My 10 year old daughter started throwing up last Wednesday night. She couldn't keep down any food or liquids. We took her to Children's in Dallas on Saturday and the said it was just a stomach bug. They did blood tests (normal) and gave her and IV to pump some fluids back into her system. Sunday she woke up feeling much better and actually ate and kept down the food.

Yesterday however, she threw up again after eating some Ramen Noodles. She said she felt absolutely fine after throwing up and didn't throw up again. Then today after we had Chik-Fil-A she threw up again after eating. She has eaten without throwing up Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. She is a voracious eater and still doesn't have her appetite back so I know she's not eating too much.

Any idea of what's going on? Is it just a lingering stomach bug or should we be concerned about something else? Pediatrician has no availability and advised us to go back to Children's. No fever, no nausea (except the two times after eating) but is still having some diarrhea (no blood in stool).

The stomach bug may be gone but her body may have an aversion to some foods that could have been connected to the bug.

I've had it before where I got a bug from some bad Alfredo sauce, and I went to eat some a couple weeks later and I got sick again like my body was trying to get rid of it. Had to chill on alfredo for a few months

Anecdotal, but its an idea! I would stick to some super safe foods. If she had Chic-fil-a before getting sick then maybe its too soon, even though nothing is wrong with the food or her stomach. Just a response.

Sub4 said:

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The stomach bug may be gone but her body may have an aversion to some foods that could have been connected to the bug.

I've had it before where I got a bug from some bad Alfredo sauce, and I went to eat some a couple weeks later and I got sick again like my body was trying to get rid of it. Had to chill on alfredo for a few months

Anecdotal, but its an idea! I would stick to some super safe foods. If she had Chic-fil-a before getting sick then maybe its too soon, even though nothing is wrong with the food or her stomach. Just a response.

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Thank you! This gives me a piece of mind. She also ate the Ramen and then CFA and then got in the car to go somewhere. Perhaps her stomach and not being quite ready for that type of food mixed with the motion of the moving car caused her to be sick.

She said she feels completely fine after throwing up and doesn't throw up after when eating at home. This has to be the cause. Just didn't know if we should take her back in or not.

Both CFA and Ramen are going to be higher fat foods. Those are tough after a stomach illness. I'd be avoiding fried foods like that for a bit.

If there's no fever, no blood in the stool, and she's holding liquids down plus small amounts of food (at minimum) then I wouldn't be worried at this point about anything else other than some lingering symptoms from a viral stomach bug. Diarrhea can last 7-10 days in kids. Hope that helps.

Not sure if the bloodwork included a blood sugar test or not. If not just do a simple finger stick to check for Type 1 diabetes, most likely not it, but it took way too long to diagnose my son at that age, when all he needed was a sugar test. Take care!

I would also get a food sensitivity test done, perhaps there is an aversion to gluten?

She's all better now! Eating like a horse again and back to playing softball like nothing ever happened. One hell of a stomach bug that knocked her on her ass for 10 days.

Great to hear!

Glad she is better.

This is a common problem I see in kids with stomach viruses when they start to improve then have some regression with intermittent vomiting. It is essentially a post-viral Ileus or gastroparesis where the normal peristalsis is interrupted resulting in bloating, poor appetite, and vomiting 1-2x a day.

Often resolves with no treatment but I offer metoclopramide to accelerate gastric emptying. Usually only takes a few doses to fix it.

Update-in-Pediatric-Gastroparesis.pdf (practicalgastro.com)