Dysphagia: Difficulty Swallowing and What It Means

Swallowing seems like such a simple act that many of us take it for granted — until we develop a swallowing problem, and daily tasks like speaking and eating become a major challenge. Dysphagia is the medical term used to describe trouble swallowing, and it’s a problematic symptom that needs treatment — maybe even speech therapy — to correct.

Dysphagia is a common symptom, particularly in older adults. Studies show that between 10 and 33 percent of older adults are affected by dysphagia.

 But it’s not only a factor of age, as anyone can experience trouble swallowing.

Types of Dysphagia, or Difficulty Swallowing

There are two main types of dysphagia, each categorized by the part of the body that is affected. The two types have different symptoms.

Esophageal Dysphagia

With esophageal dysphagia, the esophagus (the tube that connects the throat to the stomach, allowing food to travel into the stomach) is damaged in some way and swallowing is affected. Symptoms of esophageal dysphagia include:

• Signs of malnutrition and dehydration
• Weight loss
• Lack of interest in food
• Pain in the chest when you swallow
• Coughing in the night that wakes you up
• Vomiting up food after you swallow it
• A sensation of food getting stuck in the chest in the area of the breastbone

Oropharyngeal Dysphagia

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a swallowing problem that originates from an issue or abnormality affecting the throat or mouth. Symptoms of oropharyngeal dysphagia include:

• Signs of malnutrition and dehydration
• Lack of interest in food
• Weight loss
• Frequent cough or choking during swallowing
• Clearing the throat often
• Swallowing frequently
• Taking a long time to chew food
• Moving the head or neck in a strange motion while swallowing
• Painful swallowing
• Problems breathing while eating
• Getting food stuck in the throat often
• Drooling
• Expelling liquids out of the nose

Conditions That Cause or Contribute to Dysphagia

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is one condition that can cause dysphagia. With EoE, there’s an overpopulation of certain cells called eosinophils in the esophagus.

 This buildup of eosinophils can cause damage, narrowing, and inflammation of the esophagus, which may lead to swallowing problems or food impaction (where food gets stuck in the esophagus). Researchers believe that the disease is related to food allergies.

Certain neurological conditions, like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), multiple sclerosis, polio, and Parkinson’s disease may also lead to swallowing difficulties. While dysphagia symptoms may occur at any time, they typically surface during the later stages of these diseases.

People with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia may also experience trouble swallowing. They may get tired easily or forget how to chew their food.

Some research has shown that dysphagia occurs in about 75 percent of patients with Alzheimer’s.

Other common causes of dysphagia include:

• Diseases that affect the muscles
• Congenital abnormalities that affect sucking or swallowing
• A tumor in the throat or on the tongue
• A stroke
• Damage to the esophagus (from radiation or ingesting toxic substances)
• GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or persistent heartburn
• Cancer of the head or neck
• An infection
• Food allergies
• Diseases that affect the vascular system, like lupus or scleroderma

Complications of Dysphagia or Chronic Trouble Swallowing

Choking can happen when food gets stuck in the throat. A person can die if the food item completely blocks their airway, and medical interventions, such as the Heimlich maneuver, aren’t successful.

Dysphagia can keep people from wanting to, or being able to, eat and swallow — resulting in nutritional deficiencies, weakness, too much weight loss, and dehydration. The esophagus may also weaken and form a “trap” that allows food to become stuck in it, expanding and keeping food and liquid from reaching the stomach.

Another serious complication, called aspiration pneumonia, can occur when a person aspirates — or takes food into the lungs because of trouble swallowing. The food can become lodged in the lungs, where bacteria may grow and cause an infection.

Treatment and Therapy Options for Dysphagia Depend on the Root Cause

Treatment will depend on the cause of the dysphagia and which part of the body is affected.

Medications

Medications may be prescribed to treat an underlying condition that is responsible for dysphagia.

Therapy

Many people need therapy to strengthen their muscles and improve swallowing. Exercises can boost coordination and build tone in the muscles of the face to manage dysphagia. Finding easier ways to eat (like turning the head a certain way or altering food and drink) may also help. Speech therapy often focuses on techniques to facilitate swallowing, and it can teach people with dysphagia how to continue to eat and swallow despite any physical limitations.

In the most severe cases, a feeding tube is necessary to ensure nourishment when a person can no longer chew and swallow independently.

Surgery

Surgery may be required to fix abnormalities of the throat or esophagus to make difficult swallowing a little easier.

Diet for Dysphagia

Some people with dysphagia find that dietary changes improve their symptoms. They may have to eat foods that are soft and moist, or carefully dice, mince, mash, or puree foods that aren’t.

Thickening agents can minimize swallowing issues for people who have trouble with thin liquids.

Getting rid of distractions during mealtime and eating when you’re most alert can also help.

Individuals with food allergies or EoE may try an elimination diet, which involves removing suspected food triggers and gradually reintroducing them to try to figure out what’s causing negative reactions.

Finding Help for Dysphagia

If you have trouble swallowing, you should talk to your doctor. Dysphagia is often a complex condition to treat. Swallowing is an intricate process that involves many muscles and nerves in the body.

To help with your swallowing issues, you may need to see one or more of the following specialists:

• Otolaryngologist
• Neurologist
• Gastroenterologist
• Speech-language pathologist
• Dietician

Rumination syndrome – Symptoms and causes

Overview

Rumination syndrome is a condition in which people repeatedly and unintentionally spit up (regurgitate) undigested or partially digested food from the stomach, rechew it, and then either reswallow it or spit it out.

Because the food hasn’t yet been digested, it reportedly tastes normal and isn’t acidic, as vomit is. Rumination typically happens at every meal, soon after eating.

It’s not clear how many people have this disorder. Treatment may include behavioral therapy or medications. Behavioral therapy that involves teaching people to breathe from the diaphragm is the usual treatment of choice.

Symptoms

• Effortless regurgitation, typically within 10 minutes of eating
• Abdominal pain or pressure relieved by regurgitation
• A feeling of fullness
• Bad breath
• Nausea
• Unintentional weight loss

Rumination syndrome isn’t usually associated with retching.

When to see a doctor

Consult a doctor if you or your child persistently regurgitates food.

Causes

The precise cause of rumination syndrome isn’t clear. But it appears to be caused by an increase in abdominal pressure.

Rumination syndrome is frequently confused with bulimia nervosa, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gastroparesis. Some people have rumination syndrome linked to a rectal evacuation disorder, in which poor coordination of pelvic floor muscles leads to chronic constipation.

The condition has long been known to occur in infants and people with developmental disabilities. It’s now clear that the condition isn’t related to age, as it can occur in children, teens and adults. Rumination syndrome is more likely to occur in people with anxiety, depression or other psychiatric disorders.

Complications

Untreated, rumination syndrome can damage the tube between your mouth and stomach (esophagus).

Rumination syndrome can also cause:

• Unhealthy weight loss
• Malnutrition
• Dental erosion
• Bad breath
• Embarrassment
• Social isolation

Rumination syndrome care at Mayo Clinic

Oct. 14, 2020

Show references

1. AskMayoExpert. Nausea and vomiting (adult). Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2018.
2. Absah I, et al. Rumination syndrome: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Neurogastroenterology and Motility. 2017;29:1.
3. Halland M, et al. Rumination syndrome. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Aug. 28, 2018.
4. Wyllie R, et al., eds. Gastric motility disorders. In: Pediatric Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2016. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Aug. 28, 2018.
5. Halland M, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of rumination syndrome. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. In press. Accessed Aug. 28, 2018.
6. Feldman M, et al. Nausea and vomiting. In: Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2016. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Aug. 28, 2018.
7. Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. Sept. 11, 2018.

Gastroparesis in Children | Boston Children’s Hospital

Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach muscles do not work properly. As a result, food empties from the stomach very slowly, or not at all. Children with this disorder may feel full all the time, be very nauseous, have pain, or vomit undigested food left in the stomach. There isn’t yet a cure for gastroparesis. In some cases, it gets better after a few months to years, and in others it may be a lifelong condition. But with proper management and diet, specialists can help you and your child control the symptoms.

What are the symptoms of gastroparesis?

The most common symptom of gastroparesis is vomiting. Children with this condition often get sick late in the day after a meal and commonly vomit foods eaten several hours earlier. Other symptoms may include:

What causes gastroparesis?

Experts don’t yet know exactly what causes gastroparesis. In many cases, it starts after an infection. Other risk factors include:

• surgery, particularly fundoplication, a procedure that controls reflux in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• medications, such as anticholinergics and certain chemotherapy drugs
• congenital defects that affect the stomach or abdomen, such as gastroschisis, which cause a baby’s intestines to stick out of the body
• other underlying conditions, including diabetes, hypothyroidism, neurologic disorders, or metabolic disorders such as Riley Day syndrome

How we care for gastroparesis

If we suspect that your child has gastroparesis, we will recommend motility testing to evaluate and diagnose the condition. Boston Children’s Hospital is known worldwide for our advanced gastrointestinal motility testing services. In fact, many of our motility doctors are pioneers in the development of the newest, noninvasive tests. Once your child has been diagnosed, the team of experienced clinicians in Boston Children’s Motility and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Center will work with you and your child to develop a personalized treatment plan that draws from the latest therapies and research available.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) | UVA Health

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) results when gastric acid, food and liquid from the stomach chronically flow up into the esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach).

While most Americans suffer from heartburn at one time or another, it is estimated that 17 million Americans suffer from chronic GERD.

What Causes GERD?

GERD occurs when a weak muscle at the bottom of your esophagus lets the contents of your stomach travel up, out of your stomach.  

Along with dozen of other conditions, hernias, ulcers, scleroderma and some medications can weaken this muscle. 

Lifestyle factors that can increase the risk of heartburn or GERD include:

• Overweight
• Exercising right after eating (especially jogging or strenuous activity)
• Smoking
• Lying down soon after meals
• Bending over or straining, especially soon after meals
• Alcohol (especially excess) use
• Eating chocolate
• Drinking carbonated beverages, caffeinated beverages and decaffeinated coffee
• Eating spicy foods or acidic foods like citrus or tomatoes

The Effects of GERD

Untreated, GERD can cause longterm complications, like:

• Esophagitis – inflammation of the esophagus
• Bleeding and ulcers in the esophagus
• Dental problems (due to the effect of stomach acid on tooth enamel)
• Chronic laryngitis
• Asthma attacks and/or pneumonia 
• Barrett’s esophagus – a precancerous condition that can lead to esophageal cancer
• Esophageal cancer – may develop in patients who have Barrett’s esophagus

GERD Symptoms

The most common symptoms of GERD include:

• Heartburn – a burning feeling that starts in the lower chest and may move up the throat
• Frequent, persistent, recurrent or chronic indigestion:
  • Upper abdominal pain or discomfort following a meal
  • Burping, bloating, heartburn, nausea and vomiting
• Sour or bitter taste in the back of mouth or throat
• Symptoms worsen when bending over, lying down, exercising or lifting heavy objects

GERD can also lead to bad breath, sore throat, cough, insomnia, wheezing, chest pain and sleep apnea.

GERD Treatment Options

We can help you find relief. We can support eating and exercise habits that can prove effective as GERD treatment.

If GERD persists, you may choose surgery, called fundoplication.

Content was created using EBSCO’s Health Library. Edits to original content made by Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) in Children

What is GERD?

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a long-term (chronic) digestive disorder. It happens when stomach contents flow back up (reflux) into the food pipe (esophagus).

GERD is a more serious and long-lasting form of gastroesophageal reflux (GER).

GER is common in babies under 2 years old. Most babies spit up a few times a day during their first 3 months. GER does not cause any problems in babies. In most cases, babies outgrow this by the time they are 12 to 14 months old.

