2 Year Old Has Had Cough for 2 Weeks Has Started Vomiting

Kids who don't know how to blow their nose tend to vomit the phlegm to get rid of it. It's a common response, especially if your child has a strong gag reflex. Our now four year old had this happen to him a lot last winter. He was three at the time and every night he would vomit as the mucus stayed in his throat and would irritate him. (Think about how uncomfortable you feel when you have mucus in your thoat- you know how to spit it out, they don't).

For us, it progressed from nightly vomiting, to twice, then three times a day, for a peroid of two months (as long as the cold lasted). So, in other words, for us it got a lot worse. Because he was vomiting the phlegm up so much, his esophagus got more and more irritated, which meant more stuff would bother him, he would vomit more, and finally ended up with something more like acid reflux. He had to take medicine to heal the esophagus. And all this because the mucus caused a gag reflex..... It was really scary for us, he lost a lot of weight; and started becoming a picky eater. But now that he knows how to blow his nose right, he no longer has this problem. Moral of the story is, the doctors will tell you it's normal, but it can become a catch 22 (vomit to get rid of mucus, irritate esophagus, keep vomiting). Hopefully your son's cold won't last as long as my son's did, and he'll learn how to blow his nose sooner. :)

Good luck.

A little about me:

I have three boys. A 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 6 month old I am totally inlove with (we were trying for a girl too).

My daughter used to do something like that. She would be fine, then usually when sleeping or laying down she would throw up white "snotty" stuff, then she would be fine again. Once she learned to blow her nose it's gone way down! The doctor told me it's because her sinuses and nose were draining. She couldn't blow her nose so the stuff would go to her stomach. The only way to get it out was to throw up. Kind of gross... sorry! Also no fun for your son.

Both of my son's have food sensitivities and allergies. A couple of years ago my younger one was sick and would only eat an organic stawberry cereal we had. Then he started vomiting and continued to vomit for about another 2 -3 wks. We then decided it must be a reaction to the ceareal since that is all we could get him to eat. Turns out he's allergic to corn. He had similar symptoms to your child. Running around playing and then he would vomit. We cut out the corn and he got better.
With food allergies it causes swelling on the organs on the inside. If you live in portland area there is a great Naruropath Rita Bettenberg at the natural Child and family birth center that can test for food sensitivities. It is worth it. The sooner it goes treated the less health problems your child will have when he/she grows up.
Good Luck!!!

Hi C.!
This fall the same thing happened to my son. The pedi said it was just a cold at first, and then when I started hearing phlem they told me to go to the ER because they suspected phneumonia. It turned out that "thanks" to the doctrs who failed to provide the right care, his cold turned into a sinus infection...
They gave us some antibiotics though, and it was gone in several days.

This exact same thing just happened to my 3 year old. I did take her into the Dr. because she had been up all night the night before coughing. The following morning she threw up. I called the Dr. and they had me bring her down. They took chest x-rays to make sure all was good in her chest. She threw up one other time on me on the way out and she was better by that night. I know the flu has been going around, but I have a feeling that was just her bodies way of getting rid of all that stuff in her chest. Good luck - hope your little one feels better soon.

I also have a son, who is six now, and he has had that problem multiple times. He has had sinus infections in the past and when the mucus starts to drain he doesn't spit it up so it drains right down into his stomach. Which causes him to have an upset stomach and vomits. He automatically feels better right away too. When I was a child I had many sinus infections and colds and I would also have the same problem. It would make my stomach upset and I would vomit too. But you do feel so much better afterwards. I don't know if your doctor has suggested to use saline solution in his nose to help breakdown the mucus. I use a neti pot with my son now that he is older. It helps alot. If you haven't called the doctor you should. They might might want to see him just to make sure he is okay.

Yes I am familiar with this. You didn't say if he was coughing right before this happened. If he is coughing right before this happens you should have your doctor listen to his lungs. Coughing to the point of vomitting may indicate something else is going on. I have had this happen with more than one child. One child it was asthma another it was just a cold with a bad cough. It could just be he is coughing up phelgm as you thought. Its the only way he has to get rid of the phelgm. You could try a nighttime vaporizer the nightlight ones work fine.It helps with the cough and phelgm.
Good Luck

First off, I would call the doctor and see if you should bring him in.

Second, I have personally had coughs that were so harsh that they caused vomiting. Is your son coughing that hard?

W. B.

My daugher often vomits when she coughs. She also vomits when she gets really upset. I tell her to try not to cough so deep, because I have the same problem on occasion. Try to use a cough suppressent if you can.

