Why does a child vomit when coughing?

A child's cough always causes concern among parents. This is a completely natural and correct reaction. After all, even a completely healthy baby can choke and cough while eating if a foreign body gets into the windpipe. And when a child coughs and vomits at night, this is a good reason for concern. In this case, it is worth quickly finding out the reasons in order to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

Causes of severe cough at night

When a child has coughing attacks at night before vomiting, even the most stress-resistant adult becomes frightened. Moreover, young children often panic less than adults.

There is no way to get rid of such negative symptoms. Because without identifying the provocateur, the child will again and again scare his parents with night attacks. To understand why your night cough is bothering you, you should consult a doctor. He will identify the cause and recommend treatment.

As for the reasons, the following pathologies can provoke this negative symptom:

• infectious defect of whooping cough;
• ascariasis;
• colds;
• a foreign substance that has entered the respiratory system;
• gastrointestinal pathologies;
• external negative factors to which the child’s body reacts with an allergic response;
• dry air;
• hypothermia;
• mucus in the throat.

With the intensive development of the pharmaceutical industry, almost everyone has at least several cough remedies in their home medicine cabinet. However, they should not be used until the child has been examined by a doctor.

Causes and characteristics of diseases with coughing to vomiting in a child

Vomiting when coughing in a child is a sign that occurs in 8-10% of cases of all respiratory pathologies. Self-cleansing of the stomach during the next attack frightens parents and forces them to call a doctor or begin self-medication.

To select adequate remedies, it is necessary to assess the nature of respiratory dysfunction, accompanying symptoms, and the general condition of the child. Only a doctor can establish the correct preliminary diagnosis and select the appropriate treatment.

No temperature

Cough and snot are traditional symptoms for a child of any age that parents encounter. In the absence of manifestations of intoxication, the described symptoms do not require specialized treatment. Recovery is limited to rest, drinking plenty of fluids and eating well.

If your child vomits while coughing, you should be especially careful. There are situations when the corresponding reflex remains physiological. An example is the entry of air into the stomach of infants during feeding (aerophagia). The result is belching, which is sometimes accompanied by a retrograde (reverse) reflux of milk into the esophagus, causing coughing and vomiting in an instant.

The described clinical picture is episodic in nature and is associated with violation of the rules for attaching the child to the breast or other reasons for air entering the stomach. Elimination of aerophagia ensures normalization of the baby’s well-being.

Despite these physiological characteristics, in 80-90% of cases the child vomits when coughing due to certain pathological changes in the respiratory or digestive system. Diseases occur with an increase in body temperature or with normal readings on the thermometer (36-36.9°C). The body's thermal reaction is a sign that helps differentiate diseases.

Pathological conditions accompanied by cough and vomiting in a child without fever:

• Foreign body. Contact with small parts of toys, fruit grains, ordinary coins or other objects causes a very strong reflex cough. The body tries to get rid of the foreign body, which provokes excessive contraction of the muscles of the chest and abdominal cavity with the occurrence of vomiting. The situation requires immediate hospitalization to eliminate the cause of suffocation. The problem is typical mainly for children under 3 years of age;

With temperature

An increase in body temperature is the body’s reaction in response to bacterial, viral invasion (in 85% of cases) or disruption of the functioning of the corresponding centers in the brain. The progression of cough with vomiting in a child is caused mainly by diseases that develop against the background of the activity of pathogenic microbes.

Examples:

• Whooping cough. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets. The causative agent is a bacterium that causes serious disturbances in the function of external respiration. A severe, paroxysmal, dry cough that worsens at night is a typical symptom of the disease. Body temperature rises to 38°C. Spasm of the respiratory tract exhausts the child, the patient cannot clear his throat, and vomiting occurs. At the height of the attack, a reprise occurs - a reflex cessation of breathing, during which the patient may die. Pathology requires hospitalization in an infectious diseases hospital;

Why does coughing provoke a gag reflex in children?

The co-occurrence of cough and vomiting in children is a phenomenon for which parents should be prepared. There is no need to panic in such a situation, but it is also impossible to ignore the corresponding development of events.

What does a cough mean?

Night cough to the point of vomiting in a child is an unpleasant phenomenon. Sometimes, such attacks are not dangerous and are eliminated almost instantly. But in some cases, dangerous symptoms require immediate intervention.