It is also common for children and teens ages 2 to 19 to have GER from time to time. This doesn’t always mean they have GERD.

When GER becomes GERD

Your baby, child, or teen may have GERD if:

• Your baby’s symptoms prevent him or her from feeding. These symptoms may include vomiting, gagging, coughing, and trouble breathing.
• Your baby has GER for more than 12 to 14 months
• Your child or teen has GER more than 2 times a week, for a few months 

What causes GERD?

GERD is often caused by something that affects the LES, the lower esophageal sphincter. The LES is a muscle at the bottom of the food pipe (esophagus). The LES opens to let food into the stomach. It closes to keep food in the stomach. When the LES relaxes too often or for too long, stomach acid flows back into the esophagus. This causes vomiting or heartburn.

Everyone has reflux from time to time. If you have ever burped and had an acid taste in your mouth, you have had reflux. Sometimes the LES relaxes at the wrong times. Often your child will just have a bad taste in his or her mouth. Or your child may have a short, mild feeling of heartburn.

Babies are more likely to have a weak LES. This makes the LES relax when it should stay shut. As food or milk is digesting, the LES opens. It lets the stomach contents go back up to the esophagus. Sometimes the stomach contents go all the way up the esophagus. Then the baby or child vomits. In other cases, the stomach contents only go part of the way up the esophagus. This causes heartburn or breathing problems. In some cases there are no symptoms at all.

Some foods seem to affect the muscle tone of the LES. They let the LES stay open longer than normal. These foods include:

• Chocolate
• Peppermint
• High-fat foods

Other foods cause the stomach to make more acid. These foods include:

• Citrus foods
• Tomatoes and tomato sauces

Other things that may lead to GERD include:

• Being obese
• Medicines, including some antihistamines, antidepressants, and pain medicines
• Being around secondhand smoke

What are the risk factors for GERD?

GERD is very common during a baby’s first year of life. It often goes away on its own. Your child is more at risk for GERD if he or she has:

• Down syndrome
• Neuromuscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy

What are the symptoms of GERD?

Heartburn, or acid indigestion, is the most common symptom of GERD. Heartburn is described as a burning chest pain. It begins behind the breastbone and moves up to the neck and throat. It can last as long as 2 hours. It is often worse after eating. Lying down or bending over after a meal can also lead to heartburn.

Children younger than age 12 will often have different GERD symptoms. They will have a dry cough, asthma symptoms, or trouble swallowing. They won’t have classic heartburn.

Each child may have different symptoms. Common symptoms of GERD include:

• Burping or belching
• Not eating
• Having stomach pain
• Being fussy around mealtimes
• Vomiting often
• Having hiccups
• Gagging
• Choking
• Coughing often
• Having coughing fits at night

Other symptoms may include:

• Wheezing
• Getting colds often
• Getting ear infections often
• Having a rattling in the chest
• Having a sore throat in the morning
• Having a sour taste in the mouth
• Having bad breath
• Loss or decay of tooth enamel

GERD symptoms may seem like other health problems. Make sure your child sees his or her healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

How is GERD diagnosed?

Your child’s healthcare provider will do a physical exam and take a health history. Other tests may include:

• Chest X-ray. An X-ray can check for signs that stomach contents have moved into the lungs. This is called aspiration.
• Upper GI series or barium swallow. This test looks at the organs of the top part of your child’s digestive system. It checks the food pipe (esophagus), the stomach, and the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). Your child will swallow a metallic fluid called barium. Barium coats the organs so that they can be seen on an X-ray. Then X-rays are taken to check for signs of sores or ulcers, or abnormal blockages.
• Endoscopy. This test checks the inside of part of the digestive tract. It uses a small, flexible tube called an endoscope. It has a light and a camera lens at the end. Tissue samples from inside the digestive tract may also be taken for testing.
• Esophageal manometry. This test checks the strength of the esophagus muscles. It can see if your child has any problems with reflux or swallowing. A small tube is put into your child’s nostril, then down the throat and into the esophagus. Then it measures the pressure that the esophageal muscles make at rest.
• pH monitoring. This test checks the pH or acid level in the esophagus. A thin, plastic tube is placed into your child’s nostril, down the throat, and into the esophagus. The tube has a sensor that measures pH level. The other end of the tube outside your child’s body is attached to a small monitor. This records your child’s pH levels for 24 to 48 hours. During this time your child can go home and do his or her normal activities. You will need to keep a diary of any symptoms your child feels that may be linked to reflux. These include gagging or coughing. You should also keep a record of the time, type of food, and amount of food your child eats. Your child’s pH readings are checked. They are compared to your child’s activity for that time period.
• Gastric emptying study. This test is done to see if your child’s stomach sends its contents into the small intestine properly. Delayed gastric emptying can cause reflux into the esophagus

How is GERD treated?

Treatment will depend on your child’s symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.

Diet and lifestyle changes

In many cases, diet and lifestyle changes can help to ease GERD. Talk with your child’s healthcare provider about changes you can make. Here are some tips to better manage GERD symptoms.

For babies:

• After feedings, hold your baby in an upright position for 30 minutes.
• If bottle-feeding, keep the nipple filled with milk. This way your baby won’t swallow too much air while eating. Try different nipples. Find one that lets your baby’s mouth make a good seal with the nipple during feeding.
• Adding rice cereal to feeding may be helpful for some babies.
• Burp your baby a few times during bottle-feeding or breastfeeding. Your child may reflux more often when burping with a full stomach.

For children:

• Watch your child’s food intake. Limit fried and fatty foods, peppermint, chocolate, drinks with caffeine such as sodas and tea, citrus fruit and juices, and tomato products.
• Offer your child smaller portions at mealtimes. Add small snacks between meals if your child is hungry. Don’t let your child overeat. Let your child tell you when he or she is hungry or full.
• If your child is overweight, contact your child’s provider to set weight-loss goals.
• Serve the evening meal early, at least 3 hours before bedtime.

Other things to try:

• Ask your child’s provider to review your child’s medicines. Some may irritate the lining of the stomach or esophagus.
• Don’t let your child lie down or go to bed right after a meal.
• Always check with your baby’s provider before raising the head of the crib if he or she has been diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux. This is for safety reasons and to reduce the risk for SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths. 

Medicines and other treatments

Your child’s healthcare provider may also recommend other options.

Medicines. Your child’s provider may prescribe medicines to help with reflux. There are medicines that help reduce the amount of acid the stomach makes. This reduces the heartburn linked to reflux. These medicines may include:

• h3-blockers. These reduce the amount of acid your stomach makes by blocking the hormone histamine. Histamine helps to make acid.
• Proton pump inhibitors. These help keep your stomach from making acid. They do this by stopping the stomach’s acid pump from working.

The provider may prescribe another type of medicine that helps the stomach empty faster. If food doesn’t stay in the stomach as long as normal, reflex may be less likely to occur.  

Calorie supplements. Some babies with reflux can’t gain weight because they vomit often. If this is the case, your child’s healthcare provider may suggest:

• Adding rice cereal to baby formula
• Giving your baby more calories by adding a prescribed supplement
• Changing formula to milk- or soy-free formula if your baby may have an allergy

Tube feedings. In some cases tube feedings may be recommended. Some babies with reflux have other conditions that make them tired. These include congenital heart disease or being born too early (premature). These babies often get sleepy after they eat or drink a little. Other babies vomit after having a normal amount of formula. These babies do better if they are constantly fed a small amount of milk. In both of these cases, tube feedings may be suggested. Formula or breastmilk is given through a tube that is placed in the nose. This is called a nasogastric tube. The tube is then put through the food pipe or esophagus, and into the stomach. Your baby can have a tube feeding in addition to a bottle feeding. Or a tube feeding may be done instead of a bottle feeding. There are also tubes that can be used to go around, or bypass, the stomach. These are called nasoduodenal tubes.

Surgery. In severe cases of reflux, surgery called fundoplication may be done. Your baby’s provider may recommend this option if your child is not gaining weight because of vomiting, has frequent breathing problems, or has severe irritation in the esophagus. This is often done as a laparoscopic surgery. This method has less pain and a faster recovery time. Small cuts or incisions are made in your child’s belly. A small tube with a camera on the end is placed into one of the incisions to look inside. The surgical tools are put through the other incisions. The surgeon looks at a video screen to see the stomach and other organs. The top part of the stomach is wrapped around the esophagus. This creates a tight band. This strengthens the LES and greatly decreases reflux.

What are the complications of GERD?

Some babies and children who have GERD may not vomit. But their stomach contents may still move up the food pipe (esophagus) and spill over into the windpipe (trachea). This can cause asthma or pneumonia.

The vomiting that affects many babies and children with GERD can cause problems with weight gain and poor nutrition. Over time, when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus, it can also lead to:

• Inflammation of the esophagus, called esophagitis
• Sores or ulcers in the esophagus, which can be painful and may bleed
• A lack of red blood cells, from bleeding sores (anemia)

Adults may also have long-term problems from inflammation of the esophagus. These include:

• Narrowing, or stricture, of the esophagus
• Barrett’s esophagus, a condition where there are abnormal cells in the esophageal lining

Living with GERD

Many babies who vomit outgrow it by the time they are about 1 year old. This happens as the LES gets stronger. For other children, taking medicines and making lifestyle and diet changes can reduce reflux, vomiting, and heartburn.

When should I call my child’s healthcare provider?

Call you child’s healthcare provider if your baby or child:

• Has reflux and is not gaining weight
• Has signs of asthma or pneumonia. These include coughing, wheezing, or trouble breathing.

Key points about GERD

• GERD is a long-term (chronic) digestive disorder.
• It happens when stomach contents come back up into the food pipe (esophagus).
• Heartburn or acid indigestion is the most common symptom of GERD.
• Vomiting can cause problems with weight gain and poor nutrition.
• In many cases, GERD can be eased by diet and lifestyle changes.
• Sometimes medicines, tube feedings, or surgery may be needed.

Next steps

Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your child’s health care provider:

• Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.
• At the visit, write down the names of new medicines, treatments, or tests, and any new instructions your provider gives you for your child.
• If your child has a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time, and purpose for that visit.
• Know how you can contact your child’s provider after office hours. This is important if your child becomes ill and you have questions or need advice.

Dyspepsia | Michigan Medicine

Topic Overview

Dyspepsia is a common condition and usually describes a group of symptoms rather than one predominant symptom. These symptoms include:

• Belly pain or discomfort.
• Bloating.
• Feeling uncomfortably full after eating.
• Nausea.
• Loss of appetite.
• Heartburn.
• Burping up food or liquid (regurgitation).
• Burping.

Most people will experience some symptoms of dyspepsia within their lifetimes.

Common causes of dyspepsia include:

• Burped-up stomach juices and gas (regurgitation or reflux) caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or a hiatal hernia.
• A disorder that affects movement of food through the intestines, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
• Peptic (stomach) ulcer or duodenal ulcer.
• An inability to digest milk and dairy products (lactose intolerance).
• Gallbladder pain (biliary colic) or inflammation (cholecystitis).
• Anxiety or depression.
• Side effects of caffeine, alcohol, or medicines. Examples of medicines that may cause dyspepsia are aspirin and similar drugs, antibiotics, steroids, digoxin, and theophylline.
• Swallowed air.
• Stomach cancer.

