WHAT is wrong with DD?! (nauseous 4 year old)

[because]

DD had a stomach virus first week of January and threw up three times (pretty bad, though). Since then, she gets these bouts of nausea regularly that really scare her (and are starting to drive me NUTS!). It's happened the past three nights but it's usually only 3-4 times a week.

They almost always occur during or after dinner when we're all sitting around the table. The first couple times right after the virus, it happened when she had a bunch of cold smoothie in her tummy so I thought that she was just feeling cold and that reminded her of the weird virus feelings. Since then, I can't seem to find a common theme.

When she gets the scared look at says, "Mommy, I think I'm going to throw up," I calmly but quickly escort her to the bathroom and stay with her for a minute while she sits on the step stool near the toilet. Then I go about my business and encourage her to come out and play. I think the fear, rather than actual sickness, keeps her in there longer than she actually feels bad. I'm so tired of it that tonight I didn't even go in there with her. I just opened the childgate and sent her in alone. I'm sick of interrupted meals! I also don't want to give her the impression that I think there's something wrong with her and compound the problem.

She has not thrown up since the virus.

Is she really sick to her stomach? Is she thinking about being sick last month and making herself nauseous? Is it because she's sitting in the same seat where she started to feel bad for two of the puking episodes during the virus? Is she just dwelling on the food in front or her (or in her belly)?

Psychosomatic or horrible disease?

And if you can't diagnose this for me, at least help figure out how to treat her. Baby her? Ignore her?

TIA!

[ameliabedelia]

I would say it is probably psychosomatic. I know I, my sister and my mother have all had childhood incidents where we got sick ( from a virus) after eating certain foods...but after that we had a real and strong aversion to those foods, lasting for several years, almost into adulthood. I can remember as a kid, being super grossed out by rice and ravioli, and when my family had one of those things for dinner, I would set up these tall, books all around my plate, so I wouldn't have to see/smell the rice or ravioli. My mom was nice and made me something different (usually plain spaghetti). It all started after throwing up after eating those foods. Now, I love ravioli and like rice decently enough. It just took many, many years before I was able to eat it again. I also had a weird aversion to eating sandwiches (but not to the point where I would put up books or anything ), as a kid, from the same cause. I know my mother said she had the same thing, as did my sister (but I can't remember what foods they had aversions too..but I know they started after an illness).

I would guess that in your daughter's case, instead of developing an aversion to specific foods, she developed an aversion to eating in a specific spot at a specific time, since that is when she first got sick. I think it is actually pretty common for kids to develop food aversion or "feeling sick" incidents after throwing up during a virus..since throwing up is a scary thing.

In your daughter's case. I can't really think of anything to do other than change her spot/seat at the table and just do what you have been doing while she is feeling nauseus.

[mamatoady]

my vote is for psychosomatic. Have you asked her if throwing up scared her? Is it possible that you (or whoever) scared her when she was throwing up by responding as though something horrible was going to happen? When my dd throws up, sometimes it gets stuck in her throat and she feels like she's choking--pretty darn scary for a kid.

I know that sometimes kids will re-enact something they're afraid of in order to gain control over it. My dd was sick about a month ago and barfed all over herself in bed, for the next two days, she told me she was "gonna puke" and she'd get a towel out, lay it neatly on the floor in the kitchen, kneel down next to it and hold her hair back...she'd lean forward for a few seconds and then stand up and walk away and just say "I don't have to puke." I'd ask her if it was a false alarm and she'd say "yeah".

(FYI, I think putting her face in the toilet is gross, so until she pukes like a big person, I've always put a thick towel on the floor for her to puke on--so that's WHY she does the towel thing)

Is there a possibility that you babied her when she was sick and she REALLY liked the attention?

sarah

[pygmywombat]

Could she have reflux? Mine was really bad when I was little (3-5 yo), especially after dinner. I didn't throw up much, but it gave me a horrible about to puke feeling in my throat.

I had the stomach flu last month and it seems to have restarted the evening nausea problem again.

[magster]

Interstinal parasites is the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear a chld is feeling nauseous without actually throwing up. I live in Brazil where these nasty little fellows are pretty common, maybe it's different where you live (I hope so ).

[maya44]

One more thing. I would have her tested for Celiac. This is not an atypical progression with a stomach bug triggering the celiac that has been dormant until then, from what I understand.

[jen in co]

My DS (18 months) threw up for a few weeks after a stomach flu and our Ped said that it's not uncommon to have reflux for a few weeks after a particularly bad flu. We ended up putting him on prevacid for a week and it all cleared up. So reflux might be the culprit