So, what types of cough with vomiting are there and what they signal:

• a dry coughing attack, in which the child begins to vomit, signals accumulated mucus in the lungs. In this condition, conservative treatment does not have a positive effect and the cough intensifies;
• night wet cough, it is also called productive. This type is easy to treat, provided that the baby receives plenty of fluids and expectorants. As a rule, with this treatment regimen, both the urge to vomit and the cough will disappear without a trace within a few days;
• The child coughs only at night. This type signals that accumulated mucus rises when the child assumes a horizontal position. In this case, the baby needs to change his sleeping position and give him a warm drink;
• cough accompanied by fever. This type signals the development of an infectious disease, bronchitis or hypothermia;
• severe cough without fever. This type signals a number of diseases. This could be asthma, an allergic reaction, and in some cases, acute bronchitis.

Important: If a cough accompanied by vomiting occurs in a child due to an ongoing cold, do not worry too much. With proper treatment, the problem will go away in a few days.

In any case, no matter how well-versed the parents are, a visit to the doctor should not be postponed. If the child's condition is serious, call emergency services.

Reasons why coughing and vomiting may occur

Keep in mind! If your baby is suffering from a strong cough to the point of nausea, it may be:

1. Hidden inflammatory process . This is a rather dangerous reason, because in this case the immune system does not respond to danger and does not fight the causes of inflammation,
2. The patient spends a long time in a room with polluted air . Such conditions can cause these symptoms, weakness and dizziness.
3. Allergic reactions are also accompanied by cough syndrome, nausea, and the temperature does not rise. By eliminating the irritants, the symptoms will gradually subside.
4. Anatomical abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract.
5. A foreign body has entered the respiratory tract.

However, in order to accurately determine the cause of such phenomena, it is necessary to undergo a series of diagnostic studies.

Under no circumstances should you treat a patient yourself, much less ignore such symptoms.

The manifestation of these symptoms can cause serious pathologies that can lead to dangerous consequences.

It is worth noting! Pediatricians believe that coughing before vomiting in infants is not always a dangerous phenomenon; sometimes it is due to the fact that babies at this age cannot control the gag reflex.

In addition, the cough and vomiting centers in children are located close. But, if parents notice repeated manifestations of such a sign, consultation with a specialist is necessary .

Elimination methods

What should you do if your child coughs several nights in a row? First, visit a pediatrician and do not self-medicate. The doctor will conduct an examination, determine the cause of the problem and prescribe a set of therapeutic measures. In turn, parents should take a number of steps to reduce nighttime coughing. To do this, use the following recommendations:

• an hour before bedtime, ventilate the children's room;
• Do wet cleaning every evening;
• purchase an air humidifier and install it in the nursery;
• Provide your child with warm and plentiful drinks throughout the day;
• instill a saline solution into the nasal passages before bedtime, after which the child needs to blow his nose thoroughly;
• Inhalations will help stop attacks. Just remember, they can be used if the child does not have a fever.

Some parents start giving antibiotics when coughing. This is strictly prohibited. In addition, with the wet type, it is not recommended to take antitussive drugs, and with the dry type, expectorant medications are prohibited.

How to help your baby

If your baby coughs heavily, you should immediately visit the doctor to rule out a pathological condition and prevent dehydration. There are several ways to treat the ailment that has arisen, but a specific remedy can only be prescribed by the attending physician.

Be sure to visit a doctor with your child; these symptoms cannot be ignored

All parents need to do is follow a few tips and recommendations:

1. If a child has a cough to the point of vomiting, what should you do? This question worries most parents. If a cough develops to the point of vomiting, you should consult a specialist to rule out an infectious disease. The main thing is not to self-medicate.
2. Ensuring control of the humidity and temperature in the baby’s room means helping him in a speedy recovery. As an additional measure, air mass humidifiers can be purchased.
3. If the child is in infancy and cannot move independently, it is worth periodically changing the bodily position during sleep. This method of approach will help get rid of cough.

   
   It is important to avoid dehydration; to do this, give your child more to drink.

4. If a child’s fever accompanies this entire unpleasant process, there is a colossal risk of complete body dehydration. So treatment involves the baby consuming enough fluid to prevent a subsequent attack.
5. If a dry cough leading to vomiting or a wet cough reflex has developed against the background of an allergic reaction, you should take care of following a diet and regular cleaning to humidify the air in the room.
6. If a child’s wet cough without fever progresses, or dry syndrome is observed, it is necessary to use a full-fledged cough medicine. This is one of the important points that includes competent treatment of the disease.