You can make changes to your lifestyle to help relieve your symptoms of dyspepsia. Here are some things to try:

• Change your eating habits.
  • It’s best to eat several small meals instead of two or three large meals.
  • After you eat, wait 2 to 3 hours before you lie down. Late-night snacks aren’t a good idea.
  • Chocolate, mint, and alcohol can make dyspepsia worse. They relax the valve between the esophagus and the stomach.
  • Spicy foods, foods that have a lot of acid (like tomatoes and oranges), and coffee can make dyspepsia worse in some people. If your symptoms are worse after you eat a certain food, you may want to stop eating that food to see if your symptoms get better.
• Do not smoke or chew tobacco.
• If you get dyspepsia at night, raise the head of your bed 6 to 8 inches by putting the frame on blocks or placing a foam wedge under the head of your mattress. (Adding extra pillows does not work.)
• Do not wear tight clothing around your middle.
• Lose weight if you need to. Losing just 5 to 10 pounds can help.

Treatment depends on what is causing the problem. If no specific cause is found, treatment focuses on relieving symptoms with medicine.

Credits

Current as of:
April 15, 2020

Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson MD – Internal Medicine
Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine

Current as of: April 15, 2020

Cyclical vomiting syndrome – NHS

Cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a rare disorder that usually starts in childhood. It causes repeated episodes of being sick (vomiting) and feeling sick (nausea).

The cause of CVS is not fully understood. The vomiting episodes are not caused by an infection or another illness.

CVS may improve as a child gets older, but it can also affect adults. The condition can be frightening, but it’s possible to manage it with lifestyle changes and medicines.

Symptoms of CVS

Someone with CVS will feel very sick (nauseous) and may vomit for hours or even days at a time.

They’ll recover from the episode and feel well, but they’ll have another episode perhaps a month later, or sometimes longer.

CVS can last for months, years or sometimes decades. The symptoms can be so severe that some people need treatment in hospital.

An episode of CVS has 4 phases:

1. Prodrome phase

During the prodrome phase, the person will:

• feel an episode of vomiting is about to start
• have intense sweating and nausea for a few minutes to a few hours
• appear unusually pale

2.

Vomiting phase

The vomiting phase involves nausea, vomiting and retching. The person may:

• vomit up to 5 or 6 times in an hour, for up to 10 days
• have tummy pain
• be unable to talk or move
• have other symptoms, including diarrhoea, a slightly high temperature, dizziness, headache, sensitivity to light, feeling sleepy, drooling or spitting excess saliva

3. Recovery phase

During the recovery phase the:

• vomiting, retching and nausea stops
• other symptoms improve

Recovery can take a few hours to a few days.

4. Well phase

The well phase is a period where there are no CVS symptoms.

The cycle is usually regular and predictable, with the same symptoms starting at the same time of the day or night and lasting for the same length of time.

What causes CVS

The cause of CVS is not yet known, but there may be a link with migraine. Many people with CVS develop migraines, and migraine medicines may help treat the syndrome.  

Vomiting episodes may be triggered by:

• emotional stress, such as excitement, anxiety or panic attacks
• physical stress, such as an infection, exhaustion, or lack of sleep
• some foods and drinks, such as chocolate, cheese, and things that contain caffeine, alcohol or MSG (monosodium glutamate)
• very hot or very cold weather
• periods
• allergies
• motion sickness
• overeating, not eating for long periods (fasting), or eating just before going to bed

For some people, there is no obvious trigger.

Who’s affected by CVS

CVS is more common in children, usually starting between the age of 3 to 7. But it can also affect adults.

Children who get migraines, are sensitive to light and sound, or have a family history of migraines, may have a higher chance of getting CVS.

Children with CVS may stop getting symptoms when they get older, but sometimes CVS continues. Having CVS as a child may also lead to experiencing migraines as an adult.

Diagnosing CVS

In children, a GP will ask about your child’s symptoms and medical history. They may suspect your child has CVS if they show all these signs:

• they have 3 or more intense episodes of nausea and vomiting lasting from a few hours to 10 days within a 6-month period
• the episodes are at least a week apart and similar each time
• your child returns to normal health between episodes
• tests do not show another condition is causing the vomiting

In adults, CVS may be diagnosed if:

• you’ve had 3 or more similar vomiting episodes in the past 12 months, at least a week apart
• there’s no nausea or vomiting between episodes
• you do not have any other condition that could cause your symptoms

The high frequency of vomiting and the fact the episodes tend to start at the same time of day indicates CVS, rather than another condition, may be the cause.

Blood or urine tests may be done to rule out an infection or kidney problems.

Tests, such as an endoscopy or abdominal ultrasound scan, may be done to see if there’s a problem with your digestive tract.

Long-term use of cannabis can cause symptoms very similar to CVS (known as cannabinoid-induced hyperemesis).

You may be referred to a doctor who specialises in the digestive system (gastroenterologist).

Managing a vomiting episode

When a vomiting episode starts, it’s a good idea to stay in bed in a quiet, dark room and take any medicines you’ve been prescribed for this phase of the cycle.

Keep taking small sips of fluid, such as water or diluted squash, to prevent dehydration.

Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark yellow and strong-smelling pee.

After the vomiting episode has finished:

• drink plenty of fluids
• gradually start eating your normal diet again
• take any medicines you’ve been prescribed to prevent future episodes

Medicine

You or your child may be prescribed medicine:

Read more about the medicines used to treat migraines and medicines used to prevent migraines.

It may take a while to find a medicine, or combination of medicines, that works for you.

Hospital treatment

You or your child may need treatment in hospital if nausea and vomiting is severe.

Medicine and fluids may need to be given into a vein (intravenously) to treat symptoms and prevent dehydration. Nutrition may also be given intravenously if vomiting continues for days.

Preventing vomiting

It may be possible to prevent or reduce vomiting episodes by:

Some medicines used to prevent migraines may also help.

Complications of CVS

Severe vomiting and retching episodes can lead to:

• dehydration
• inflammation of the food pipe (oesophagitis)
• a tear in the lining of the food pipe (oesophagus)
• tooth decay
• gastroparesis, where the stomach is not able to empty itself of food in the normal way

Help and support

The Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome Association UK and The Migraine Trust offer information and support for people with CVS and their families.

Page last reviewed: 10 August 2020
Next review due: 10 August 2023

90,000 7 Reasons Why You Start Gaining Weight Trying To Lose Weight By Inducing Vomiting After Eating

The whole truth about vomiting after eating for weight loss

The article was written by Olga Vasilievna Nagieva (pictured), a specialist in restoring eating behavior.

Personal experience:

38 years old, Certified medical psychologist, experience of bulimia was – 9 years, cured 5 years ago with Anna Vladimirovna Nazarenko, works at the Anna Nazarenko Clinic, is married, has a son and two daughters.

Many people mistakenly believe that vomiting after eating helps to lose weight, especially if after each meal there is a “ cleansing “. However, this is not always the case. If you want to know the truth about losing weight by inducing vomiting after eating – read this article.

I, too, at one time believed that vomiting after eating REALLY contributes to weight loss – seemed to me that constant vomiting, endless exercise, laxatives and strict food restrictions should compensate for periodic breakdowns and unhealthy foods in the diet.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

AND perhaps , so it was …

AT THE BEGINNING!

This is where the main trap lies: in the beginning you can really notice a sharp decrease in weight, which is why, in a sense, vomiting after eating really contributes to weight loss …

Sounds logical, right?

• Since you get rid of everything you eat every time, all other things being equal, you should at least minimize the damage from constant food breakdowns and thereby lose weight.
• If you are constantly exercising “fiercely”, then you must burn all the calories from food.
• If you are cutting down on calories, skipping meals, or starving or “detoxifying” your body, for example, you need to be “safe” against binge eating and uncontrolled binge eating.

I remember how glad I was that the arrows of the scales were stubbornly crawling down, and those around me showered me with compliments…

HOWEVER, IT’S NOT SO SIMPLE …

At some point, the balance arrow stops dropping down or starts to oscillate. You feel fat again, and the feeling of euphoria is replaced by irritation, frustration and fear.

So why do you start to lose weight first and then suddenly stop losing weight?

The truth is that no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to deceive Mother Nature, at least for a long time! Even if seems to you , as if the constant “compensatory” actions following bouts of overeating contribute to weight loss, sooner or later, Nature will take its toll.And if you look at this process from a scientific point of view, you will understand why this is happening.

Let’s take a look at the 7 most popular bulimia weight loss strategies from a scientific point of view. And you already decide for yourself how justified they are, and whether it is possible to lose weight with their help.

Is it true that people with bulimia can rapidly lose weight and how justified is “bulimic behavior” if your goal is to lose extra pounds? Are vomiting after eating and losing weight really incompatible things?

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

SLIMMING STRATEGY №1 Artificial vomiting after eating.

Self-induced vomiting is perhaps the most common compensatory behavior. However, scientific studies show that even if you induce vomiting immediately after a meal, your body will already absorb 40% to 70% of the calories you eat! This means that the number of calories you consume after each binge-eating binge followed by vomiting is likely to be higher than the number of calories in the normal-sized servings you eat on days when you avoid overeating.

Now let’s calculate …

You may feel that you can calculate your diet and stay within the “calorie deficit”, thereby losing weight. But in the case of bulimia, calculating the actual calorie intake is very difficult because:

• Binge eating attacks tend to become less and less “manageable”, and you can no longer tell exactly how many calories you are consuming.
• Over time, binge eating becomes more frequent and your food intake increases as your body tries to compensate for its limitations.
• Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get rid of everything you eat.

And that’s not all …

Artificial Vomiting After Eating Dramatically Reduces Blood Sugar Levels, Provoking All New Attacks Of Overeating.

Because binge eating attacks tend to target foods that are high in sugar, your blood sugar spikes all the time. This is not good, because in response to these surges, the body begins to produce large amounts of insulin to lower blood sugar levels. And even after you get rid of the food you have eaten, insulin still remains in your body, your blood sugar drops sharply , and as a result you feel:

• Tremors, nervousness and restlessness;
• Fatigue;
• Dizziness.

You may have a faster heart rate, heart rate, and sweating.

LOW BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL IS VERY DANGEROUS. That is why our body is trying with all its might to increase it; it requires even more food high in sugar and starch to “neutralize” insulin . Unsurprisingly, the urge to overeat is getting stronger and harder to resist. For this reason, you increasingly break down and can no longer control your appetite.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

SLIMMING STRATEGY №2 Excessive training.

Exercise might seem like a much more enjoyable and healthy alternative to artificial vomiting after meals. Moreover, we are convinced that physical activity is beneficial for our health. It is laid down by nature that people are constantly moving, we need movement. So the more exercise the better?

Not really.

From the point of view of logic, our physical activity should be so intense that our body can “burn” all the calories eaten. Modern technology and various gadgets constantly tell you how many calories you have spent on a particular type of activity.

Again, it’s not that simple: if for a while you can really control your weight through exercise (and even lose weight), then after a while Mother Nature will again take her.

Modern science proves that it is impossible to lose weight solely through training. And excessive exercise, especially if you’re trying to compensate for overeating or create a calorie deficit to lose weight, can pose serious physical and mental risks to your health.

In addition to helping your body burn calories more efficiently by increasing your metabolism, physical activity also increases your appetite *.

And if you continue to eat as usual, without properly compensating for the energy expended, you will most likely be:

• constantly thinking about food and will not be able to concentrate on anything else;
• overeating or overeating;
• Feel tired and suffer from mood swings.

Instead of burning fat deposits, our body begins to process muscle tissue to get the energy it needs. This means that you lose muscle mass, despite the fact that it is the muscles that help us burn calories and keep our body in good shape and tone!

And if most of the energy (calories) you consume is spent on exercise, the body begins to lower its base metabolic rate. Your body needs fewer and fewer calories to keep it running, which means that your base metabolism is declining.

