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Original poster

8 month old - vomiting for 7 days and not eating

22 replies

wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 09:39

Ds has been vomiting for a week now. It's not too bad in so far that it's not every bottle of milk, he basically vomits around 1/3rd of the time. He is totally disinterested in food currently.

Took him to open surgery at the docs on Saturday - doctor was happy enough because ds is not dehydrated (keeping some of his milk down) and was 'bright eyed and alert'. Doctor doesn't think its a tummy bug because in his words they usually seem quite poorly and miserable with this, and ds is reasonably cheerful. Doctor thinks it because ds is chesty and congested with a bad cold (which he can't seem to shake off) and its all the mucus he is swallowing that is making him sick.

Now I should be reassured, but I am not. It's the fact that he is not eating solids that is bothering me, and that this is turning into a fairly long term thing (not just a couple of days). Will he be missing valuable nutrients which will affect his development by declining solid food?

Also has anybody else experienced anything like this (long term vomiting associated with long term cold type thing) and when did your child get back to normal?

Thanks,

OP posts:
ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 20/12/2004 10:25

No direct experience of long term sickness, but my ds (22 months) has a very phlegmy cough and has been up most of the night coughing and then was sick this morning, so my sympathies are with you. Hopefully, when the phlegm dries up, your ds should get better. one doctor once described a small child like yours as being a small body around a big stomach meaning that the stomach of a small child is a significant part of their anatomy and is therefore easily upset when they are ill in other parts of their bodies. It is particularly scary coming up to the Christmas weekend, worrying if he will be better then and how you could see a doctor if he wasn't, but rest assurred, a doctor will always come out to see your child if you insist, even at Christmas. HTH.

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 11:25

Thanks for your support ItllBeLonely.....

The description of a small body around a big stomach made sense...

Do you think ds will be missing out on valuable nutrients etc through avoiding food for such a long time (or am I stressing too much?)

OP posts:
shepherdswatchtheircatsbynight · 20/12/2004 11:47

Hey there wrapmefestivly,

How horrid for you both. I have no experiance of long term sickness i'm afraid, but i would definatly keep an eye on his nappies. If they are dry alot after long periods of time, he could be dehydrated. Make sure he keeps drinking loads of fluids if you can (water as well, as milk)

As for food, i don't think after a week he's going to be suffering nutrionaly yet. Having said that though, i do think you should take him back to the docs if it carries on today and tomorrow.

Dd was very, very sick the other day, but only for 1 night. She then caught a cold as has been sick since, but like your ds isn't really miserable with it, and it tends to happen when she coughs too much, so i think it probably is mucus.
It is worrying isn't it?

I'm sure he will be fine, hugs to you both.

xxx

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 11:59

Thank you too Shepherds..yes I think I will go back to the GP on Thursday morning (I will have left a 'respectable' interval then between when I last bothered them and when I turn up again). Thanks for the supportive message - you are forgiven for having non smeary granite worktops!

OP posts:
Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 12:04

Shepherds,

Got you confused with Twasthenightbeforecatbert (another long Christmas name) so ignore the joke about granite work tops. Honestly I am such a plonker . It must be the worry about ds making me scatty!

OP posts:
Piffleoffagus · 20/12/2004 12:12

my dd had a bug of vomiting and diarrhoea for 48 hrs then kept vomiting 2-3 times a day, not eating, just taking her bottles and the odd nibble of banana or whatever we were eating.
WE took her to A+E after 3 weeks as she is already small for her age and we were worried as she had temp for 2 weeks and was very lethargic and clingy, getting no better infact
Doctors were not bothered at all, so long as baby is not dehydrated they jsut send you home.
So what we did was
took her off all dairy and offered water or very diluted juice (she never normally has juice but the sugar in it makes them drink more)
We also put acidopholus powder (from health shop)inot her drinks.
We offered rice milk as a substitute
Within 12 hrs the vomiting stopped, dd was perkier and we kept her off cows milk for 2 weeks, the theory being some babies /toddlers become a bit lactose intolerant after bugs, but recover soon after, the acidoph helps with this a lot as it restores natural gut functions
It is so stressful and worrying, now 4 wks on my dd is absolutely back to her worst, she was vomiting for over 4 weeks in all
HTH sorry a bit long though..
xx piff

fisilhohoho · 20/12/2004 12:16

Ds had something like this when he was about 6 months. It was diarhhoea with him, but it went on for over a week. As it was summer we were obviously very worried about dehydration, and when I rang NHS Direct that's all they were bothered about. They said that otherwise there was not a problem so long as he still seemed bright and alert. It eventually just stopped.