Giving your baby milk and honey can help ease his condition.

If you want to try traditional methods and recipes, you should be especially careful and begin to use them strictly after determining the causative factor of the phenomenon. In the case of an allergic disease, there is a risk of serious complications.

It is useful if you experience vomiting when coughing, drink warm milk orally along with raspberries and honey. You also need to pay attention to removing the causative factor of the disease.

Proven medicines for cough and vomiting

When a child vomits after coughing, you should pay attention to how synchronously these processes occur. The baby may vomit directly during a cough or do so in between. The first case is typical for a dry symptom, the second - for a wet reflex. In this case, there may be snot or other clinical manifestations of certain diseases. Vomiting acts as a natural way to cleanse the body of mucus.

One of the drugs that can be given to children for cough is ACC.

Certain medications are used to eliminate vomiting in children:

• groups of mucolytics, including Lazolvan, ACC, Ambrobene;
• expectorant compounds, these are Pertussin, Gedelix;
• means of combined influence, Stoptussin.

The drugs are given between attacks in accordance with the instructions for their use. If there is snot and the child is vomiting, you should give preference to other groups of medicinal formulations. You can also humidify the air using special vapors, this will improve the baby's health. Often, a cough syndrome that develops into vomiting provokes a sore throat. To do this, an infant or a child 3 years old is given plenty of drink in the form of warm water.

Pertussin is an inexpensive herbal syrup that helps remove phlegm.

Which doctor should I contact?

If a severe cough occurs, accompanied by vomiting, the parent should visit a pediatrician. He will examine the child and, if the need arises, refer him to specialized specialists, such as:

• phthisiatrician or infectious disease specialist;
• allergist;
• immunologist;
• gastroenterologist

For a dry cough, if pneumonia is excluded, allergy tests and tests are indicated.

Expectorants

To stop vomiting, you need to stop your baby's cough. To do this, you can use the following recipes:

1. Black radish helps in the early stages of coughing attacks. You need to make a depression in it and pour 1 tbsp into it. l. honey Leave until morning. In the morning on an empty stomach, drink the resulting juice. You can cut the radish into cubes and cover with sugar. Place in the oven to bake for 2 hours. Drain the resulting liquid and consume 2 tsp. 3 times a day.
2. An effective remedy is an onion-honey mixture. Take 1 small onion, grind and mix with honey (1:1). Consume 1 tsp after meals. 3 times a day. Can be used for children from 1 year.
3. A dry, irritating cough will be soothed by this medicine: combine 0.5 cups of lemon juice with 2 tbsp. l. honey and 1 tsp. glycerin. The recommended dose is 6 times a day, 1 tsp.
4. Carrot juice is very useful for dry cough. It must be mixed with sugar syrup (1:1) and drunk 1 tsp. 5 times a day.
5. Boil figs in milk and take before bed. To prepare the product, take 2-3 inflorescences per 1 glass of milk.
6. A strong cough will be soothed by a decoction of viburnum fruits. Brew 1 cup of berries with 1 liter of boiling water, cook for 10 minutes. After straining, drink 2 tsp. 3 times a day.
7. Cabbage juice is an excellent expectorant. It should be taken 1 tsp. several times a day.
8. Plantain is effective for dry cough. 1 tbsp. l. Brew leaves with 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 2 hours. Recommended dose – 1 tsp. 3 times a day.
9. This medicine works well for coughs in infants: combine 1 tsp. honey, 2 tbsp. l. anise seeds and a pinch of salt. Pour the ingredients into 1 glass of water, boil, and strain after cooling. Take 1 tsp. every 2 hours. When using this remedy, it is important to know that anise has a laxative effect.
10. Nettle heals persistent cough. You need to boil its root in sugar syrup and take 1/2-1 tsp. 3-4 times a day, washed down with warm water or milk.

How to treat

Treatment of cough that occurs at night should be carried out comprehensively. For these purposes, the following groups of drugs are used:

• mucolytics to thin sputum;
• expectorants to remove mucus from the respiratory tract;
• combination drugs;
• inhalation.

Important: Inhalation helps cope well with the cause of cough. Buy a nebulizer and it will become your indispensable assistant in the treatment of many childhood diseases.

