I've tried raising the top end of her bed in case it's acid reflux as I've read that can make kids sick in the night. Could this be the case with your daughter? I also now try to feed her around 4.30 or 5 at the latest and no snacks past this time as I've read that can help with acid reflux. It did seem to reduce the frequency with which it was happening - but it's still happened twice since I started doing this. I've also tracked what she eats for dinner the night before but can't see any correlation???

I know what you mean about worrying about them being sick in the night. After every incident I sleep terribly, I start getting up multiple times in the night to look at her.

@spacetoilets oh my goodness I’m so sorry you’re daughter (and you) are going through this. Have you shed anymore light?
I’ve stopped late night snacking and turned to lactose free milk and touch wood, the tummy aches have reduced significantly and so has the sickness. It’s all such a worry trying to figure out what’s wrong with children ♥️