My 7 year old son has had the feeling of throwing up overwhelm him quite a few times a day at random times for over a week now. My husband seems to think it is all in his head because he has been afraid to throw up since he had the stomach flu many months ago. I completely disagree. He often feels sick if he passes a small window of needing to eat, but now he can feel this way after eating too. I keep thinking it may just be a bug but it has become so random and is still bothering him I am starting to wonder if it could be something else, possibly not eating enough at school lunch at 11:30am and then doesn't have a snack until he gets home at 5pm? Any suggestions?
Another angle: how are his bowels?
Could he be constipated?
Just a thought.
They DO make a special children's Pepto Bismal. (Never give adult Pepto to kids!)
Definitely get the doctor involved. If the doctor is dismissive or condescending about your concerns -- get to another doctor.
This could be one of many things: Reflux; food allergy; blood sugar issues. You really need to rule out medical causes before your husband goes around assuming "it's all in his head."
You mention that your son goes from 11:30 lunch until 5:00 without eating. So there is no chance at all for a midafternoon snack? That is a long, long time for a kid this age to go without a snack, especially if he's active at all. I would insist with his school that he must have a snack at 2:30 or 3:00 (or whenever would work for him) on the basis that he gets nauseated between lunch and dinner without one. If they say no, tell them you are getting a doctor's note to that effect -- and then DO so. The fact he's now getting nauseated both when he misses this "window of needing to eat" and when he has just eaten could both indicate blood sugar issues.
Even if there are no medical issues, he does need a healthy, protein-based midafternoon snack to keep him going. Ensure he gets one. And do see the doctor and be assertive about asking for blood sugar and reflux and stomach virus tests. You may need to eliminate certain foods from his diet over time in order to find out if a food allergy is involved. But basically, no one should feel nauseated this often - something is going on.
Blood sugar? Any history of diabetes or hypoglycemia in the family? Could it be an inner ear disturbance? Has he had a head cold or complain of ear aches?Is he prone to motion sickness?
Maybe keep a food journal for awhile to see what he is eating and try to pinpoint when these episodes come on. Is he noticing he feels nauseated when he eats sugary, salty or processed foods that cause a surge in insulin/blood sugar and then crashes quickly after? It could definitely be he is going way too long without eating between lunch and dinner. I would definitely give him a healthy snack of some sort (protein/carb combo has good staying power) How does he feel emotionally when he has these episodes? Anxious, stressed, worried about anything?
I would call your doctor's nurse tomorrow and explain the symptoms you have been noticing. Or call the answering service tonight if your son is uncomfortable right now. The nurse will be able to tell you if your son needs to be seen by the doctor. I hope he feels better soon. That feeling is awful!
HTH,
A.
This happened to my brother-in-law as an older ADULT after having a stomach flu, K.. It turned out that he had some kind of thing from eating undercooked chicken (I don't want to say what it was because I forgot - if I just guess and am wrong, that's not helpful.)
Here's the thing. Everytime he ate fruit, he'd get sick. That's how they figured out that what he had had when he was sick came from underdone chicken. I seem to remember that they had to give him antibiotics to make him finally stop getting sick.
My own son got salmonella when he was in kinder. It was awful - he was pooping blood, throwing up, sleeping all day long and all night, lost a lot of weight, and scared me to death. It took a while for him to get well, but then boom! He'd get sick out of the blue just like when he was sick the first time, except no bloody poop. The doctor explained that it took a long time to get it out of his system. I knew he wasn't making his stomach aches up - my goodness, it hit him on Halloween when all his friends at school were having fun and getting to eat candy. He couldn't eat anything.
I'd talk to the doctor and ask them to see if any of what I've talked about could be the problem. They should do a stool culture and blood test on him, at the very least.
Brainstorm with the doctor, in the meantime, to try different things to help him. I hope you can figure this out and fix this for him.
Dawn
My son was like that and the doctor found out he had that bacteria in his stomach, is it H Pylorie? Something like that. After antibiotics he was fine.
I agree with the other moms that say take him in to his doctor if he's not better soon.
I would have him checked by his pediatrician since so many thing can contribute to nausea. My son suffered from vertigo for years due to imbalance in his ears. It took us a long time to figure out the root cause...which eventually turned out to be allergies, go figure.
Anyway, it's difficult for the kids to communicate the symptoms and how they feel...heck, we adults have difficulty with it. Hopefully, you can work with your pediatrician to decode the symptoms.
Did he really have the stomach flu or was a food allergy? The first time my son ate peanuts he threw up and we thought he had the stomach flu. The second time he had peanuts and threw up we thought it might be an allergy. We took him to the doctors and indeed he has a peanut allergy. For a few months after he vomited from the peanuts, he seemed super sensitive to a variety of foods. This sensitivity to other foods went away after a few months. He is only allergic to peanuts.
The things that come to the top of my head is low blood sugars since it seems to have a window between not eating. Or reflux that gets worst when he doesnt have a full tummy. If I am being active (or shopping it gets much worst in malls or crowded areas) and I dont eat I will get claustrophobic, sweaty and swear Im going to throw up or pass out but then once I eat I feel much better. Or it could be a virus that is causing some vertigo issues. If it does continue I would get him evaluated. Until then see if he can carry a snack (or even mints) in his backpack that he can suck on when he starts to feel bad.
Due to the duration, he should be seen by a doctor. Jot down some notes to give a timeline.
Even if it is 'in his head' (stress induced vomiting, for example) there is still a problem to solve.
If it doesn't pass in the next day or two, or there's any other odd symptoms, headache, frequent urination, dizziness, I'd have him see the DR and check his blood sugar as well as just a good check up. Hope it's "nothing" and he feels better soon.
i remember when I got calls everyday from y sons school in second grade to come pick him up because he has an upset belly...after a bazillion dr apts- it was his way of showing stress....