In some cases, you can use folk remedies, such as:

• rosehip tea;
• elderberry infusion;
• chamomile tea;
• linden decoction with honey;
• warm milk with honey.

However, it is worth highlighting that herbal teas and infusions can only be used after consulting with your doctor.

When emergency help is needed

In some cases, if a child has a severe cough, emergency medical care is needed, namely:

• if the baby has a suffocating cough, accompanied by nausea, vomiting and respiratory failure;
• during an attack, the child experiences shortness of breath and retraction of the intercostal muscle mass;
• there is an admixture of blood in the vomit;
• with a cough accompanied by high body temperature, which is not brought down by antipyretic drugs;
• if severe vomiting occurs and the baby is dehydrated;
• difficulty breathing and facial flushing.

If you experience the symptoms described above, you should urgently call an ambulance. However, in such cases, parents are strictly prohibited from taking the following actions:

• raise your voice at the baby;
• rub the body with vinegar and alcohol-containing products;
• install jars and mustard plasters.

Important: If the child’s consciousness is not impaired and the symptoms are not pronounced, the parents’ task is to monitor the baby’s condition, and in the morning contact the pediatrician for help.

And lastly, giving medications to a child without first consulting a doctor is not recommended. By doing this, you can worsen your baby’s condition.

Causes of coughing before vomiting

The main reasons that cause vomiting from coughing in a child include:

• respiratory tract infections – rhinitis, ARVI, influenza, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, sinusitis, pneumonia;
• impaired nasal breathing due to adenoids, deviated nasal septum;
• gastroesophageal reflux disease – reflux disease, GERD;
• helminthiasis – infection with parasitic worms;
• allergy;
• the presence of a foreign body in the bronchus;
• dry indoor air.

With a dry cough, vomiting occurs at the moment of the strongest tension of the respiratory muscles and diaphragm during coughing. With a wet cough, vomiting occurs in a child after an attack, and is caused by sputum entering the esophagus and stomach.

Foreign body in the respiratory tract

If there is a suspicion that a child’s cough with vomiting is caused by a foreign body in the bronchus, the child should be immediately shown to an ENT doctor:

• If the object is large enough, it immediately blocks the airway, leaving parents with no doubt about the cause of the attack.
• A very small object, deeply stuck in the bronchi, makes breathing difficult, but does not completely block it.

In the latter case, the child’s cough with vomiting will be repeated constantly for no apparent reason - without fever, diarrhea, nausea or other complaints about deterioration of health.

It is especially dangerous if there is a foreign body in the humid environment of the lungs:

• will become inflamed and cause suppuration;
• will begin to swell and increase in size, further blocking the lumen of the bronchus.

An external examination at home will not help identify the cause of shortness of breath. An object deeply embedded in the bronchi is detected only in the ENT office with the help of special medical devices.

Signs of a small object lodged in the bronchus are manifested by bluishness of the face during an attack, severe fear, and panic. Between attacks, the baby may feel satisfactory, but a foreign body in the respiratory tract reveals itself:

• voice change;
• shortness of breath during normal games, which is manifested by noisy inhalation, retraction of the subclavian areas and intercostal spaces during inhalation.

Moist cough

With a wet cough, the cause of vomiting in a child may be taking an expectorant before bed. The baby's sputum production increases at night, and due to the horizontal position, the mucus stagnates, causing severe attacks that end in vomiting.

The cause of vomiting with a wet cough in young people is excessive mucous discharge due to acute rhinitis, nasopharyngitis, especially if these diseases are combined with adenoids.

The gag reflex is provoked by impaired nasal breathing and irritation of the pharynx by mucus. The little ones need to thoroughly clean their noses of mucus and crusts, and explain to older kids that they should not try to swallow the mucus, but try to spit it out.

Drainage of mucus down the back wall of the pharynx is observed in chronic sinusitis. In this case, coughing and vomiting will occur in the child at night, in a horizontal position.

Dry cough with vomiting

A severe dry cough leading to vomiting develops in a child with whooping cough and parawhooping cough. Attacks of coughing shocks intensify at night, alternate with deep breaths and end in vomiting with the discharge of mucus.

Symptoms of whooping cough include:

• face turning purple from tension;
• inhalations with whistling sounds.

Parents should understand that even a vaccinated child can get whooping cough. Adults should also know what to do if a child has an attack of dry cough leading to vomiting with fever and rusty sputum.