Please go have this checked out by a doctor. We have a friend who has two little boys that ended up in the hospital for days with a new virus strain that is sweeping the country right now. It starts out looking like a cold but quickly becomes very serious. Do not ignore this, it could potentially be life threatening! If it isn't the same thing, better safe than sorry. God bless.

Don't know about the vomiting but it could be from the phlem that drains in his tummy at night. But get some Vicks Vapor Rub and rub on the bottom of his feet at night and some socks and see if it helps the cough. It sounds strange but I have even used it on my Hubby anf me and it worked even on grownups. I' 67 and a greatgrandmother of six healthy babes. three girls and three boys. good luck P. Buchanan

have his ears checked!!
Ive been dealing with chronic ear infections with my son for a few months now. He has had three since Nov 1.

The coughing may be due to a tickling in his ears and throat. I know with Alex that his ears are bothering him when he starts throwing up like that because his equilibrium is off!

C.,
Two of my girls are like that. It is very confusing. One thing we have done is to use saline three-four times a day. It seems to break it up. We also run the humidifier. I will put Johnson's vapor bath in the bath too. It takes a couple of days usually. Good luck.
S. mmother of three girls 12, 8 1/2 and 4 1/2

As long as he does not have a fever, I would say that the vomiting is probably due to too much drainage down the back of his throat gagging him as well as too much phlegm in his belly.

The best thing that has worked for my kids' cough is Pediacare vapor plug ins. They fill the room with Vicks type vapors, but you don't actually have to smear anything on him. It works awesome and helps them sleep soundly without coughing a lot. Also, I know this sounds stupid, but try heavily smearing Vicks vapor rub on the soles of his feet and then put on socks before bed. I don't know why, but this quiets a cough as well.

This hasn't happened to me, but a cough with vomiting makes me think of whooping cough. I don't know, I've hear whooping cough is such a bad cough that you would know it if you heard it, but maybe it is worth a call to the doctor just in case? Good luck!

Hi there

I read this post a couple of days ago cause my two little ones have had this persistent cough and I thought oh that's kind of weird, must be just from the cough. But then last night (and the night before) my daughter vomited. Now I kind of think it must be part of the symptoms of the virus. Just trying to get more information about how long your son vomitted and if anyone else in your family went through similar things. THANKS!

Have you brought your son in to see the doc? The coughing fits you describe sound like it could be whooping cough (pertussis) which requires antibiotics. Even though our babies are immunized against pertussis as infants, the immunity doesn't last indefinitely. While whooping cough could be life threatening to infants, it doesn't pose the same kind of threat to older toddlers and children... still, coughing so hard that you vomit is certainly not pleasant. My daughter had pertussis when she was three (started like a cold, low-grade fever, then weeks of sudden coughing attacks that seemed to come out of no where), and antibiotics cleared it up in a matter of days. Good luck!

S. H.

It sounds like whooping cough! It has been going around but those are the symptoms.

Take him to the doctor if you can. It could be allergies and/or asthma if it is not a bronchial infection or cold.

If your 2yr old has had a cough for that long and is now throwing up, the safe bet??? Take him to the doctor's. There could be something else going on in his poor little body. It's just a "better to be safe than sorry" case. That's what I would do at least. Just to rule out that it's not something like strep throat or worse. :D Good luck! ~B.

Hi there...the symptoms reminded me of what I went through (not as a kid, mind you)...but it sounds like allergies. As I thought back to when it started, I always thought it was just a case of a bad cold. It always started around mid to end of August. However, each year it got worse increasing the length and the "illness", until one year I couldn't sleep well as I kept coughing all that phelgm out and it was ongoing throught October! But then someone asked me more questions and she said, no...it's allergies. So, I went to the doctor and got prescribed allergy medication and soon it was all gone. Check with the pediatrician about this. It could be seasonal allergies.
D. Kahn

Hi there. My 3 1/2 yr old girl had the same thimg. There is a bug going around. They say it is just a different form of the flu. My baby girl got the cough and then croup. They are both fine now. But it took about two weeks for all the stages to pass. My older daughter has an easier gag reflex and thus I think that when she cough a lot it was easier for her to vomit.
Now me and my husband have a light version of it. :( I wish you luck in that they get better and for your trying to have a girl. :) We seem to only have them and I'm to scared to try for a boy for fear it's another girl :)
Sincerely, B.

The vomit that you describe sounds like he vomited because he was coughing. Babies and preschoolers vomit easily. I would be concerned about vomiting only if he has a fever and is lethargic. Both of my grandchildren, ages 4 and 7, vomit nearly everytime they have a long coughing spell.

And in the last month I've vomited because of I was coughing. As with your son, my phlegm was white or clear and the vomit was light. I've heard several people coughing a cough that sounded like mine. They've said it's taking "forever" to get rid of the cough. They said they didn't feel sick, just coughed all the time.

