Question
A 14-month-old male infant, after experiencing several days of high fever and intravenous treatment, suddenly started vomiting after drinking formula milk. This vomiting continued regardless of whether he ate congee or formula milk, with vomiting occurring each time.
Answer
Vomiting is a common phenomenon in infants and can be caused by two main reasons: either as a symptom of a systemic or gastrointestinal disease; or due to the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the infant’s gastrointestinal tract that are prone to vomiting. Generally speaking, vomiting caused by the second reason is more common. When infants ingest milk through the mouth, it first passes through the esophagus into the stomach. The stomach has two openings: one is the cardia, which connects to the esophagus and is the entrance to the stomach; the other is the pylorus, which connects to the intestines and is the exit of the stomach. These physiological structural features may lead to vomiting in certain situations.