Toddler throwing up - what can this be?

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amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:16 am

On New Year's Day, my 2-year-old son tested positive for strep throat. He had a fever with no respiratory symptoms. He was prescribed antibiotics and seemed fine a couple of days later.

On the 8th day of antibiotics, he suddenly had fever of 104 and was breathing heavily. We took him to the doctor, who tested for strep and flu (negative). The doctor said it was a virus which mimicked strep and the respiratory symptoms were due to fever. My son had fever for a few days (he's prone to high fever when he has a virus), but we kept it down with Tylenol, and he was fine.

On the 4th day of the virus, his fever broke. I sent him to playgroup on Monday (after 24 hours since the fever broke) and he was fine, totally normal and happy. Monday night, he threw up a bunch of times, but a tiny amount each time. It seemed to be from fish sticks that may have been undercooked. It was weird, though - he had no fever, was totally fine when he was standing or sitting and playing, but the minute he'd lie down, he'd throw up a little bit again. This happened at least 5 or 6 times. Also, my daughter had the same fishsticks and hasn't had any symptoms at all.

Yesterday, my son was again totally fine, but I kept him out of playgroup as a precaution. Last night, he once again threw up a few times, with the same situation - every time he lay down, he'd throw up a little bit of last night's dinner.

I'm sending him back to the doctor today, but does anyone have any idea of what's going on?

amother

Aquamarine

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:21 am

Antibiotics could cause upset stomach

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:24 am

amother [ Aquamarine ] wrote:

Antibiotics could cause upset stomach

But 5 days later?

amother

Cyan

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:26 am

Might be a stomach virus.

tsc3

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:27 am

Vertigo? Only because you said it happened when he lay down.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:29 am

tsc3 wrote:

Vertigo? Only because you said it happened when he lay down.

But he's not saying he's dizzy or anything, and he's quite a verbal kid. He'd tell me if he were.

Surrendered

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:30 am

Might be a good idea to take him to a GI Doctor to check it out.
My 2 yo son had similar symptoms and was then diagnosed with a condition.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:30 am

amother [ Cyan ] wrote:

Might be a stomach virus.

But only when he lies down at night? It didn't happen when he napped yesterday. I had forgotten about that - it's even more odd.

Also, he always gets fever when he has a virus, no matter the type.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:31 am

Surrendered wrote:

Might be a good idea to take him to a GI Doctor to check it out.
My 2 yo son had similar symptoms and was then diagnosed with a condition.

For a couple of days and only at night?

groovy1224

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:37 am

Is he constipated? When my son was a toddler, he would sometimes have a thing where when he went to bed at night, if he was constipated he would vomit a little, because the food had nowhere to go. It would occasionally happen when he was sitting up, but was usually around an hour after he went to bed at night.

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 11:53 am

reflux from antibiotics/illness. Get his a good quality probiotics and don't give him fried or spicy foods. Raise the head of the bed. Maybe take him off dairy for a week or two while he recovers.

ectomorph

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:08 pm

Take him to GI. Could it be CIBO? But GI should take a look.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:10 pm

groovy1224 wrote:

Yes, he's constipated. Interesting.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:12 pm

amother [ Emerald ] wrote:

reflux from antibiotics/illness. Get his a good quality probiotics and don't give him fried or spicy foods. Raise the head of the bed. Maybe take him off dairy for a week or two while he recovers.

This makes the most sense. What kinds of foods would be good for him, especially if I do take him off dairy?

I can't really raise the head of the bed - it's a toddler bed. What else can I do so that he's not lying prone? I was thinking of giving him a husband pillow to lean on, but I think that's too upright and annoying to sleep with...

groovy1224

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:17 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Yes, he's constipated. Interesting.

So then it's worth investigating, I was going crazy from it until I took him to a GI and she told me to give him some miralax and see if that solved the problem. Toddlers tend to try to hold it in when they are constipated, because it hurts to go, which causes their whole digestive system to back up. The result was that he would vomit partially digested food, but had no other symptoms. And similar to your son, it would happen more when he was lying down vs standing or sitting up. He was fine before he vomited, fine right after, had no fever or other discomforts.

shanarishona

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:22 pm

yes -
try taking him off dairy. (or giving lactaid)

antibiotics (or the diarrehea from antibiotics) can cause temporary (a few weeks) lactose intolerance.

My toddler had nightly stomachaches until Thank G-d his allergist figured it out!

amother

Emerald

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:28 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What else does your kid like to eat?

You can raise the head of a toddler bed by putting a stack of text books under the legs at the head of the bed. I did it for my daughter.

Also, if you think it's constipation related, I would skip the miralax and use Natural Calm instead. It's very effective and less side effects.

amother

Wed, Jan 15 2020, 1:32 pm

amother [ Emerald ] wrote:

He's a picky eater to begin with. He likes carbs like pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. He did have protein the last 2 nights - chicken and meat, but the chicken was baked, not fried. He likes omelets.

If I have enough textbooks in the house... my kids are little.

Link to natural calm?

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