I went to the dr after a month of this. He said it could be a virus or it could be that I was having a more intense reaction to allergies. Since I didn't have a fever he said that I'd just have to wait it out.

I put a humidifier in my bedroom, took a generic musinex d, and increased my decongestant that I take for allergies. In the winter the air inside our homes is dry and that in itself often causes a cough. I'd try using a humidifier.

With the humidifier my nose and throat were moist and I was more comfortable. I also coughed less.

My grandchildren coughed for 3-4 weeks but not nearly as hard as I did. They did vomit when the coughing was prolonged. Their mother didn't use a humidifier. When my 7 yo granddaughter stayed with me in the same room as the humidifier she didn't cough at night. Both children are still coughing sometimes but the cough is short and more irritating than a problem.

"The cough" seems to be this year's symptom and nothing to worry about unless there is a fever. Even then it's probably a virus and all the dr can do is tell you to keep him as comfortable as possible.

First babies surely do increase our anxiety. Just like with everything else we have to learn by experiencing and some things get easier with each subsequent child.

I wish you success in having a girl.

Hi,

I agree. It sounds like it could be pertussis (even if you've had the vaccination), a virus, or something bacterial. If it's been two weeks and it's getting worse, I'd take your child in to see a doc.

In wellness,
Dr. E. Mendenhall, ND

Does he have a fever?

Two of my kids used to get sinus infections and just from swallowing the gunk they would vomit.

I think it's time for a visit to the doctor.

My families baby had a severe dry cough that came on fairly quickly over night. Without much sleep and a couple of low grade fevers as well ( 101.9). The baby was already very congested and mucousy without being able to cough anything up and they couldn't seem to suck anything out of the babies nostrils. The fever eventually went away with the help of some baby acetaminophen but the cough did not and went on for a couple of days only to get worse at night and eventually the baby threw up a thicke white substance. The pediatrician instructed to use a cold humidifier, some vicks, and some motrin but that didn't seem to do much. The cough stopped just as quickly as it came on but than shortly after that had terrible rattling sound while breathing and even wheezing at times, it seemed to have moved to babies chest. What started off as a cold and cough turned into a Pneumonia so if you suspect the cough is different or severe or the throwing up is off have your doc or ped check for a possible Pneumonia.

Hope this helps someone =)!

I agree-take him to the doctor. It is more than likely a viral infection but you never know. My son used to have similar episodes like that when he would get a cold and it turned out that his tonsils were the problem. They were somewhat large to begin with and when he would get a cold or something they would get so swollen that they would almost touch each other and make him gag and vomit. They even bled a few times. Talk about freaky-having your child vomit blood is terrible. The doctor said when he was around 6, the tonsils would begin to shrink and apparently they have because he doesn't have the problem anymore. Good luck with this, and also for your future pregnancy!!

I often vomit when I cough especially if I have post nasal drip. just so you know there is a cold virus going around that sounds phlegmy but it just has alot of post nasal drip that hardens (caused me to vomit) and it feels very itchy you could call your dr. if he starts getting a fever that could be sign of an infection also my daughter sometimes vomits if she has a high fever and stands up too fast good luck I hope you little guy feels better soon.

Try putting Vicks on the bottom of his feet and put socks on at bedtime. I would definately get him into the doctor. It could be something worse than just a cough, like asthma or croup.

My girls often vomited when had bad coughs but in anycase you should get his chest listened to by the doctor. But the fact that he is rumming around and no fever seems likehe is just full of phlem and the only way is vomiting it out.

Hope he soon feels better

Yes this has happened to me, he probably has bronchitis...it will make them cough so hard they throw up, in fact this was the only symptom that my son had. It is important to get him into the doctor because even though he doesn't act sick, he is and if you wait he might develope chronic bronchitis. Then this will reoccur every time he gets a cold....my son is now 27 and still has problems every year.
GOOD LUCK!

Hi Chistianne,
I also have a 2 year old little boy and he has a similar cough and he will throw up a bit when he has a bad coughing fit and it seems to just be phem that he's throwin up to. He is prone to sinus infections and when some of the phlem is swallowed, it will generally upset his stomach. I've learned to stop giving him milk when he has a lot of phlem and that really seems to help. If your little guy starts to run a fever than take him into his primary for sure. But if he has no fever and is generally just fine before and after he vomits, I would not worry too much. These viral infections are a bummer because there is not much we can do for them, it just has to run it's course. Lots of fluids and nothing acidic and no milk because those cause phlem and acidy tummy which will make them sick. Just know, your not alone!! BTW.. My husband rarely agree's with me about this stuff too!