Question
A 2-year-old baby has recently developed dry vomiting. On December 31st, the parents noticed the child had a fever along with vomiting symptoms. The doctor diagnosed it as enteritis and the child received a 6-day intravenous injection treatment. The child appeared to recover and was discharged, but in the following days, experienced difficulty defecating and abdominal bloating. On January 10th, the child vomited again, on January 11th showed loss of appetite and abdominal bloating, and on January 12th, vomited once more. The parents brought the child back to the hospital for examination. The doctor diagnosed the vomiting as being caused by constipation and prescribed a lubricant enema, calcium gluconate and sodium starch glycolate solution. After using the lubricant enema, the child defecated smoothly and the abdominal bloating disappeared. The parents also gave the child digestive medicine and pediatric chicken powder, but the child vomited again at night. The parents asked what the cause was and how to handle it.
Answer
Although the initial enteritis has been effectively treated, the gastrointestinal absorption function has not yet fully recovered, which may lead to symptoms such as constipation and vomiting. The doctor’s diagnosis is correct; dry vomiting is indeed related to constipation and also to the incomplete recovery of gastrointestinal absorption function. Constipation may be due to incomplete recovery of gastrointestinal motility. It is recommended to temporarily reduce the child’s food intake and increase their activity level.