Many common childhood illnesses can cause vomiting. Most resolve quickly, but some may require medical attention. Watch for dehydration.
Babies vomiting is a pretty common cause for concern among new parents — who knew such a volume of throw-up could come from such a tiny baby?
Many common baby and childhood illnesses can cause vomiting, even if your baby doesn’t have a fever or other symptoms.
However, most causes of baby vomiting go away on their own. Your baby likely won’t need treatment — except for a bath, a change of clothes, and some serious cuddling. Other, less common causes of vomiting might require a visit to your baby’s pediatrician.
See your baby’s pediatrician if your baby has vomiting for longer than 12 hours. Babies can get dehydrated quickly if they’re vomiting.
Get immediate medical attention if your baby is vomiting and has other symptoms and signs like:
- diarrhea
- pain or discomfort
- constant or forceful coughing
- hasn’t had a wet diaper for 3 to 6 hours
- refusing to feed
- dry lips or tongue
- few or no tears when crying
- extra tired or sleepy
- weakness or floppy
- won’t smile
- swollen or bloated stomach
- blood in diarrhea
There are many possible causes of vomiting in a baby. Here are a few of the most common:
Babies have to learn everything from scratch, including how to feed and keep the milk down. Along with spit-up, your baby may vomit occasionally after being fed. This is most common in the first month of life.
It happens because your baby’s tummy is still getting used to digesting food. They also have to learn not to gulp milk down too fast or overfeed.
Post-feeding vomiting typically stops after the first month. To help stop the vomiting, give your baby more frequent, smaller feeds.
But let your pediatrician know if your baby vomits often or has very forceful vomits. In some cases, it might be a sign of something other than feeding difficulty.
Also known as a “stomach bug” or “stomach flu,” gastroenteritis is an infection of the digestive tract. It’s a common cause of vomiting in babies and children and is typically caused by a virus that typically resolves in around a week.
Your baby may have cycles of vomiting that come and go for about 24 hours. Other symptoms in babies may last for 4 days or longer:
- watery, runny poop or mild diarrhea
- irritability or crying
- poor appetite
- stomach cramps and pain
Gastroenteritis can also cause a fever, but this is less common in babies. It is generally not serious in adults and older children, but in babies, it can lead to dehydration, which is serious.
Call your pediatrician immediately if your baby has any signs of dehydration:
- dry skin, mouth, or eyes
- unusual sleepiness
- no wet diapers for 8 to 12 hours
- weak cry
- crying without tears
Just like adults, some babies can have acid reflux and GERD. This can lead to baby vomiting in the first weeks or months of your baby’s life.
Vomiting from acid reflux happens when the muscles at the top of the stomach are too relaxed. This triggers baby vomiting shortly after feeding.
In most cases, the stomach muscles strengthen as your baby ages, and the vomiting goes away on its own. Meanwhile, you can help slow down the vomiting by:
- avoiding overfeeding
- giving smaller, more frequent feeds
- burping your baby often
- holding your baby upright
- safely propping your baby up in an upright position, with supervision, for about 30 minutes after feeding
Your child’s pediatrician may recommend adding a small amount of baby cereal to the bottles, but this IS not suitable for all babies since it can be a choking risk.
Babies catch colds easily because their immune systems are still developing. Your baby may have six to eight colds a year.
Colds can cause different symptoms in babies. In addition to a runny nose, your baby may also have vomiting without a fever. A cold may last longer in children than in adults.
Too much mucus in the nose (congestion) can lead to a nasal drip. This can trigger bouts of forceful coughing that sometimes cause vomiting in babies and children.
Colds and flu in babies are viral and go away after about a week. In some cases, sinus congestion may turn into an infection. In some cases, your baby may need antibiotics to treat any bacterial — not viral — infection.
Ear infections are another common illness in babies and children. This is because their ear tubes are horizontal rather than vertical, like in adults.
If your little one has an ear infection, they might have nausea and vomiting without a fever. This happens because an ear infection can cause dizziness and loss of balance. Other symptoms of ear infections in babies include:
- pain in one or both ears
- tugging or scratching at or near the ears
- fussiness
- diarrhea
Most ear infections in babies and children go away without treatment. However, it’s important to see a pediatrician in case your baby needs antibiotics to clear up the infection. In rare cases, serious or frequent ear infections can damage a baby’s inner ear.
