The most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea is viral gastroenteritis. Usually this illness will start with vomiting, and diarrhea will follow within 12-24 hours. Other more serious illnesses can cause vomiting as an isolated symptom and your provider should be contacted if vomiting persists.

Your child should be brought in to the office for:

• Symptoms of dehydration including decreased urine output (less than every 8-10 hours), lethargy, dry mucous membranes, & lack of tears
• Blood in vomit that is not from a nose bleed
• Bile in vomit
• Continued abdominal pain
• Persistent symptoms or any other concerns

Home care advice for children >1 year old:

• For vomiting > 2 times, do not give the child anything by mouth for 3-4 hours
• After 3-4 hours reintroduce fluids by giving ice chips, a popsicle, or spoon/dropper feed 1-2 teaspoons of water/pedialyte/half-strength gatorade every 5 mins for 30 minutes
• Slowly increase the volume of fluids over the course of 4-5 hours as tolerated
• If fluids are tolerated for 8 hours without vomiting, solids may be reintroduced. Limit solids to bland food such as bananas, rice, toast, crackers, ect.
• A normal diet may be resumed after 24 hours without vomiting