Vomiting is a common ailment--viruses, infections and simply eating too much can all cause your child to throw up. Vomiting isn't usually a problem unless it is prolonged and your child begins to suffer from dehydration. Most often, you can treat your child's vomiting at home, though chronic vomiting should be brought to the attention of a pediatrician.
Step 1
Offer your child water or ice chips after vomiting. Give your child small sips, as little as a teaspoon at a time, to help his stomach settle without further irritation. Seattle Children's Hospital explains that water absorbs through the wall of the stomach and can prevent dehydration.
Step 2
Give your child an oral rehydration solution, abbreviated as ORS, if she has diarrhea along with the vomiting, or if the vomiting continues throughout the day. ORS provides electrolytes that are lost during bouts of the stomach flu and rotavirus, and can prevent dehydration, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. As with water and ice chips, offer small sips.
Step 3
Encourage your child to sleep. Seattle Children's Hospital reports that sleep can empty your stomach and helps you feel less nauseated. Most children who have repeated bouts of vomiting expend a lot of energy being sick and may welcome the rest.
Step 4
Stop all non-essential medications while your child is vomiting. Medicines may upset the stomach and won't be effective if they are regurgitated. Let your pediatrician know if your child takes a drug essential to a pre-existing medical condition and can't keep it down.
Step 5
Start your child on a bland diet once he has gone eight hours without throwing up. Dry toast, watered down, flat ginger ale or lemon-lime soda, crackers, white rice and bananas are options that won't irritate the stomach lining. Offer small snacks and incrementally increase the amount of food as your child recovers.
Things You'll Need
- Water
- Ice chips
- Oral rehydration solution
- Crackers
- Bread
- Bananas
- Soda
