Vomiting in newborns and infants

A symptom such as vomiting in a small child can be a non-dangerous symptom if, for example, it appears after overeating. However, much more often vomiting of the child’s body signals adults to various diseases. Why does a child have vomiting episodes, how is it dangerous and how can you help your baby?

In a small child, who often spits up after eating, it is important to be able to distinguish this harmless condition from vomiting, which can be a danger to the health and life of the child:

Although vomiting is a defensive reflex that helps eliminate toxins, microorganisms, foreign bodies, or excess food from the body, quite often it is dangerous for a newborn or infant baby.

Primarily, vomiting is dangerous at the risk of causing a dehydration condition. The child loses mineral salts and fluid, their balance in the tissues is disturbed, which affects the work of the whole organism of the baby. And the smaller the crumb, the more dangerous for him such a loss. As soon as parents notice that the baby’s skin has become dry, the fontanel is sunk, the baby cries without tears, sluggish, there has been no urination for a long time, the baby’s weight has decreased, you should immediately call the doctor.

Another danger for babies with frequent vomiting is weight loss. For an infant, weight is an important indicator, especially if the infant is lightweight or premature.

If vomiting occurs in an infant, it is important to carefully observe the condition of the infant and make sure that it is not regurgitation. In most cases, such a symptom at such an early age should be a reason for referring to a pediatrician. It is better to be safe and show the crumbs to the doctor when the cause of vomiting is a dangerous situation than to miss the time and wait for a severe deterioration of the infant's condition.

Parents must seek medical help in the following situations:

• The child is crying a lot, very restless, he has severe abdominal pain.
• If vomiting is present, the child does not have a chair.
• Symptoms of dehydration began to appear.
• Vomiting repeated many times.
• Emetic masses stand out fountain.
• Vomiting was joined by frequent stools.
• Before vomiting, the child fell from a height or hit his head.
• In the vomit there are blotches of blood, the masses have a brown or black color.
• The child has a fever, he is drowsy and lethargic.
• The kid refuses to eat and drink.
• With vomiting stands out everything that the baby ate and drank.

• It is important not to start panicking, but to calmly wait for the pediatrician, being with the child.
• Baby should be in a vertical position.
• Try to move less child.
• Wash baby after each episode of vomiting and rinse the mouth of the crumbs.
• Do not feed the baby any other food other than breast milk or the usual mixture.
• Let's crumble drinking solutions with electrolytes.
• If you gave the baby a solution, and after that there was again an attack of vomiting, try to give the solution a drink again.
• Do not give any other drugs.

To prevent dehydration, give the baby plenty of fluids. If the baby receives breast milk, it is necessary to apply the baby to the breast very often. The best option for replenishing the fluid lost during vomiting will be the use of special pharmaceutical mixtures of electrolytes.

If it is not possible to give the pharmacy drugs for rehydration to the baby, you can prepare the solution for sealing yourself, by dissolving salt (a teaspoon without a slide) and sugar (4-5 teaspoons) in boiled water (1 liter). Store this solution can be up to 24 hours. It should be given to the baby several milliliters every 5-10 minutes.

A child with vomiting cannot be treated with rice water, fruit juices, carbonated drinks, any kind of tea, or chicken broth or cow's milk. The use of such drinks can further increase the symptoms of dehydration.

When a child begins to vomit and diarrhea joins her, some parents think about antibiotics. However, in young children, the use of antibacterial agents can be dangerous and cause a number of complications. Only a doctor should prescribe an antibiotic to a baby with vomiting.

Both vomiting and liquefied stools are defensive reactions that help to remove harmful substances, bacteria and toxins from the baby’s body more quickly. The use of anti-diarrhea slows down the purification of the gastrointestinal tract from such substances, which often leads to deterioration.Prescribing antidiarrheal drugs should be done only by a doctor and is justified only in cases of very heavy diarrhea, when the stool is watery and the child loses a lot of fluid with them.

This group of drugs is considered relatively safe for children, but when it comes to treating infants, any medication should be given to the child very carefully. Sometimes the use of sorbents causes serious complications in young children.

Studies have confirmed the effectiveness of the use of zinc in the treatment of diarrhea in children. However, before giving these drugs to an infant, it is imperative to discuss this treatment with a pediatrician.

Prescription of drugs of these groups is justified in situations when vomiting was caused by a bacterial or viral intestinal infection, as well as when the baby was treated with antibacterial agents.

You should be alerted by the following signs:

• Despite the measures taken, the condition of the crumbs worsened.
• Neither vomiting nor diarrhea becomes weaker in the last 24 hours.
• The baby has lethargy and drowsiness.
• You began to give the child a lot of drinking, and vomiting increased.