Slow metabolism impairs digestion and decreases the rate at which food passes through the intestines.This can lead to weight gain, bloating, gas, and constipation. As a result, you will again feel “fat” and break down on overeating.

If your metabolic rate drops significantly, your health could be seriously affected.

* INCREASED Appetite: The ravenous appetite does not necessarily have to attack you immediately after exercise, especially if it was intense exercise. This is due to the suppression of the hormone ghrelin.However, after half an hour or an hour, the levels of the hormone ghrelin will return to normal, and it may seem to you that the reason for your suddenly flared appetite has nothing to do with recent exercise.

Finally, exercise can increase your muscle mass, which will also contribute to additional weight gain. You can lose inches when doing this, so don’t rely entirely on the scale.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

STRATEGY SLIMMING No. 3 Laxatives.

Many people believe they can control their weight or minimize the harm from overeating by taking laxatives. However, since laxatives work 90,027 EXCLUSIVELY in the lower part of the digestive tract, by the time most of the food eaten (calories) has already been absorbed by the body , which means that laxatives are useless in combating the effects of overeating.

Any “weight loss” caused by the intake of laxatives is only a temporary loss due to the removal of fluid from the body. “Lost” kilograms are returned as soon as the body restores fluid balance.

You may be tempted to limit your fluid intake to prevent weight gain, but our bodies need fluid to function properly and to feel good. If you do not replenish normal fluid levels in your body, you could have serious health problems that could result in death. If you are using or addicted to laxatives, please see the list of possible adverse effects.

SLIMMING STRATEGY №4 Diuretics.

Like laxatives, any weight loss from diuretics is due to water loss. Weight returns as soon as you replenish normal fluid levels in your body. Diuretics CANNOT affect your calorie intake in any way.

Dehydration is a common side effect of diuretic abuse. As a result, your body can begin to “trap” fluid. As a result, not only your weight increases, but you also begin to feel discomfort, bloating and constipation. And this despite the fact that in many people, such sensations provoke additional bouts of overeating.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

SLIMMING STRATEGY №5 Diet restrictions.

Perhaps even before you develop bulimia on the background of a strict diet, your body will already ADJUST to dietary restrictions and erratic eating, LOWERING BASIC METABOLISM ** and begins to STORE FAT ACCELERATELY. That is, instead of continuing to lose weight, you start gaining it, even if you eat less than before!

** Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) shows how many calories you burn at rest in 24 hours.This indicator represents the minimum amount of energy required for your body to function effectively, including breathing, digestion, brain activity, and keeping your heart working properly. For example, the average BMR for a 28-year-old girl is approximately 1,586 calories, which is higher than the recommended calorie intake for most diets, which is why they are so difficult to follow.

Such adjustment to dietary restrictions is deeply embedded in our subconscious, and this mechanism is triggered every time the brain receives a signal about hunger – and for our brain any diet is hunger – no matter how much you want eat less and lose weight.

The “joyful” period of losing weight against the background of a RIGID DIET in one form or another (counting calories, refusing certain foods, skipping meals) sooner or later gives way to an irresistible urge to overeat, launching an endless chain of “overeating-cleaning” that results in to weight gain.

If your body believes that your diet or tight control over food intake is contrary to its natural needs, it perceives them as a “threat to survival.”The side effects may not only surprise you, but also make you finally understand why you are feeling terrible (if you are dieting and fighting bulimia).

Your Body Needs Fuel.

The need for fuel is felt in the form of increased appetite or hunger. If this hunger is not satisfied, you will become obsessed with thoughts of food and will be constantly hungry. Moreover, you will be constantly looking for something to eat, eating more than your body needs.

Such urges are almost impossible to control, since their source is deeply embedded in our subconscious. And because they go against your desire to lose weight, you are at war with your body and mind. Food becomes your main enemy, you start to feel fear and anxiety.

Internal conflict is becoming more and more intense: physically, mentally and emotionally. And this stress increases every time you try to “compensate” for the harm from overeating in one way or another.

This chronic stress level increases cortisol levels, which are responsible for weight gain.

It is important to know that many bulimics do lose weight as soon as they adopt healthy eating behaviors.

SLIMMING STRATEGY № 6 Tablets and teas for weight loss.

“Too good to be true” is what you need to remember when sellers of “magic” teas and pills promise you quick and easy weight loss.

Even if you do manage to lose some weight early on – most likely due to the “placebo effect”, studies show that:

• Most of these pills and teas are completely useless;
• All of these “miracle” remedies are based on unhealthy mechanisms of weight loss, and have a short-term effect.

And since the sale of such pills and teas over the Internet is not regulated in any way, some of them are not only ineffective, but dangerous and can be fatal!

At one time I had to resort to extreme measures to distract myself and protect myself from the inexorable desire to “fill my stomach.”Including, I had to take a variety of diet pills (some of them were prescribed by the doctor, others I “prescribed” myself) – but in practice, all these pills were useless. However, the realization of their uselessness came to me rather late – when I had already developed a serious dependence on these drugs, my health noticeably deteriorated.

Just as with laxatives and diuretics, you may feel that you just need diet pills, especially in cases where dependence develops on them, and you feel better only when you take them.However, as with any addiction, over time you need larger doses or more serious drugs to achieve any effect.

And if some of the side effects are short-term and go away as soon as you stop taking the pills or teas, others can seriously damage your body if they are used for a long time (especially if you already had health problems before taking them).

Despite the fact that many of the components of most of these pills and teas are officially banned by the Health System, nevertheless, savvy sellers find a way to sell them over the Internet, passing them off as “nutritional supplements.”

But even here Mother Nature is not asleep, because you are again trying to artificially limit normal food intake and significantly reduce body weight, which is contrary to its natural needs. Check out the list of side effects of diet pills and teas and wonder, “Is the game worth the candle?”

Side effects of taking diet pills:

• Anxiety;
• Deterioration of vision;
• Chest pain;
• Convulsions / seizures;
• Diarrhea;
• Dizziness;
• Fatigue;
• Hallucinations;
• Headaches;
• Rapid heartbeat;
• Increased risk of cancer, heart attack or stroke, high blood pressure, primary pulmonary hypertension;
• Shallow breathing;
• Vomiting.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

SLIMMING STRATEGY №7 Willpower.

There is a widespread belief that if you had enough Willpower, you could…

• Strictly adhere to the diet;
• Control your eating behavior;
• Resist any urge to overeat or cleanse;
• Lose weight.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead of helping you shed the pounds you hate, “ Attempts ” to use willpower can actually lead to extra weight gain.

I use the word “try” because you’ve probably tried to use your Willpower on more than one occasion, but you’ve hardly been able to stick to a pre-planned course of action for long.Most likely, everything ended up with you breaking loose and eating something that you did not plan at all.

The truth is that our human willpower is not limitless.

Endless Struggle With Temptations Is Fraught With Negative Consequences For Your Psyche

You may have never thought about it, but Willpower also EXPENSES YOUR ENERGY. This means that your Willpower somehow weakens during the day.

EVERY TIME there is some temptation that you have to resist, for example, you decide:

• Finish a task instead of checking social media for updates;
• “Bite your tongue” instead of making some scathing comment;
• Show the wonders of diplomacy in dealing with colleagues.

YOU WILL EMPTY YOUR WILL POWER SUPPLY.

And if you add to this every time you try:

• Resist the urge to eat;
• Stick to dietary rules or
• Use Willpower to resist urge to overeat or purge.

Your Willpower is rapidly weakening .

AND THIS IS STILL NOT ALL . ..

Using Willpower as a weight loss strategy in Bulimia causes stress by triggering the release of cortisol, the hormone responsible for weight gain.

Sustained high cortisol levels not only cause anxiety and sleep disturbances, further depleting your willpower, but ultimately making you eat more!

Maybe It’s Time To Forget All These Weight Loss Strategies By Inducing Vomiting After Eating?

The truth is that all these attempts to lose weight sooner or later end with a reverse weight gain.

Instead of helping you lose weight, learning to control and maintain a certain weight, they will only make it even more unmanageable, and you will continue to gain the hated pounds.

This is unlikely to please you.

So if you are hoping to lose weight by inducing vomiting after eating using this or that scenario – I strongly recommend that you think again, it may be much easier to switch to a healthy diet and not torture yourself.

If you suffer from bulimia, you are much more likely to lose weight if you start eating healthy and balanced foods in reasonable amounts on a regular basis.

In most cases, the transition to a healthy diet is fairly easy. However, if you suffer from bulimia, it can be difficult for you because you will constantly be plagued by fears and prejudices about regular, healthy and nutritious meals. In addition, over time, you may develop an unhealthy but very persistent habit of overeating under certain environmental conditions.

If you cannot cope with the disease on your own, we recommend that you seek help, because in the treatment of bulimia, with frequent vomiting after meals, you need serious professional help from either a psychotherapist or an eating disorders specialist.

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Vomiting. – Medical advice – Expert advice – Article catalog

Vomiting in a baby. What should parents do?

Young parents often have questions about their child’s health. Sometimes, when certain conditions arise, many of them start asking questions – what to do, where to run for help and how to alleviate the condition of the little patient. Some of the most frightening symptoms of illness for parents are nausea and vomiting in babies.Let’s figure out what these conditions are, how dangerous they are, and what is the right thing to do when they occur.
Sometimes babies begin to complain that they feel bad, they feel sick. Nausea is an unpleasant sensation for a child that forms when there is a significant increase in the excitability of a certain area in the region of the brain (it is called the vomiting center). Nausea sometimes precedes vomiting (although it happens separately), accompanied by increased breathing, tachycardia (palpitations), salivation (increased salivation), the appearance of small swallowing movements aimed at freeing the oral cavity from excess saliva, increased sweating and narrowing of the skin vessels (hence blanching child).
Such a set of unpleasant sensations arises due to the fact that excitement from the vomiting center in the brain passes to the centers of other reflexes (respiratory, vasomotor centers and others).
Vomiting is a protective reflex reaction of the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and skeletal muscles that eject the contents of the stomach (sometimes the initial part of the small intestine) out through the mouth. This reaction occurs when the vomiting center is irritated directly or through receptors from the stomach and intestines.Vomiting is accompanied by a decrease and deepening of breathing, raising the hyoid bone and larynx, which contributes to the opening of the upper esophageal sphincter, closing the pharynx, raising the soft palate with closing the choanas (nasal passages from inside the pharynx). Following this, a strong contraction of the diaphragm begins with a simultaneous contraction of all the muscles of the abdominal wall. This relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach contents to pass through the esophagus to the outside. The act of vomiting is preceded by the onset of antiperistalsis of the small intestine, which throws its contents into the stomach.

Let’s decide right away – nausea and vomiting are not a disease, but just symptoms of many diseases of an infectious and non-infectious nature. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate vomiting only by curing the disease that caused it.

And now more about the reasons causing this unpleasant thing in children.
Vomiting occurs in children of all ages (and in adults too) quite often and occurs the more often, the smaller the child is. In young children, this is most often the result of overfeeding (habitual vomiting, regurgitation).Such vomiting occurs suddenly, without the participation of the abdominal press: it is not preceded by nausea, the child’s facial features and his behavior do not change.
In infants, as a rule, in the first 3 months of life, regurgitation of a small amount of food (15-30 ml or, more simply, up to 2-3 tablespoons) several times a day is a common occurrence that disappears with the growth of the child. Regurgitation in these children is due to the structural features of the upper digestive tract at this age, as well as the almost constant horizontal position of the child himself and a relatively large amount of food predispose to regurgitation in healthy babies.It is also characteristic of regurgitation when air is swallowed during breastfeeding, when there is not enough breast milk in the mammary gland, or when the baby does not capture the areola. With artificial feeding – air swallowing occurs when the nipple is not completely filled with milk, when the opening is too large in the nipples, when the bottle is horizontal during artificial feeding and the lactating person does not take a break from feeding every 5-6 minutes so that the baby belches air.