Similar symptoms occur with pneumonia. If pneumonia is suspected, call a doctor without delay, provide the child with a flow of fresh air, and give a warm drink. To reduce the temperature, if it rises above 38 0C, use paracetamol.

Dry cough and vomiting are observed with scarlet fever. But with this disease, vomiting occurs as an independent symptom, and does not appear after a coughing attack.

Vomiting blood

When a child coughs to the point of vomiting, blood may appear in the vomit as a result of:

• damage to the vessels of the nasal cavity, pulmonary hemorrhage;
• violation of the integrity of the vessels of the esophagus or stomach.

The appearance of blood in vomit may indicate gastritis, a stomach ulcer, or injury to the walls of the esophagus by swallowing a foreign object. Such violations cannot be ignored; the baby should definitely be shown to a doctor.

A severe attack with the discharge of sputum with blood is possible with pulmonary tuberculosis. The frequency of attacks increases at night and is accompanied by deterioration of the condition, fever, chills, and severe sweating.

Attacks with gastroesophagitis

Gastroesophagitis is a disease caused by weakness of the cardia, manifested by the backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus. The frequency of reflux disease in children, according to various sources, ranges from 8% to 49%.

Irritation of the mucous membrane of the oropharynx and trachea causes coughing attacks in 90% of patients with GERD. A severe attack at night can be triggered by:

• eating immediately before bedtime;
• a hearty dinner.

Attacks of coughing leading to vomiting with GERD also occur during the daytime, if immediately after eating the baby lies down or, on the contrary, actively moves, runs, or bends over sharply.

The functioning of the lower esophageal sphincter can also be disrupted in healthy children:

• with compression of the stomach, which occurs with a strong tilt of the body, physical stress;
• when the sphincter relaxes at night when the child sleeps in a horizontal position.

Cough due to parasitosis

A child’s poor appetite, dry cough and vomiting without fever may indicate ascariasis - a parasitic infection with roundworms. Temperature appears with ascariasis if the number of parasites in the body increases to 50. If the number of helminths is small, the temperature remains normal.

The cough reflex occurs with ascariasis as a result of the migration of ascaris larvae into the lungs. Infection with worms can be accompanied by an allergic reaction, which causes swelling and provokes coughing.

Allergy

Attacks of vomiting caused by a strong cough can be triggered by food allergies, hay fever, and bronchial asthma. Due to the narrowness of the respiratory passage in childhood and swelling caused by allergies, air circulation deteriorates, cough receptors are irritated, provoking a strong suffocating cough with vomiting.

Treatment for allergies involves taking antihistamines prescribed by your doctor. Traditional methods of treatment not only will not help, but can also aggravate the situation.

Cough until vomiting: Komarovsky

The famous pediatrician Komarovsky believes that parents themselves are primarily to blame for severe night coughs. Cause: wrong treatment. So, the most common mistakes made by parents:

• treatment of respiratory tract pathologies with mucolytics, which most often provoke severe night coughing;
• the use of Biseptol during ARVI is the first way to provoke a complication;
• unjustified use of antibiotics.

To improve the baby’s condition, first, parents need to calm down themselves, visit a pediatrician and strictly follow all the doctor’s orders. In addition, to relieve the condition, rinse the child's nasal passages with saline solution. He fights the cause and at the same time eliminates the symptoms.

And lastly, make sure that night attacks are not associated with an allergic reaction of the body. To do this, remove all feather pillows, soft toys, carpets and other objects that accumulate dust from the nursery. Then do a wet cleaning and ventilate the room. If the measures taken do not give a positive result, visit your pediatrician.

Prevention

Is it possible to prevent a child's cough? And how to accomplish this. To prevent this condition from disturbing your family, adhere to the following rules:

• Take walks in the fresh air every day;
• thoroughly ventilate your home before going to bed and perform wet cleaning;
• get rid of things that accumulate dust;
• regulate the room temperature. This is especially true for a children's room, where the optimal temperature should be +20C;
• Make sure the air is not too dry. It is very dangerous, as is the heat in the room;
• harden your child and carry out healing water treatments yourself daily;
• Make sure your child drinks plenty of warm liquids. Remember, dehydration is extremely dangerous for a child’s body.

And in conclusion, it is worth noting that if your child has a night cough accompanied by gagging, you should not self-medicate.

Visit your pediatrician and follow all his instructions. The problem will go away in a few days. Otherwise, complications may arise that will be much more difficult to eliminate.