While it’s true that the womb was warm and cozy, babies can overheat quickly in hot weather or in a very warm house or car. This is because their tiny bodies are less able to sweat out heat. Overheating might cause vomiting and dehydration.
Overheating can lead to heat exhaustion or, in very serious cases, heatstroke. Look for other symptoms like:
- pale, clammy skin
- irritability and crying
- sleepiness or floppiness
If you think your baby is overheating, Get urgent medical attention if your baby doesn’t seem their usual self.
Immediately remove clothing and keep them out of the sun and away from heat. Try to nurse (or give your baby water if they’re 6 months or older).
Babies under the age of 2 years don’t commonly get motion or car sickness, but some babies may get sick after a car ride or being twirled around — especially if they’ve just eaten.
Motion sickness can make your baby dizzy and nauseous, leading to vomiting. It might be more likely to happen if your baby already has an upset tummy from bloating, gas, or constipation.
Strong smells and windy or bumpy roads can also make your baby dizzy. Nausea triggers more saliva, so you might notice more drool before your baby vomits.
You can help prevent motion sickness by traveling when your baby is ready to sleep. A sleeping baby is less likely to feel queasy.
Keep their head well supported in the car seat so it doesn’t move around too much. Also, avoid going for a drive right after giving your baby a full feed.
Galactosemia is a rare kind of milk intolerance. It happens when babies are born without a certain enzyme needed to break down sugars in milk. Some babies with this condition are even sensitive to breast milk.
Galactosemia can cause nausea and vomiting after drinking milk or any kind of dairy product. It can also cause a skin rash or itching in both babies and adults.
If your baby is formula-fed, check the ingredients for any dairy, including milk proteins.
Most newborns are screened at birth for this rare condition and other illnesses. This is usually done with a heel prick blood test or a urine test.
In the rare event that your baby has this, you’ll know it very early on. Make sure your baby completely avoids milk to help stop vomiting and other symptoms.
Pyloric stenosis, also called infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) in babies, is a rare condition that happens when the opening between the stomach and intestines is blocked or too narrow. It can lead to forceful vomiting after feeding.
If your baby has pyloric stenosis, they may be hungry all the time. Other symptoms include:
- dehydration
- weight loss
- wave-like stomach contractions
- constipation
- fewer bowel movements
- fewer wet diapers
This rare condition can be treated with surgery. If your baby has any of the symptoms of pyloric stenosis, tell your pediatrician immediately.
Intussusception is a rare intestinal condition. It affects around
This condition happens when the intestines are damaged by a virus or other health conditions. The damaged intestine slips — “telescopes” — into another part of the intestine.
Along with vomiting, a baby may have severe stomach cramps that last for about 15 minutes. The pain can cause some babies to curl their knees up to their chest.
Other symptoms of this intestinal condition include:
- fatigue and tiredness
- nausea
- blood or mucus in bowel movements
If your baby has intussusception, treatment can push the intestine back into place. This gets rid of vomiting, pain, and other symptoms. Treatment includes using air in the intestines to gently move the intestines. If that doesn’t work, keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery heals this condition.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between vomit and spit-up. Both may look the same since your baby is on a steady diet of milk or formula. The main difference is in how the liquid comes out.
Spit-up usually happens before or after a burp and is most common in babies under the age of 1 year old. Spit-up will easily flow from your baby’s mouth — almost like white, milky drool.
Vomit typically comes out forcefully (whether you’re a baby or an adult). This is because vomiting happens when the muscles around the stomach are triggered by the brain’s “vomiting center” to squeeze it. This forces whatever is in the stomach to be hurled out.
In a baby’s case, vomit may look like milky spit-up but have more clear stomach juices mixed into it. It may also look like milk that has been fermented for a little while — this is called “cheesing.”
Your baby may also cough or make little retching noises before they vomit. This is likely the only warning you’ll have to grab a towel or burp cloth.
Additionally, spit-up is normal and can happen at any time. Your baby will only vomit if there’s a digestive issue or they have another illness.
A baby can have vomiting without a fever caused by several common illnesses. Your baby will likely have one or more of these illnesses several times in the first year. Most of these illnesses go away on their own, and your little one will stop vomiting without any treatment.
However, too much vomiting can lead to dehydration. Check for signs of dehydration and call your pediatrician if you’re not sure.
Some causes of baby vomiting are more serious, but these are rare. Your baby will need medical care for these health conditions.