Real vomiting is almost always preceded by nausea, which is manifested in an infant by a pale face, general anxiety, increased heart rate, cold extremities; vomiting occurs with the participation of the abdominal muscles, in connection with which the contents of the stomach “fly out” with great force and the baby at the end of the vomiting act makes a special sound (the child seems to “gag”).

There are many reasons for vomiting:
Vomiting in infants can be a symptom of diseases that begin at an early age such as pyloric spasm and pyloric stenosis.Congenital pyloric stenosis is a malformation (thickening) of the pyloric stomach (a special muscle between the stomach and intestines – it regulates the flow of food portions from the stomach into the intestines and normally prevents it from being thrown back) in combination with spasm of the pyloric stomach of the baby. As a result, the evacuation of gastric contents is impaired. Congenital pyloric stenosis occurs mainly in full-term boys. Clinical signs of defect appear in the first days after birth, but more often at 2-4 weeks of life.The child begins to vomit after each feeding, then a little less often, profuse vomiting, a strong stream (“fountain”). The amount of vomit exceeds the amount of food taken before that, which indicates hypersecretion of the stomach and retention of contents in it. In vomit, as a rule, there is no admixture of bile. Body weight is stable or declining. Often, parents report stool retention (hungry constipation). The number of micturitions is reduced. With a close examination of the abdomen, one can observe increased peristalsis of the stomach, which takes the form of an hourglass.Peristalsis worse after eating.
Pylorospasm is a pyloric spasm (a special muscle at the border of the stomach and duodenum) that prevents the stomach from emptying regularly. The disease is purely functional, has no organic nature and is characterized by periodic vomiting from the first days of life, but not after each feeding and a small amount. Vomit may contain streaks of bile. Children (more often girls are ill for some reason) do not lose weight so catastrophically.
Sometimes the cause of vomiting can be very serious diseases: intussusception, intestinal obstruction. Help with them is needed as soon as possible and only in a specialized surgical hospital.
In case of any doubts, an urgent need to contact a pediatrician or pediatric surgeon to clarify the diagnosis and treatment.

I draw the attention of parents that persistent vomiting in children during the first months of life is a symptom of either congenital defects of the digestive tract (esophagus, gastrointestinal tract), or a symptom of damage to the central nervous system, so you should immediately consult a doctor.

In older children, vomiting may be “benign”, that is, not associated with a serious illness – it is also called functional, or “malignant” (organic) if it is a sign of a serious illness of the gastrointestinal tract or other organs.

The most common cause of nausea and vomiting in a child is acute infectious diseases. In the first place are acute intestinal infections, the so-called OCI – gastritis (damage to the stomach), gastroenteritis (damage to the stomach and intestines), enterocolitis (damage to the small and large intestines).OCI are caused by viruses, bacteria and protozoa.
Vomiting in intestinal infections occurs as a result of the development of acute inflammation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa. Microbes or their waste products are introduced into the intestinal wall or absorbed with food. Impulses from the receptors of the damaged gastrointestinal tract enter the vomiting center of the brain. There, information is analyzed and a protective (basically) mechanism is triggered – the body tries to get rid of toxins in the simplest way – to remove them back – vomiting appears.In some cases, diarrhea also joins (diarrhea occurs when the infection is localized in the small and partly large intestine).
Most often, the infection enters the child’s body through the mouth when eating poor-quality food (shelf life, improper storage, infected if hygiene rules are not followed).
In second place are dirty hands and household items contaminated with pathogens, in third place is water from open sources and poorly washed fruits and vegetables.
The most common pathogens are Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, as well as the causative agents of dysentery – Shigella, Klebsiella.The most relevant viruses are enteroviruses and rotaviruses.
All intestinal infections are dangerous to children and should only be treated under strict medical supervision or in a hospital.
In children of the first years of life, vomiting can occur at high temperatures (hyperthermia, more often at a temperature of 39 and above), which accompanies diseases such as influenza, acute respiratory viral diseases, purulent infections (tonsillitis, acute otitis media, pneumonia, many infectious disease). This occurs as a result of toxicosis, when the waste products of the pathogen and toxins of the body affect the vomiting center.Vomiting is usually short-lived. At the height of the fever and when the temperature drops, it usually stops without any help.

Vomiting as a symptom of diseases of the central nervous system (the so-called cerebral vomiting) can occur in children of the first 6 months of life who have undergone severe childbirth, asphyxia and have residual organic lesions of the central nervous system, children with tumors, brain abscesses, hydrocephalus, encephalitis, having hypertensive syndrome (ICP).
“Cerebral” vomiting is one of the leading symptoms of both acute and chronic diseases of the meninges (viral serous meningitis, tuberculous, purulent meningitis, including meningococcal meningitis, etc.).).
After vomiting, such a patient does not feel relief (as with gastric vomiting) and becomes even more weak. Often, this variant of vomiting is accompanied by severe headache, slow pulse, drowsiness, impaired consciousness, delirium.

Vomiting without fever and any other signs of infection is observed in children with somatic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, duodenitis, peptic ulcer disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.), including liver and gall bladder dysfunctions.It usually has a clear connection with food intake, is provoked by dietary disturbances, and is not accompanied by disturbances from other organs and systems. A serious pathology of the stomach is indicated by an admixture of mucus in the vomit, and even more so blood (however, it is rare in children) and is a symptom of peptic gastric ulcer, peptic ulcer, hemorrhagic syndrome (excessive bleeding), a symptom of portal hypertension.
Bloody vomiting in infants can be associated with cracked nipples in the mother, in older children with epistaxis, bloody vomiting can simulate drugs taken by the child – for example, aspirin causes stomach bleeding.

Very often vomiting in a child is a manifestation of a surgical pathology, such as acute appendicitis. Usually repeated vomiting does not bring relief. Pain in the abdomen joins and the temperature may rise.

Vomiting in a small child may accompany coughing fits (with whooping cough, pharyngitis, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, with bronchiectasis with difficult sputum, with an abscess that has opened in the bronchus). Most often it is a dry, obsessive cough. Which causes reflex irritation of the pharynx and the root of the tongue, resulting in an attack of vomiting.

Separately, a group of so-called toxic vomiting is distinguished – these types of vomiting occur as a result of exposure to various types of toxins on the vomiting center directly or indirectly through various parts of the nervous and other systems.
Distinguish between toxic vomiting caused by severe metabolic disorders in a child, for example, uremic vomiting in renal failure, vomiting in hepatic and diabetic coma, vomiting in adrenogenital syndrome with loss of salts.
Toxic vomiting caused by ingestion of exogenous poisons and toxins – alcohol, irrational intake and overdose of drugs, ingestion of acids and alkalis, poisons.
As a private variant of toxic vomiting, the so-called acetonemic vomiting syndrome is isolated. The child’s body has a special tendency to form ketone substances. Hunger, high-fat and low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) food, persistent vomiting of any origin in a short time leads to the development of ketonemia and ketonuria, causing the so-called acetonemic vomiting.

Functional vomiting (benign). Such vomiting is an expression of a neurosis of the stomach, which is observed in children with general nervous excitability, and intensifies after any nervous excitement.Perhaps this is if the child feels deprived of parental care, vomiting is one of the ways to attract attention, anxiety and fear of going to school, manifested by vomiting.
Functional vomiting in older children occurs as a manifestation of neurotic reactions in response to disagreeable and unwanted actions: coercion, protest against punishment, or feeding. Functional vomiting in such children is more often combined with refusal to eat, with food selectivity, change in behavior, and stubbornness.Functional vomiting is more common in emotional, easily excitable, vulnerable children.
Functional vomiting in these children is not accompanied by abdominal pain, symptoms of intoxication, nausea, and stool disorders. Such a child tolerates vomiting well, that is, easily, there can be selectivity, that is, not after any meal, but which one is undesirable to him.
All babies sometimes regurgitate food, and this is not alarming at all. There are many physiological reasons that cause vomiting.Yet, it is often associated with stress. It also arises as a reaction to forced feeding. If you constantly shove food into the baby’s mouth, he becomes so nervous that he cannot digest it and already pushes the food back during feeding. You don’t need to be smarter than a child to understand that vomiting causes two reactions in the mother. First, she worries and becomes doubly caring. Second, if vomiting is repeated frequently, the mother becomes angry that the child is soiling everything around. And yet she seems unable to prevent vomiting.The child quickly realizes that this is a good way to influence the mother, so sure that some children even threaten their parents: “Now I will vomit” – and deliberately induce vomiting. Much more often, however, this is an uncontrollable reaction of a physiological or nervous nature.
It is better to do nothing at all when the child is vomiting on purpose. Over time, perhaps he himself will free himself from this habit. It is possible, however, that he will remain prone to indigestion for the rest of his life.It is therefore important to avoid the causes that would cause vomiting, and it is worth trying to prevent the addiction to it in the earliest childhood.
The best way to prevent such vomiting in a baby is to avoid force feeding. If you feed him calmly, with affection, in a pleasant environment, you will not force him to eat when he no longer wants, show understanding and a desire to meet halfway, you will teach the child to enjoy food and he will not have the need to regurgitate. It happens that the child still vomits, it is very important to treat this with understanding.Let’s not reveal our concern or anger about what happened, but just calmly clean up the dirt and calm the baby. Let us tell him that we are upset about what happened, but hope that he already feels better, give him water or some other drink to clear his mouth and eliminate the bad taste, and we will not show how angry we are. Since vomiting is unpleasant for the child himself, he will not see the point in repeating it.
Such vomiting, intermittently for several days, continues for months without any consequences, then (often spontaneously or as a result of general strengthening treatment) it stops.

Functional vomiting can be caused by olfactory, visual, gustatory stimuli, causing a feeling of disgust, discomfort, or simply excessive sensations.
The child is seasick during a sea voyage, a flight in an airplane or a trip in a car – there is an increased impulse from the vestibular apparatus, the vomiting center is irritated and vomiting occurs.

Help with vomiting
In any case, if a child is vomiting, especially if it is accompanied by loose stools and fever, first of all, you need to call a doctor.Before being examined by a doctor, you need:
1. Calm down the child and calm yourself down. For a child, vomiting is unpleasant in itself, so your nervousness will be a bad helper in such a situation.
2. Lay or sit the baby in a comfortable position for him. In case of repeated vomiting, the child’s head in the supine position should be turned to one side to avoid the entry of vomit into the respiratory tract.
3. 3. After the baby has vomited – you should wipe his face with a damp towel, let (if possible) rinse his mouth, change the clothes to clean.
4. To prevent dehydration with repeated vomiting, you need to give the child a fractional drink in small portions. The calculation of the liquid for drinking is carried out according to this principle – 50-70 ml for each vomiting for a child under one year old, 100-150 ml for a baby older than a year, it is better to give the baby special solutions “Oralit”, “Regidron” or “Glucosolan”. If there are none, you can replace them with weak sweet tea and mineral water without gas.
5. Do not give all the liquid at once, this can provoke a new attack of vomiting – be patient and drink 5-10 ml of liquid every 10-15 minutes.Further, the portions of water can be increased, but not more than half a glass at a time. If the child refuses water, do not force him to drink, as with vomiting he will lose more water than he drank. If several hours have passed safely and the child asks for food, you can give a little porridge or applesauce.
6. Of course, vomiting can also occur with food and chemical poisoning, with the development of neurological pathology against the background of injuries of the central nervous system, various other diseases accompanied by intoxication (severe kidney and liver diseases, cancer).In these cases, specialized care is needed in a hospital setting.
7. Suspected poisoning: begins with severe nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain. In case of drug poisoning, there may be lethargy and drowsiness, or vice versa, strong agitation, restlessness, ridiculous behavior and speech. Disorders of coordination of movements, convulsions and loss of consciousness are possible.
Help: Call an ambulance. If you are sure that the child’s painful condition is associated with the careless swallowing of a poisonous substance or medicine pills, then before her arrival, do a gastric lavage.To do this, the child is given 2-3 glasses of warm water to drink, after which, pressing with a finger on the root of the tongue, or touching the back wall of the larynx, induce vomiting.
The first portion of vomit should be kept in the bank until the arrival of the doctor for laboratory analysis. You can flush the stomach with activated charcoal water again (2 tablets of carbolene in 1 glass of water; tablets should be crushed into powder and shaken in a glass of water). If charcoal is not available, a solution of baking soda (1/2 teaspoon per glass of water) can be used.Vomiting should not be caused by poisoning with gasoline, kerosene, turpentine, phenol, strong alkalis and acids. And also if the child has lost consciousness.

