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Home › Articles › Feeding Baby › There She Blows!

There She Blows!

Projectile Vomiting in Infants

By Shannon McKelden

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Although even an occasional projectile vomiting episode can be normal in most infants, there are causes of vomiting that are more serious than simple reflux. These include gastroenteritis (an intestinal infection, usually viral), pyloric stenosis (thickening of the muscle at the outlet from the stomach to the small intestine) or congenital abnormalities of the intestinal tract (presenting as bile-stained vomiting in a newborn infant).

"The important thing about projectile vomiting is to remember that it is a symptom, not a diagnosis," Dr. Sanders says. "The first priority is to determine the reason for the vomiting from among the various causes. If an infant is vomiting persistently, he won't be getting enough calories in and may become dehydrated, so establishing the correct diagnosis and treatment is very important."

Dr. Sanders suggests that the following symptoms should be evaluated by a pediatrician:

  • Irritability
  • Lethargy
  • Poor feeding
  • Persistent vomiting
  • Fever
  • Signs of dehydration (such as fewer wet diapers than normal)
  • Green-colored vomit

"Be sure to discuss any concerns about vomiting with your pediatrician," Dr. Sanders says. "And if your child appears ill, consider it an emergent problem."

Dr. Sanders adds that in a small percentage of babies, a milk allergy could present as reflux with projectile vomiting, so a trial of another formula is sometimes tried. This was the case with Kelli Williams' oldest son, who began projectile vomiting at just 2 days old. By the time he was 2 weeks old, she sought help from her pediatrician. She was given a prescription for Bentyl drops.

"We tried this for another week and also had ests run to rule out pyloric stenosis," says Williams, who is a mother of four from Evans, W.V. "During this time, he had managed to gain only a little weight due to the fact that he was losing most of what he took in."


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