Injuries to the belly, pelvis, or vagina, such as a blow to the
belly, can cause vomiting. After a minor injury, your child may have pain,
nausea, or vomiting but usually will start to feel better in a few minutes.
However, vomiting that continues, gets worse, or begins after an injury may
mean that your child has damaged an organ, such as the liver, spleen, or
intestines. Blows to the belly can injure the belly, pelvis, or vagina and also
can cause vomiting.
Blunt injuries can cause severe bruising or serious bleeding inside
the belly. Such injuries are often caused by falls from a significant height or
by car, bicycle, sledding, or skiing accidents in which the child is forcefully
thrown against an object or to the ground.
Vomiting after a head injury may be caused by increased pressure
inside the skull. A blow to the head that causes slight movement of the brain
within the skull may cause nausea and vomiting for a short time. Your child may
vomit once or twice.
Immediate medical attention is needed when:
- Violent vomiting after the head injury continues
for 15 minutes or longer.
- Your child vomits more than 3 or more
times after the head injury.
Vomiting can occur when a baby is shaken, slammed, or thrown against
an object (shaken baby syndrome). Other types of physical or
sexual abuse can also cause vomiting.
You may feel uneasy if your health professional brings up the issue
of physical or sexual abuse. Health professionals have a professional duty and
legal obligation to evaluate possible sexual injury or abuse in a child. It is
important to consider this possibility, especially if there were no witnesses
to the injury that may have caused the child's vomiting. If you think that your
child has been physically or sexually abused, call your health professional or
contact the National Child Abuse Hotline and Referral Service at
1-800-422-4453.
