Vomiting

Watch your child very closely if he or she is vomiting. Babies and small children can get dehydrated very fast. Dehydration is when your body doesn’t have enough water.

Your older child or teen may make themselves throw up. This could be a sign of anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

Questions to Ask

Question 1

Does your child have 1 or more signs of meningitis with vomiting or nausea?

• Stiff neck. Very bad headache that lasts.

• Fever.

• Acts very sleepy and/or strange.

• Red or purple, bumpy skin rash that does not fade when you press on it.

Get medical care without delay. If symptoms are life threatening go to the ER or call 9-1-1. Don’t call 9-1-1 or use the ER if symptoms do not threaten life. Ask your doctor ahead of time where you should go for a problem that needs prompt care, but not emergency care.

Question 2

Does your child vomit over and over again with other signs of Reye’s Syndrome?

Question 3

Does your child have any of these problems along with the vomiting?

• Black or bloody vomit.

• Very bad pain in and around one eye.

• Blurry eyesight.

• A head injury that happened a short time ago.

Question 4

Dehydration is when the body loses too much water. Does your child have any of these signs of dehydration?

• Feeling confused.

• Dry diaper for more than 3 hours in a baby.

• No urine for 6 or more hours in a child.

• Sunken eyes. Crying with no tears. Dry mouth and dry skin.

Question 5

Does your child have very bad stomach pain? Does it last for more than 3 hours? Does it keep hurting even after your child throws up? Or is the vomit greenish-yellow?

Question 6

Does your child have any of these problems?

• Fever.

• Pain below the waist.

• Passing urine very often or wetting the bed (if he or she didn’t before).

• Pain when passing urine. Bad-smelling urine. Very dark urine or the child’s stool (solid waste) is white.

You should be seen by your doctor for medical advice. Contact your doctor or health care provider to find out how soon you should be seen.

Question 7

Does the vomiting come after bad coughing?

You should be seen by your doctor for medical advice. Contact your doctor or health care provider to find out how soon you should be seen.

Question 8

Is your older child or teen making him or herself throw up over and over? Has someone else told you that your child is doing this?

You should be seen by your doctor for medical advice. Contact your doctor or health care provider to find out how soon you should be seen.

Question 9

Has a child under 6 months old been throwing up for more than 6 hours? More than 12 hours if the child is 6 months to 2 years old? Or more than 24 hours if the child is 2 years old and older?

You should be seen by your doctor for medical advice. Contact your doctor or health care provider to find out how soon you should be seen.

Question 10

Is your child taking any medicine that doesn’t work if he or she throws up?

Call your doctor or health care provider and state the problem. He or she can decide what you should do.

Use Self-Care:

You can probably take care of the problem yourself if you answered NO to all the questions. Use the “Self-Care” measures that are listed. Call your doctor if you don’t feel better soon, though. You may have some other problem.

Self-Care

• Be calm and loving. Throwing up can scare a child.

• Keep a bowl or basin near your child. Hold your hand against your child’s forehead when he or she vomits.

• Give your child water to rinse his or her mouth out after throwing up. Sponge your child’s face.

• Take away dirty clothes or bedding. Change to clean ones.

• Don’t smoke near your child.

• Don’t feed your child solid food. Don’t give your child milk.

• Wait 1 hour after your child throws up. Then give your child clear fluids (not too cold or too hot). Here are some examples:

– Pedialyte®, Revital Ice®-rehydrating freezer pops, or other over-the-counter mixtures.

– Lemon-lime soda or ginger ale for older children. Stir the soda until the fizz is gone.

– Gelatin (any color but red).

• Start with 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of liquid every 10 minutes for babies. Start with 1 to 2 ounces every 15 minutes for children. Give twice as much each hour after the vomiting stops. If your child is still vomiting, stop fluids for 1 hour. Then start to give small amounts of fluid again.

• Slowly give your child more and more clear fluids. Don’t make your child drink when he or she doesn’t want anything.

• If you are breast-feeding:

– If the baby throws up 3 or more times, give your baby Pedialyte® or other over-the-counter mixture.

– Go back to nursing when your baby has gone 2 to 4 hours without vomiting. But feed less. Do only one side, and only for about 10 minutes.

– Go back to nursing on both sides after 8 hours of no vomiting. But feed your baby less than usual for about 8 hours.

• For bottle-fed babies: After 12 hours of no vomiting, give formula. But mix 1/2 formula with 1/2 water.

• After your child stops throwing up, keep giving him or her clear fluids, like broth and gelatin (any color but red). Do this for 8 hours. Then give foods easy to digest, like crackers and rice. Then go back to the usual foods your child eats. But wait 12 to 24 hours after the last time your child vomited to give milk.

• Don’t give your child over-the-counter medicine unless the doctor tells you to.

Call the doctor if your child doesn’t get better or if the vomiting comes back.

This website is not meant to substitute for expert medical advice or treatment. Follow your doctor’s or health care provider’s advice if it differs from what is given in this guide.

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