In any case, remember – vomiting itself is a protective and adaptive mechanism to help the baby’s body in case of emergencies. Soberly assess the situation – this will help you correctly and, most importantly, provide assistance to the baby in time.

Nausea and vomiting in dogs after eating: causes and what to do

Does your dog vomit after eating? If your dog is nauseous after eating, there is indeed cause for concern.These can be signs of stomach problems and more.

First, answer the following simple questions: have you recently changed the feed? Have any conflicts with other pets over food? Did the dog eat grass before?

Here are just a few of the possible reasons why your dog may have stomach upset after eating. Below we will tell you in detail why this happens and whether you need to visit a veterinarian.

Changeover to new feed

A sudden change in diet can lead to digestive problems.Thus, a sudden transition to a new type of diet (for example, from dry to wet) or to diets from another manufacturer can cause a “irritation” of the dog’s stomach. This is why it is very important to transfer the dog to the new food slowly, namely within 7-10 days. Check with your veterinarian before deciding to change feed. If you still see signs that vomiting and other signs of indigestion are not going away with your dog, you should take him to the veterinary clinic as soon as possible.She may have food allergies or food intolerances, or more serious diseases (foreign body in the stomach, systemic diseases, etc.).

If you decide to switch to Hill’s food, be sure to start with small portions and gradually increase the amount until this food is the only food for your dog.

The dog is nervous and eats too quickly

Although many pet owners believe that post-meal vomiting in dogs is caused by food sensitivities (food allergies, etc.)this is not always the case. Vomiting can be caused by anxiety or fear. Do your dogs have feeding conflicts? Being in “foreign” territory can force them to eat faster, which causes too much food to end up in the stomach, and less saliva is swallowed with food, and it plays an important role as a buffer. Just as with humans, anxiety and stress can make your dog feel nauseous and increase the concentration of acid in the stomach.

When a dog eats too quickly, he does not have time to chew large pieces or granules properly.She also swallows a significant amount of air. All of these can cause belching or vomiting. Whenever possible, it is recommended to feed the more “nervous” dogs in a secluded place, separate from other animals. Start with small portions and, as soon as you see that the dog is behaving more calmly, gradually increase their size until the dog gets his regular portion again.

Food may not “lie in the stomach” of a dog, including if it is nervous and worried for some other reason.Has anything changed in your home that could disrupt your dog’s daily routine? Have you recently moved or changed your work schedule? Such changes can cause anxiety for the dog, and as a result, problems with the digestive system. If there is any reason to believe that these changes are causing your dog to vomit, be sure to show your dog your affection and affection. Praise her, caress her, play with her and reassure her that everything is in order. Gradually, over time, she will get used to the changes and everything will become as before.It is still important to monitor how your dog eats to make sure that there are no more serious problems – if he is vomiting more than once every few weeks, you should see your veterinarian. Vomiting is most often due to health problems and less commonly due to anxiety.

Dog likes the taste of food

A dog may eat too quickly not only because of stress, but also because he likes the taste of the food. Of course, there is nothing wrong with loving food, but you need to make sure that the dog gets as much food as it can digest.

One way to remedy this situation is to feed the dog in small portions until you are sure it is eating a little slower. Another option is to distribute the food portion on a large flat plate or on a tray or baking sheet. This will force her to search for and eat each bite separately, reducing the likelihood of vomiting after eating. There are also special puzzle toys for dogs that make them work hard to get food. This is both a good exercise for your pet and a way to get your pet to eat more slowly.But in this case, you must carefully ensure that the dog continues to eat the entire recommended daily allowance, and this new, complex feeding system does not lead the animal to starvation and frustration.

The dog recently ate grass

While most dogs eat grass without any adverse effects, animals with health problems can eat grass by deliberately vomiting and regurgitating stomach contents to relieve nausea and the possible cause of the condition.After the dog vomits grass and food, it should feel better, and if this is a simple irritation of the stomach walls, additional veterinary assistance is often not required. Just remember to provide the dog with enough water, make sure that vomiting does not recur, and also closely monitor the general condition of the pet.

If the vomiting that occurs after the dog has eaten the grass and food does not stop, you need to take it to the veterinary clinic for first aid as soon as possible, i.e.This can be a symptom of a serious illness. It can be both an infectious and a systemic disease, and even be a sign of a foreign body or even a volvulus. Whatever the cause of vomiting, qualified help will be required to improve the condition.

Erin Ollila

Erin Ollila

Erin Ollila is a pet enthusiast and lover. She believes in the power of words, in the fact that her articles can change the lives of people and their pets for the better.Her articles can be found both on the Internet and in some printed publications. Check out her Twitter @ReinventingErin or learn more about her at http://erinollila.com.

90,000 vomits after eating, vomits with white foam

If the French Bulldog vomits, it may be due to irritation of the stomach lining or pharynx from ingestion of solid food. When this happens rarely, you should not attach importance to such a situation.But if the problem is repetitive, you need to urgently contact your veterinarian.

1. Causes of French Bulldog vomiting
2. What to do when a French Bulldog is sick

Causes of vomiting in the French Bulldog

A common reason why the French Bulldog vomits undigested food after eating is the dog’s greedy ingestion of chunks or large amounts of food. The stomach suddenly becomes full and as a result, all food is belched.

Other causes of vomiting attacks:

• Helminthiasis.
• Ingestion of toxic substances (herbicides, antiparasitic agents) that can damage the gastric mucosa, cause discomfort and gag reflex.
• Reaction to anti-inflammatory drugs. It is recommended to give such preparations together with food, because neat they can induce vomiting.
• Motion sickness when traveling in a car or public transport.
• Swallowing small objects (pebbles, pieces of plastic, remains of meat bones). Belching is a mechanism of involuntary release from foreign objects.
• Gastritis.
• Various diseases of internal organs – pancreatitis, hepatitis, renal failure.
• Prostatitis.
• Epilepsy.
• Various injuries.

If a French Bulldog vomits with white foam, the dog has an empty stomach.Gastric mucus, which protects the walls from acid, contains proteins and mucopolysaccharides, which, when combined with air, form a foam.

If the dog is sick in the morning, it may be due to gastrointestinal disorders, gastritis or pancreatitis. If bloody particles appear in the vomit, this may indicate a stomach ulcer.

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What to do when the French Bulldog is sick

If the dog vomits, you need to leave it without the next feeding and observe the pet.You can give the animal enveloping agents (almagel, etc.) to soothe the gastric mucosa. For recurring seizures, you need to take the dog to the veterinary clinic. The doctor should take into account the dog’s age, diet, health status, lifestyle (for example, does the pet visit the garbage dump when walking). The veterinarian prescribes medications for the French Bulldog (antiseptics, coating agents). Most often, during the day the dog is not given food. To facilitate digestion, the next 3-4 days, the number of feedings increases up to 3-4 times, over which the usual daily food intake is distributed.

To prevent bouts of vomiting in the French Bulldog, you need to choose a balanced diet for the dog, observe the rate and feeding regimen, and do not give the pet prohibited foods.

90,000 Vomiting Treatment in Dogs – Vetstate Veterinary Clinic

Vomiting in a dog is not an independent disease, but only a symptom indicating the presence of one or another health problem in the dog. What causes vomiting? The dog vomits because, for one reason or another, the vomiting center of the brain is irritated and, as a result, reflex emptying of the contents of the stomach.The triggering of reflex gagging in dogs occurs due to the stimulation of multiple receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, peritoneum, vestibular apparatus and many other organs and tissues of the animal.

Nausea and vomiting in dogs, symptoms

A dog that is nauseous, behaves, as a rule, very restlessly, does not find a place for itself, tries to hide in a secluded place. Signs of nausea in dogs are frequent licking, profuse salivation, and sometimes smacking.Not always nausea in an animal ends with vomiting.

When the dog vomits, the animal stretches its neck and lowers its head down, there is a rhythmic contraction of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm, after which the animal regurgitates the contents of the stomach, if the stomach is empty, vomiting of foam with bile in dogs can be observed. Separately, it is worth mentioning such a physiological condition as belching or regurgitation in dogs. Regurgitation differs from vomiting in that it occurs without the involvement of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm in the process.

Pathological and physiological vomiting in dogs

Vomiting is one of the defense mechanisms aimed at cleansing the body of an animal from potentially poor quality and dangerous food that could be eaten by it by mistake. In addition, females feed the puppies with chewed and semi-digested food by regurgitating it, and vomiting occurs when the stomach is overfilled with food, which in general can be attributed to non-pathological vomiting, such vomiting occurs in healthy animals and does not imply diseases of the internal organs.

Vomiting that occurs in dogs against a background of systemic diseases can be called pathological. When vomiting in an animal is of a pathological nature, then it, most often, does not protect the animal from the disease, but only aggravates its course. That is why pathological vomiting requires compulsory treatment. Vomiting in dogs can lead to severe dehydration and disruption of water and electrolyte balance, which in itself, without proper treatment, can lead to death of the animal from dehydration.In addition, with constant vomiting, an animal cannot normally consume and assimilate the nutrients of the feed, which leads to a quick depletion of the body’s energy reserves and inevitably reduces the likelihood of a successful outcome of the disease, vomiting in a puppy is especially dangerous.

Vomiting diseases of dogs

Vomiting in dogs can be a leading symptom in a variety of medical conditions. The reasons can be very diverse. Diagnostics of the nature of the occurrence of a symptom such as vomiting largely determines the correctness of the diagnosis.

So what pathological conditions can vomiting in dogs have?

First of all, vomiting accompanies almost all diseases of the digestive system in dogs, such vomiting is often classified as gastrointestinal. Poisoning with non-benign food, gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, volvulus in dogs, pancreatitis, gastroenterocolitis, hepatitis, liver lipidosis, foreign bodies in the stomach and intestines of a dog, infectious diseases of the digestive system (parvovirus enteritis in dogs, coronovirus infection T.etc.), helminthiasis (worms in a dog), this is not a complete list of diseases of the digestive system, in which vomiting can occur in dogs.

Another group of diseases, the inherent symptom of which is vomiting in dogs, is lesions of the central nervous system, namely the brain, leading in one way or another to the emetic center in a state of excitement. Traumatic brain injury in dogs, intracranial hypertension with hydrocephalus or brain tumors, cerebrovascular accident or meningitis in dogs, peripheral vestibular syndrome, heat and sunstroke.