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 12:27

Piffleoffagus,

I am going to try and get hold of some of the acidopholus powder.....

OP posts:
Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 12:30

Maybe I could try a soyamilk formula. I think there is something in the short term lactose intolerant thing. Ds has a 24 hour bug, got better, and then after another 24 hours this vomiting thing started.... So it fits.....

OP posts:
yulettsdaughter · 20/12/2004 12:58

No advice but hope things start to improve soon wrapmefestively...

Piffleoffagus · 20/12/2004 17:23

good luck we saw an improvement pretty quickly after chopping the milk, it pays to have an alternative though as dd got very ratty about not getting her milk, she did really like rice milk but at 8 mths (my dd was nearly 2) you need the formula... we found goats milk was pretty good too, dd is now on that full time.
Hope your ds gets better very soon, for you and your laundry

shepherdswatchtheircatsbynight · 20/12/2004 17:26

Lol wrap me festivly, for a minute i was very freaked out, i actualy do have non smeary granite work surfaces!!!!

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 20/12/2004 21:32

Lol shepherds!

Thanks everyone for the help. Piffleoffagus, I bought some acidopholus powder. Any idea about the dosage? - on the bottle it just says half a teaspoon per day mixed with milk or sprinkled on food, but doesn't differentiate between adult's and child's dosage....Is it fairly innocuous stuff?

Update....I thought ds was getting a little better. Not much interested in food still but kept his milk down for most of the day...then shortly after tea (which he did amazingly deign to eat! - not very challenging toast and strawberry jam)he did his amazing vomiting trick again and purged the entire lot. 45 minutes later he was due his bed time milk and kept it down. There's no rhyme or reason to it....ah well...

OP posts:
sis · 21/12/2004 09:15

Is there any chance that it could be linked to teething? Ds would do projectile vomiting everytime a tooth made any movement (even if it hadn't cut through yet) and it tended to be accompanied by cold-like symptoms, loads of dribbling and, of course, a lack of normal appetite. If I remember correctly, ds's first tooth cut through at about nine months.

Whatever the cause, you have my sympathies and I hope he gets better soon!

Piffleoffagus · 21/12/2004 09:43

sounds exactly like my dd wrapme
WE literally canned all food and milk, kept her only on water juice and rice milk and the 1/2 tsp acidophulus for 48 hrs, she wasn't great about it, she did moan for her milk but we had to be tough
We also spaced out whatever we gave her by 4 hrs to give her stomach time to empty...
At one point she vomited water but kept down milk, you're right there is no rhyme or reason- I cna never even be sure that we cured it with what we did, but if it was coincidence then so be it!

Piffleoffagus · 21/12/2004 09:44

sis could have something dd is teething rotten second molars and it is said that it cna make them more susceptible to things...
But it should not really cause vomiting for this long ...

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 21/12/2004 10:07

ds has been teething - but all the "books" say that vomiting should not be attributed to teething so I don't know what to make of it...Also his teething has died down (can tell because his teething associated nappy rash is calming down)

Thanks for the continuing support on this everybody. It is getting me down a wee bit.

OP posts:
Original poster
wrapmefestively · 21/12/2004 10:09

Should qualify last sentence - its his sickness that is getting me down a wee bit, not the continuing support!

OP posts:
yulettsdaughter · 21/12/2004 10:26

wmf!

sis · 21/12/2004 15:21

the medical 'experts' also say that there is no link to teething and colds and earaches but my ds forgot to check with the experts before deciding his teething symptoms!

Original poster
wrapmefestively · 21/12/2004 21:36

I know what you mean Sis!

OP posts:
kbaby · 22/12/2004 09:34

We seem to have the same thing. DD 6 month has been sick over the past 2 days but only sick some of her bottles. On the other hand though she is keeping all her food down. Seems happy enough in her self and also has a chesty cough. I cant work out either why its some bottles that she sick from or why she keeps the food down.

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