Vomiting and diarrhea are extremely unpleasant symptoms, but almost everyone has to go through them at some point in their lives. Sometimes we know the causes, for example if we have eaten something spoiled, sometimes we cannot explain exactly how it could have come about. The causes of diarrhoea and vomiting are very diverse, as they are relatively unspecific symptoms.
This does not make the situation any easier, especially for children, as the concern is understandably much greater than if you are affected yourself. Usually vomiting and diarrhea disappear within a few days, but if there is a regular accumulation, a clarification by a doctor is recommended. The most common causes of nausea and vomiting in children and adults are discussed below.
Possible causes of vomiting
In everyday medical life, vomiting and diarrhea are distinguished much more finely than is usually the case. The more precisely you can give a doctor information about the type of vomiting or excretion, the easier it is to diagnose. Unfortunately, in many cultures this topic is associated with a certain shame, so that many patients do not even go to the doctor, or only sporadically give information.
At this point, no false reserve is advisable. Although in many cases the causes can be explained with a relatively simple gastrointestinal flu, other, much more serious diseases can also be behind it. The own health for the love, should be reported without euphemism everything that could contribute to the diagnosis and therapy!
Vomiting can occur at certain times, for example, as regularly after eating. With newborns it is important whether they generally refuse to eat or, for example, cry out from hunger, but then vomit the food directly again. Such a symptomatology could indicate an obstruction of the esophagus or the stomach sphincter.
Many other causes of vomiting can be found on our more comprehensive page: Causes of vomiting Since the accumulated food pulp cannot get into the stomach, it is moved back to the mouth by the esophagus’s own movement. The child is then naturally still hungry. In this case, however, the possibility of an aspiration pneumonia is much more dangerous if the food pulp in the throat reaches the lungs.
This can lead to pneumonia, which can be fatal in newborns. Therefore, in such cases an immediate presentation in hospital is necessary. If the child is already older and has never had problems with food intake, it may be a simple gastrointestinal virus.
Children are exposed to a huge range of pathogens in kindergarten – which is not because kindergartens do not clean enough, but because children are much more susceptible to bacteria and viruses, and also “carry” them around with them. Since their immune system is not yet fully developed, they are more susceptible on the one hand, and on the other hand they are real reservoirs of bacteria. Only at the age of 10 their immune system is fully developed, until then it is still in the learning and training phase.
The best known gastrointestinal virus, which likes to infect whole kindergartens, is the Norovirus. This is in itself nothing more than a flu in the intestine. Approximately one to two days after the infection, the virus has multiplied to such an extent, especially in the small intestine, that it becomes noticeable in the affected person.
The consequences are vomiting, abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, up to dizziness and muscle pain. Body temperature rarely exceeds 38 degrees. After 2-3 days the symptoms slowly subside.
During this time it is absolutely important, especially for children, to drink enough fluids, otherwise the body may dry out and electrolyte disorders may occur. Due to the constant diarrhea, the body loses a lot of water, which must be substituted. The motto is as much drinking, best is to eat soup, and keep the loss of liquid as possible within limits.
In children and infants, vomiting and diarrhea can also be completely absent. Often the stomach aches are all the worse for this, and express themselves in a characteristic shrill scream. Babies also typically pull their legs up to their abdomen (so-called embryonic position), as the pain subsides a little.
There is also a risk of intussusception, i.e. an invagination of the intestine. This is usually associated with blood in the stool. In such cases, a medical consultation should be performed immediately to prevent life-threatening complications!Unfortunately, drinking is not always as easy for toddlers as their parents would like.
Especially if the child is in great pain and would like to be left alone, you should encourage him to drink – no easy task. Therefore, many parents ask themselves how they should give their child enough water. There is probably no miracle solution, but sweetened teas are certainly better accepted than mineral water.
Especially with small children and older people, frequent and strong vomiting with insufficient fluid intake can lead to dehydration, i.e. too little fluid in the body. Since this also changes the salt and mineral balance in the body, it can also be life-threatening under certain circumstances. In case of massive vomiting, a doctor should be consulted and medication against vomiting should be used.
Soups also contain a lot of energy and taste good. It is also important to compensate for the loss of electrolytes and calories caused by constant vomiting and diarrhoea. The body needs energy to defend itself against the pathogen.
And it needs electrolytes for its basic functions. Therefore, one should not save on high-calorie food at this moment. However, the basic rules of a sensible diet must always be observed, so tea with honey is certainly more sensible than cola, and salt sticks are more sensible than a bag of jelly babies.
Teething in children is also often associated with vomiting. However, in an American study that documented the breakthrough of teeth in 125 children around the sixth month of life. The study concluded that there is no causal link between teething and vomiting during this period.
It is much more likely that the vomiting is due to an increased susceptibility of the child to infection, since the child loses its maternal nest protection around the time of teething, and the immune system is for the first time completely on its own. In children, infections or congenital malformations are therefore usually the cause of vomiting. With age, however, the possibilities of other diseases increase.
Bloody vomiting, for example, is typical for end-stage alcoholics, since the esophagus can be permanently damaged by alcohol and frequent reflux. Since the esophagus is well supplied with blood, over time the small veins in the lower layers open and bleed into the esophagus. This is aggravated by the fact that the liver of alcoholics has undergone such a severe reconstruction that blood can no longer flow through it.
The blood seeks bypass circuits, including those along the esophagus. If the veins of the esophagus, which are very well supplied with blood, burst, blood is released and consecutive vomiting occurs, since hardly any other substance promotes vomiting as strongly as blood. Unfortunately, patients at this stage can hardly be helped because the transformation processes in the body have already progressed too far.