Vomiting in the above-described diseases is called central, tk. it arises not due to stimulation of peripheral vomiting receptors in the digestive organs, but due to the primary involvement of brain receptors in the process

Separately, it is worth mentioning vomiting during intoxication of the body. Intoxication of the body can occur when:

• impaired liver and kidney function , as well as urinary and biliary systems, can occur in renal failure, renal amyloidosis, portosystemic shunts in dogs, hepatitis, liver lipidosis, cholelithiasis and urolithiasis in dogs, etc.And since the main organs responsible for the removal of toxic substances from the body are the liver and kidneys, the complete or partial loss of their function leads to self-poisoning of the body by metabolic products. Which leads to indomitable vomiting in dogs.
• systemic infectious processes (viral and bacterial) , such as: parvovirus enteritis, coronavirus infection, canine plague, sepsis, pyometra in dogs, abscesses, phlegmon, etc. Viruses, in the course of their vital activity, provoke massive death of body cells, which, in combination with the secondary bacterial microflora, leads to poisoning of the animal with cellular decay products.Bacterial inflammatory processes first of all provoke intoxication with bacterial toxins and only then the decay products of dead tissues.
• parasitic invasion. Worms in dogs and protozoa are the most common parasitic problems leading to intoxication of the dog’s body, and as a result – vomiting. Worms in a dog, the symptoms can be very varied, but the most characteristic is vomiting, as well as diarrhea.
• drug overdose .Some drugs, when injected into the body of an animal in excessive quantities or at a high rate, can cause vomiting, for example, alcohol, cytostatics, narcotic analgesics, etc.

Severe vomiting in a dog is often accompanied by concomitant signs of intoxication: dehydration, general lethargy, the dog does not eat, reacts poorly to external stimuli, is often in a coma, there may be secondary signs of dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract (in a dog, diarrhea and vomiting).

Treatment of vomiting in dogs

Vomiting in a dog requires immediate treatment. Remembering that vomiting is not a disease, but a symptom, we must realize that it is not possible to cure vomiting without identifying the underlying disease that causes it. Once we have started treating the cause of vomiting, such as an intestinal infection, we should work in parallel to prevent the recurrence of vomiting (antiemetic drugs) and treat its adverse effects on the body, such as dehydration and wasting in dogs.When dehydrated, a dropper will help the dog cope with a lack of fluid in the body, vitamins will raise the general tone of the body, and nutritious, well-absorbed feed will quickly gain strength for further recovery.

If the dog vomits repeatedly, then this is a reason for a visit to the veterinarian. The nature of vomiting can be very different and largely determines the cause of vomiting. When diagnosing the cause, everything is important: the circumstances under or after which the dog vomits, the frequency of vomiting, the contents of the vomit, their color, the presence or absence of a connection between the occurrence of episodes of vomiting with food intake, etc.etc.

Association of vomiting with food intake. Vomiting may occur on an empty stomach, during meals, immediately after meals, or some time after meals. The dog often vomits on an empty stomach in the presence of chronic inflammatory problems with the stomach and intestines, uremia. If the dog vomits after eating food (during or immediately after eating), then you can suspect the possibility of a diverticulum of the esophagus, reflux esophagitis, a foreign body in the stomach or severe gastritis, gastric ulcer and / or intestinal ulcer, stomach and / or esophageal tumor …If vomiting in a dog occurs 1.5-2 hours after eating undigested food, then a violation of the evacuation of the contents of the stomach, its atony, can be suspected. If vomiting in a dog is associated with the administration of drugs, then it is likely that either the drugs themselves cause this kind of reaction (drug intolerance) or vomiting is provoked by their too rapid intravenous administration (drug intoxication). When the body is intoxicated, the dog constantly vomits, vomiting can be spontaneous or constant and not dependent on food intake.

The consistency and content of vomit in a dog is of great diagnostic value.

If the dog vomits with foam (white, white foam) or mucus , then we can suspect gastritis in the animal (both primary and secondary against the background of uremia), intoxication, vomiting against the background of peripheral vestibular syndrome. Mucus and foam can be observed in vomit and with intestinal obstruction or if there is a foreign body in the dog’s stomach.

If dog vomits bile (yellow or green), then we can assume both the presence of liver problems and intestinal obstruction below the confluence of the bile duct. In addition, the dog vomits bile if the vomiting is prolonged, debilitating and the entire contents of the stomach have already exited with vomit, and active antiperistaltic contractions of the stomach and intestines persist, which provokes the reflux of bile from the duodenum into the stomach. A dog vomits water or food immediately after eating or absorbing water in case of poisoning with non-benign food, acute gastritis, and also the cause may be a volvulus in dogs, a foreign body in the stomach.

But the most unpleasant and threatening condition can be considered a condition in which a dog vomits blood. Vomiting with blood in dogs may look different, sometimes you can see small red streaks (indicate bleeding of low intensity), profuse blood clots or black vomiting indicate massive bleeding into the stomach cavity and require urgent transport of the animal to the intensive care center for diagnosis and emergency care.The dog vomits blood, if there is: insufficiency of the coagulation system, opening of a tumor in the gastrointestinal tract, hemorrhagic gastritis, stomach ulcer in a dog, perforation of the stomach with sharp foreign objects (the dog ate chicken bones), poisoning of the dog with rat poison, etc.

If your dog is vomiting with worms , then you should show the animal to the doctor and give pills for worms for dogs. Worms in dogs cause vomiting or are present in it only with a very severe degree of damage, if the dog has worms, it is advisable to send them for analysis to a laboratory for research.- the best treatment.

Prevention of vomiting in dogs

Prevention of vomiting in dogs consists in proper feeding and maintenance of the animal. To prevent the occurrence of vomiting, the following measures are necessary:

• Balanced and regular feeding of the dog.
• Vaccination of the dog.
• Deworming. Give dog worm pills regularly.
• Exclusion of absorption of foreign objects by animals.
• Clinical examination of dogs (diseases of dogs, revealed during a preventive examination, respond better to treatment than chronic ones).

If your dog is vomiting, it is necessary to find out the cause and give the right treatment. Specialists of the veterinary city polyclinic “VetState” will conduct a full examination of your animal and prescribe the necessary treatment 7 days a week, 365 days a year, without holidays and days off.

We are glad to see you 24/7.For more information, please call the multichannel phone number

8 (499) 704-08-74

8 (499) 372-08-74

Food vomiting – causes, diagnosis and treatment

Food vomiting is a complex reflex act in which gastric juice with partially fermented food masses is released through the mouth as a result of increased pressure in the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and diaphragm.The symptom is often combined with nausea, abdominal pain, and unstable stool. Vomiting occurs in organic and functional diseases of the upper digestive tract, but sometimes has a physiological origin. To identify the prerequisites for the violation, ultrasound, radiography, endoscopy, manometry, laboratory tests are performed. To relieve the symptom, prokinetics, sorbents are used.

Causes of food vomiting

In most cases, the appearance of a symptom is caused by various morphological or functional disorders of the digestive system.The physiological reasons include overeating, which is accompanied by stretching of the gastric wall and reflex excitation of the vomiting center in the medulla oblongata. The symptom is often provoked by the consumption of large quantities of heavy food with alcoholic beverages. Vomiting food is also one of the manifestations of toxicosis in the first half of pregnancy.

Pyloric stenosis

Vomiting of eaten food is a common symptom of narrowing of the transition between the stomach and duodenum, which can be either congenital or associated with organic lesions of the gastroduodenal zone.With pyloric stenosis, there is a prolonged retention of chyme in the stomach, which causes overstretching of the organ. Nerve impulses from receptors are transmitted primarily through the vagus nerve to a specific center in the brain, which triggers a sequential emetic act.

The frequency of vomiting attacks depends on the severity of the stenosis. With a mild to moderate degree of narrowing of the pyloric sphincter, the manifestation is observed once every few days. With decompensated pyloric stenosis, antiperistaltic contractions occur after each meal.Vomit has a rotten smell. Characterized by constant severity and dull pain in the epigastrium, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, bloating. With a prolonged course of the disease, exhaustion progresses up to complete cachexia.

Poisoning

Dyspeptic disorders are the main symptoms of foodborne illness provoked by the use of low-quality products infected with staphylococci, enterobacteria and other pathogens. An attack of vomiting occurs a couple of hours after a meal and is combined with diarrhea, cramping abdominal pain, signs of general intoxication.Excitation of the vomiting center is caused by a massive exposure to toxins, an important role is played by the direct irritating effect of microbes on the gastric mucosa.

Gastritis

The appearance of food vomiting is more typical for acute gastritis, which is accompanied by pronounced organic changes in the gastric mucosa. The symptom in most patients occurs immediately after eating due to irritation of the nerve endings. A typical combination of vomiting with sharp pain in the epigastric zone, constant nausea and belching of air.Vomit may contain mucus and bile impurities. Diarrhea is also observed up to 7-10 times a day, which sometimes leads to dehydration.

Gastroduodenal diseases

In diseases of the stomach and duodenum, vomiting is of a reflex nature, it is preceded by nausea. The symptom is caused by excessive stimulation of the center of the medulla oblongata along the fibers of the vagus, phrenic nerves. Many patients notice an improvement in their well-being after the release of vomit, therefore, sometimes they induce vomiting on their own.Typical complaints are abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation. Vomiting of gastric chyme with food is manifested:

• Gastroparesis . A decrease in the contractility of the gastric muscles predisposes to the appearance of anti-peristaltic contractions, which cause vomiting with the release of a large amount of food. Patients complain of nausea after eating, a feeling of fullness in the epigastrium, belching with air or rotten air. Repeated vomiting is noted in severe disorder, when the chyme stagnates in the stomach for several days.
• Acute gastric dilatation . The clinical picture of the disease develops sharply due to a violation of the innervation of the gastric wall. There are sharp pains in the epigastric region, which are combined with nausea, hiccups. Indomitable vomiting is observed with the release of gastric contents with food (up to 8 liters per day), then bile may appear in the vomit. The act of vomiting occurs without the application of volitional efforts, does not bring relief.
• Duodenal stenosis .Regurgitation of eaten food indicates a decompensated state when the gastric muscles cannot cope with the large volume of chyme received as a result of duodeno-gastric reflux. Other dyspeptic disorders are likely: nausea after eating, rotten belching, sometimes patients complain of heartburn. Characterized by pain syndrome, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
• Retaining Loop Syndrome . In this variant of diseases of the operated stomach, partially digested chyme accumulates in the blind part of the intestine, the condition is aggravated by the increased secretion of intestinal juice.With a significant expansion of the intestine, duodenostasis begins, which is complicated by jejunogastric reflux with profuse vomiting of food eaten. As a rule, the general condition is disturbed, intoxication is growing.
• Neoplasms . Vomiting of food often occurs when tumors are localized in the pyloric part, when they make it difficult for the chyme to pass into the lower parts of the digestive tract. Benign formations develop with little symptoms, clinical signs appear only with a large polyp.In malignant tumors, vomit contains blood impurities, in severe situations, vomiting of “coffee grounds” begins.

Functional dyspepsia

Inorganic stomach disorders are characterized by polymorphism of clinical signs, their rapid appearance and disappearance. Dyspeptic symptoms are usually preceded by errors in diet, stressful situations. Typical is the habitual vomiting, which occurs suddenly and is associated with the effects of higher nervous structures on the medulla oblongata.In addition to regurgitation of food, flatulence, heaviness in the epigastrium, and instability of the stool are possible. Against the background of dyspeptic symptoms, symptoms of vascular dystonia are often manifested.

