Toddlers may sometimes vomit small amounts after feeds and while being burped. The most common causes of vomiting in toddlers and patients in a paediatric age group include acute gastroenteritis, which is the inflammation of the stomach and intestines, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, which is the regurgitation of acidic gastric content up the oesophagus.
Acute gastroenteritis may be caused by viral or bacterial infections. Gastroesophageal reflux disease may be caused by a weak lower esophageal sphincter in children, which then allows gastric acid to follow into the oesophagus.
Other minor causes of vomiting include prolonged coughing, rapid feeding, air swallowing, and overfeeding. These usually give rise to bouts of occasional vomiting and not frequent repeated vomiting episodes.
Repeated vomitting can also be caused by other medical conditions which will require urgent medical attention. These include pyloric stenosis, intestinal obstruction (eg, meconium ileus, volvulus, intestinal atresia, stenosis), intussusception (typically in infants aged 3 to 36 mo), traumatic brain injury and sepsis. Rare metabolic disorders are uncommon but can manifest with vomiting.
