Unpasteurized apple cider=vomiting?

[madskye]

Hi,

My 4 year old had a glass of unpasteurized cider two weeks ago. Starting that day, she has been randomly throwing up late at night (3am-ish). She is fine the next day, no fever. She has had diarrhea maybe twice in the past two weeks.

Two weeks ago she threw up Weds & Saturday night. Last week it was Weds, Saturday and Sunday. Last night she was fine.

First the doctor thought it was a virus. When it happened last Weds, they said call back if it happened again. She was sick both weekend nights so we went in yesterday and they said it might be allergies. Last night she took a children's claritin and slept through the night.

I keep coming back to that cider though--is it possible that the cider could have not given her actual full blown food poisoning but just thrown her digestive system off and it's making her sick at night? I felt like I didn't do a good enough job explaining what I meant to the doctor and they keep dismissing it because she doesn't have a fever, or the other food poisoning symptoms. Anyone have any experience with this?

[MusicianDad]

I would be thinking allergies too. Seems a bit of a stretch to connect it to the cider when the symptoms are over two weeks and not continuous.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

WHen you say allergies? Do you mean food allergies?

[lynsage]

It sounds like a GI virus to me. MY kidlet never gets sick except for GI viruses, so I have plenty of experience with them! They can and do linger for weeks. The longest we went with one was two and a half weeks.

If it is indeed a GI virus, it would not have been the cider. Usually the incubation period is about 24 hours so it would have been something she ingested, or touched and then touched her mouth, the day before.

[nextcommercial]

My friend's son has this too. They went to an apple orchard in Arizona, that also happens to be a cattle farm. They picked apples and then went to the little store, and had the unpasturized juice... BUT, he also had dirty hands from the apples.

He has some stomach bug (parasite) from cattle. I'll go PM her and see if she remembers the name of the bug he has.

Her son's symptoms are identical to what you are describing, and the doctors (he's been to several.. poor kid) say it works it's way out of the system within two to three weeks.

He has a medication that controls vomiting that he's taking at night. It's helping some, but he still wakes up most nights about 3:00 a.m and vomits for the next hour or so. They are exhausted.

I just pmed her... she's shopping. LOL. She doesn't remember the name of it off the top of her head. It's on the paperwork at home though.

[madskye]

I thought the DR meant seasonal allergies. She does get stuffed nasal passages sometimes, and definitely had them Sunday night, the last time she threw up.

About the cider--nextcommercial--that is the kind of thing I was thinking of. Maybe if I say parasite it will make more sense to the DR.

Really, as long as it goes away I'll be ok--it's just worrying to have this lingering thing.

Food allergies really don't make sense to me because we've never had any issues before, same thing with reflux. I guess things have to start somewhere but this whole thing just doesn't make sense to me.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

When I was a kid I would throw up from seasonal allergies (I still get nauseous) sometimes. For me its the post nasal drip going into my throat and stomach and making me puke. I also remember being put on claritin (back when it was Rx) and that helping a lot.

[jenmk]

If it's not a parasite, then I would guess it could be a food allergy. We've experienced that here. My oldest, we discovered after at least a year, would throw up in the wee hours after he'd had peanut butter or peanuts. It took us so long to connect it, but it was exactly what you're describing--throwing up in the night, but being completely fine the next day, no fever, no nothing. Previously he had eaten peanut butter without problem, but for some reason it made him vomit every time he had it. We realized this because he had stopped eating it, and when he started eating it again the non-sick vomiting started.

Hope you figure it out! Your poor dd. That's just rotten for her.

[Pkutniewski]

I don;t want to frighten you but you can actually contract E. Coli from unpasturized apple cider. There were several outbreaks in the North East about 15 (give or take) years ago and they were linked to the apple juice. Here is a link I just found for you http://www.kidsource.com/stop/raw.cider.html
Again, I don't mean to scare you with this it is only so you can have her checked. Please keep us updated!

Edited to add another good link: (about fecal contamination with the apples from grazing animals) http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/p...er_safety.html

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by madskye

Food allergies really don't make sense to me because we've never had any issues before, same thing with reflux. I guess things have to start somewhere but this whole thing just doesn't make sense to me.

Food allergies can appear literally over night.

[madskye]

She slept through the night last night but woke up an hour ago and threw up. Now she seems fine.

I called the DR yesterday about the parasite and she said that we can do a stool test for that.

I am kind of surprized they haven't asked me to keep a food diary yet, but I will start one today.

I am not too worried about E coli because she has no fever or diarrhea--so the DR did rule that one out.

[One_Girl]

Certain drinks are pasterized to avoid nasty bacteria from making people seriously ill so I think you should have them check for that and other bacteria. I also think you should stick with organic drinks that are also pasturized in the future. Pasturizing doesn't have to be a chemical process, there are ways to do it is a heating process. Here is a cdc article about the risks of non-pasturized juices that you might find intersting. It specifically addresses the risk of diarrheal diseases.

http://www.cdc.gov/foodborne/juice_spotlight.htm

[Dandelionkid]

My dtr had this around age 3 or 4 and I remember it happened only in the wee morning or late night (the vomiting) and she was fine other than that. It lasted for close to two weeks, sporadically.

[calpurnia]

slight OT, but is cider not an alcoholic drink over there? i.e. not a drink 4 year olds normally have!

[madskye]

In the US we have non-alcoholic apple cider which is more like a thick juice. We have the alcoholic kind, too, but it's not that popular here.

We don't normally drink the unpasteurized cider--I actually didn't realize it wasn't pasteurized until after we all had some. I wouldn't have given it to her if I had known--I think it's fine for me but the recommendation is usually not for under 8 years old for the non-pasteurized stuff.

I've talked to a lot of people who have said it could be just one of those weird childhood things.

[My3guys]

I know you can get e.Coli from unpasteurized cider. There was a big outbreak a couple years ago. I would probably get my child tested for that or any other bacteria just to be on the safe side.

Good luck