Pathology of the esophagus

In the pathogenesis of esophageal vomiting, disturbances in the coordination of contractions of the sphincters and the smooth muscle layer, as well as mechanical obstacles that impede the movement of food, are of great importance. Distinguish between early emetic act, occurring directly during eating and caused by mechanical obstruction, and late as a manifestation of functional changes in the work of muscle sphincters.The symptom is combined with dysphagia, chest pain. The most common cause of vomiting is:

• Esophageal stenosis . In the case of congenital stenosis, symptoms in the form of regurgitation of undiluted milk are detected already in the first days of life. With acquired narrowing, the first sign is dysphagia, first of solid food, and then of semi-liquid and liquid. The retention of the food lump over the site of stenosis and the expansion of the organ provokes vomiting. The ingress of particles into the respiratory tract predisposes to coughing fits, shortness of breath, and suffocation.
• Esophageal diverticula . The formation of a saccular protrusion of the wall often occurs in older people, who often suffer from other pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. Food accumulates in the formation, which is then excreted during vomiting. For the diverticulum, the presence of retrosternal pains, bad breath, and rotten eructations are pathognomonic. Due to the improvement in the condition after vomiting, many patients cause it artificially.
• Dyskinesia .Regurgitation of just eaten food is possible with any violations of the contractile activity of the esophageal muscles. The symptom often occurs with hypomotor dyskinesia with a long delay in food masses at the entrance to the stomach. In addition to vomiting, swallowing disorders are determined, and with functional disorders, patients experience difficulties in swallowing liquids, and solid food passes without problems.
• Achalasia of the cardia . In case of disturbances in the innervation of the lower esophageal regions, the cardiac sphincter reflexively closes, which makes it difficult for food to pass into the stomach.The esophagus expands, stagnation of food masses develops. This leads to regurgitation due to contraction of the esophageal muscles and is manifested by profuse regurgitation with a “full mouth”. Patients have dysphagia with both liquid and solid foods.
• Ulcerative defect . For lesions of the esophageal mucosa, the appearance of sharp chest pains, heartburn immediately after eating are pathognomonic. At the height of the pain, vomiting begins, which brings relief. In the excreted masses, in addition to the food eaten, blood impurities are found, indicating bleeding from an ulcer.With a prolonged course of the disease, there is a significant loss of body weight up to cachexia.

Survey

Vomiting of food is often a sign of the presence of functional or organic diseases of the digestive system, therefore, a gastroenterologist is involved in diagnostics, and research is aimed at a comprehensive study of the state of the gastrointestinal tract. The use of instrumental examination methods allows you to establish the root cause of vomiting, laboratory tests are prescribed to confirm the diagnosis.In terms of diagnostics, the most valuable are:

• Endoscopy . With the help of EGDS, the state of the esophageal, gastric and duodenal mucosa is visualized. The method allows you to identify volumetric neoplasms, strictures and cicatricial deformities of the alimentary canal. In doubtful cases, biopsy of pathological foci is additionally recommended for further histological examination.
• Radiography .The method of X-ray imaging with the use of an oral contrast agent is highly informative – it helps to assess the nature, coherence of the work of the gastric and esophageal sphincters, to determine the speed of food movement along the gastrointestinal tract. Radiography is also necessary to detect organic lesions.
• Ultrasound examination . Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity belongs to the group of fast non-invasive methods that are prescribed for screening examination of gastroenterological patients and the choice of further tactics.According to the indications, after survey sonography, targeted ultrasound of individual organs is performed to detect pathological changes.
• Esophageal manometry. In case of a possible esophageal origin of vomiting, it is imperative to measure the pressure in different parts of the organ. Usually, a study of the contractions of the upper and lower smooth muscle sphincters, as well as an assessment of the pressure in the body of the esophagus, is carried out. If necessary, the study is supplemented with antroduodenal manometry.
• Bacteriological research .Dyspeptic symptoms are possible with various intestinal infections. In order to exclude this group of diseases, it is necessary to sow feces and vomit on nutrient media, which makes it possible to identify the main pathogens. When confirming the infectious etiology of the process, the blood is additionally examined for antibodies.

If vomiting of eaten foods is likely to be associated with impaired acid-producing function of the stomach, it is advisable to measure the acidity of gastric juice and the amount of free hydrochloric acid.Shown biochemical blood test to determine the level of amylase, lipase, gastrin concentration, pepsinogen. In the absence of organic lesions of the digestive organs, a neurological examination is prescribed to exclude functional disorders.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Symptomatic therapy

If vomiting occurs one-time or sporadically and is provoked by overeating, it does not require specific treatment. To reduce the load on the digestive system after heavy meals, it is advisable to eat easily digestible low-calorie food for several days, refrain from taking fatty meat dishes, smoked meats.If you suspect food poisoning, you should rinse the stomach, take sorbents. With pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, complex therapy of the underlying disease is necessary.

Until an accurate diagnosis is made, medications can be used to reduce unpleasant symptoms: prokinetics, anticholinergic drugs. You cannot take strong antiemetics on your own, as this can be dangerous to your health. Repeated vomiting of food, which is accompanied by a violation of the general condition, an increase in body temperature, the appearance of pathological impurities of blood or bile in liquid vomit is an indication for immediate medical attention.

90,000 Vomiting reflexes in cats, symptoms of vomiting and its causes

Vomiting in cats occurs quite often, and can serve as both a natural manifestation of the normal functioning of the feline body, and an alarming symptom. When it is worth treating vomiting only as a small nuisance that happened to your carpet, and when it is necessary to run to the veterinary clinic, we will help you figure it out.

Cat gag reflex, what is it?

From the word “reflex” you have already guessed that vomiting is a spontaneous act of the body.It is interesting that it is regulated in a special center of the brain of all higher animals, and is nothing more than a protective reaction. With the help of the gag reflex, the body gets rid of a foreign body that has entered the gastrointestinal tract or simply excess food, as well as poisons and toxins.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The vomiting center of the brain can also be activated from many other reasons, for example, an increase in intracranial pressure, signals received from the vestibular apparatus, in developing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, etc.

Many predators, including cats, have another interesting use for the gag reflex. With the help of it, mothers regurgitate half-digested food for feeding their suckling kittens. This is a great way to gradually accustom babies’ fragile gastrointestinal tract to the consumption of their future permanent food – meat.

In this case, in a cat, the gag reflex is closely related to the instinct that guides the behavior of the animal in the wild, and therefore in many pedigree favorites it can be lost.Generations of breeding have affected many of the habits of our pets, and now many of them prefer to completely rely on humans, even in such an important matter as raising offspring.

So, vomiting in cats is a universal symptom, and therefore it is very important to correctly and in time to understand the causes of this effect.

When not to worry about vomiting in cats

You don’t have to worry about such a phenomenon as hungry vomiting in cats. It occurs more often in animals that are fed like dogs – twice a day.Here it should be noted that although such vomiting in cats in the morning may not indicate a disease, such a diet is not suitable for small cats. They are adapted to eat often, but little by little, and therefore should not experience prolonged periods of complete starvation.

It happens that a cat’s vomiting after a meal happens for the opposite reason, when, as they say, it no longer fits. And this is a reason for the owner to think whether it is worth adding to the cat the addition of his favorite canned food.

Cold food is another common cause of vomiting in cats after eating. It has been established that the gag reflex in cats is caused by food entering the stomach, the temperature of which is significantly lower than room temperature. So don’t be lazy to reheat food from the refrigerator before giving it to your cat. Ideally, it will be the temperature of the “victim’s body”, that is, about 38 ° C.

Finally, it is completely natural to vomit hair in a cat, whose stomach is clogged with lumps of hairs swallowed during grooming.When the hairball is too large, you can observe the cat’s gagging without vomiting, and then you should help its body and give the animal a special paste to remove hair from the stomach.

Intermittent vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy and during motion sickness is also completely normal.

Vomiting in a cat – warning signs

When it comes to vomiting, it is important to pay attention not so much to the fact of vomiting as to its contents. This may sound disappointing to disgusted owners, but what to do – the health of the animal is at stake.

Normally, that is, when we are not talking about any pathological processes or conditions, vomit contains part of the undigested feed along with gastric juice. If the stomach is empty, then the cat is vomiting with white foam, which is exactly a mixture of hydrochloric acid and various digestive enzymes, which in the air acquires a foamy structure.

All other “colors of the rainbow” in vomit should be a reason for contacting a veterinarian.Here is a sample list.

Vomiting blood in a cat

Indicates bleeding, moreover, both in the oral cavity – and then it will look like separate scarlet blotches – and in the esophagus, stomach, upper part of the small intestine. In the latter case, the vomit becomes a uniform dark shade, and such brown vomiting in a cat may indicate a foreign body, tumor or ulcer. The most dangerous option is vomiting of “coffee grounds”, which resembles a thick brown mass.This is a sure sign of bleeding in the stomach or duodenum – “coffee grounds” are nothing more than red blood cells that have entered the stomach cavity as a result of bleeding and destroyed by gastric juice.

Attention! If there are signs of blood in the vomit, the animal should not be fed, bloody vomiting in cats is a reason for immediate medical attention.

Vomiting with bile in a cat

Normally, bile produced by the liver and accumulating in the gallbladder should not enter the vomit, since during the vomiting reflex the pyloric sphincter valve of the stomach, through which digestive enzymes enter it, must be tightly closed.If a cat vomits bile often, then you need to see a doctor, as this may be a sign of liver and gallbladder disease.

Vomiting green

This is the case when an urgent visit to a doctor is necessary even with a single case of green vomiting in a cat. This symptom can be observed with intestinal obstruction and other acute conditions. It is caused by a very high concentration of bile and duodenal secretion in the stomach, which, as we remember, should not be normal.

However, you don’t have to worry about green vomit when you see grass or other green plants in the vomit. Most often, cats eat grass just in order to induce vomiting and get rid of swallowed fur stuck in the stomach.

Vomiting of feces in a cat

Yes, it happens. It is easy to recognize such vomiting by its characteristic consistency and smell, and it indicates an injury to the abdomen and intestinal obstruction. From the moment the cat vomited feces, the countdown went on for hours – and the sooner you see a doctor, the more chances of life will be for your pet.

Vomiting with mucus

It is also a serious symptom and occurs in chronic diseases of the stomach and intestines. Also, vomiting with mucus in a cat can be a sign of helminthic invasion, then mucus is necessarily observed in the feces.

Vomiting with worms in a cat

If you see worms in a cat’s vomit, then you don’t have to guess for a long time what they are. The animal has an extreme degree of helminthic invasion, when the parasites have multiplied so much that they no longer have enough space in the cat’s body.Usually, weakened poor fellows reach such a state, and therefore it is necessary to urgently run … just not to the veterinary pharmacy for antihelminthic pills, but to the veterinarian. With helminthic invasion on such a scale, it is impossible to act sharply and by strong means, because with mass death, excessively multiplied parasites will not have time to leave the body naturally and will cause severe poisoning.

Frequent vomiting in a cat

Here we mean debilitating vomiting, when the cat “turns out” over and over again for a short period of time, that is, we observe not a one-time and not even periodic, but non-stop process.This is a sign of serious poisoning, so you need to take the animal to the clinic immediately.

Vomiting in a cat – what to do

Vomiting in cats does not require treatment – it is not a disease, but a symptom, and vomiting can be stopped only by eliminating the cause that causes it. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to identify alarming symptoms in time, which can be discerned in the contents of the vomit, and to consult a doctor in time. In addition, it is very important to monitor the general condition of the cat, because, as a rule, vomiting is not the only symptom of serious diseases.Most often, diarrhea and vomiting are observed in a sick cat, as well as refusal to eat and general lethargy.

Helping a cat with vomiting should be to prevent severe dehydration, which occurs in this case. To do this, you need to forcibly water the animal, and in a veterinary clinic, in no case should you refuse a dropper.

Be attentive to your animals and may they be healthy!

Larisa Solodovnikova

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