Baby vomiting and diarrhoea
A doctor explains causes and treatment.
Is your little one vomiting or experiencing diarrhoea? Dr. Alok Patel, paediatrician at Stanford Children's Hospital, explains causes and treatments.
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Ask a doctor: Baby vomiting and diarrhoea
We spend so much time thinking and talking about how much our newborn babies and children are eating. We don't spend a lot of time talking about what's coming out, and sometimes it can be too much. So let's talk about diarrhoea and vomiting.
Baby vomit vs spit up
The first important thing to understand is the difference between spit up and vomiting. In babies, spitting up is perfectly normal and it could be just a little bit of food coming up with burps or sometimes with positioning. Vomiting is often forceful, there's more volume and it upsets little babies.
What causes vomiting in babies?
There are many causes of vomiting in babies and children. It could be an infection. It could be a feeding intolerance. It could be an underlying illness. It could be a congenital issue.
It's just important to pay attention to: How much your baby is vomiting? How often? If it's right after they eat? What colour the vomit is? These are questions that your doctor may ask you.
Baby diarrhoea
Another way for babies to lose a lot of fluid is from diarrhoea. Most paediatricians consider diarrhoea to be a sudden increase in the amount of stools, they're usually watery and about three or more per day.
What causes baby diarrhoea?
Diarrhoea is usually caused by infections or some type of food intolerance or problem with absorption. Basically, food goes into a gut and the body puts too much water into the gut and there's diarrhoea.
What should I do if my baby is vomiting or experiencing diarrhoea?
One of the most important things for all of us to do is to maintain hydration in kids, especially if they're losing a lot of fluids.
And all parents should know the signs of dehydration in children, which could include a dry mouth, dry skin, children no longer making tears, or children not peeing for eight hours or more at a time. And dehydration can be very serious, so it's really important to not delay and seek medical care sooner rather than later.
And if you have any questions you should always reach out to a doctor. I see vomiting and diarrhoea all the time because it happens. I've had it on me. It's all good!
Dr. Alok Patel is a parent, paediatrician at Stanford Children's hospital, producer and ABC News correspondent.
