At around 1 yr my son would put his fingers down his throat and gagged himself. That stopped. He is almost 19 months now and for the past month he has been gagging pretty much everyday at least once. He sometimes will do it while eating and sometimes not. It's 50/50. He will be playing, he'll look at us and just start gagging? I get very worried and sometimes I feel like he knows I will react. This is my first and only child and I am so worried. I cannot get any answers from his pediatrician. He does not have the greatest appetite either but has not lost any weight so the Doc. is not worried. Sometimes he will vomit while he is gagging. Like I said sometimes I feel it is behavioral and sometimes I feel there is something wrong???? PLEASE HELP
My son used to gag a lot before we found out about his food allergies. Since we've changed his diet, his gagging has almost completely gone away. You may want to see an allergist to rule this out.
i just asked a very similar question. were both confused. youre not alone on this.
I'm wondering if this is a digestive issue. Since the doctors are clueless, I would start your son on probiotics. The restoration of good bacteria to aid digestion may help with this. Primadophus is available at health food stores. I and others have mentioned this many times here. I understand it comes in a loose powder form so it can be mixed into food. Personally, I take a probiotic called Restore. The product line is Advocare. It comes in capsule form and can help with acid reflux. It can be purchased on ebay or through independent distributors, some of whom have Web sites. I buy it at my chiropractor-kinesiologist's office, too. Good luck!
Funny my 4YO is doing the same thing. She has recently started coughing and in the midst of the cough she gags. As well, she has complained a lot about stomach aches and says she has to throw up. She hadn't thrown up when she said she would and thought she was just trying to get her way. As well, she would eat junk chips and then forget about the stomach ache. Well...Saturday night she spent her first night at Grandma's house and woke her up in the middle of the night telling her she had to throw up. She did. Both Sunday and Monday she was fine. Strange behavior.
I agree that you should try and down-play your reaction in front of your LO. If it continue, seek out an occupational and/or speech therapist to evaluate the problem. Often they can work with LO to overcome minor difficulties.
Hi B., both of my kids did this... They call it cause/effect syndrome. They are becoming aware that they can control their bodies, it usually goes away in a couple of months. Sometimes, I catch my son still putting his hand down his throat, I just take his hands out of his mouth and divert his attention elsewhere, he is 2.5 yo. My 4 yo has not done this in 2 yrs. Hope that this helps.
Both of my grandchildren gagged and vomited easily as toddlers. They are 6 and 9 and both still vomit sometimes when they are coughing. Some children and adults have sensitive gag reflexes. My adult daughter gags and sometimes vomits when she sees a few specific things. Over time those who do learn how to control them but as toddlers they still haven't had enough experience to be able to do that.
If your child doesn't seem ill, then I'd down play it. If you do think he's doing it because it does get a reaction from you, completely ignore it. If you're giving him enough attention without the gagging I'd think that he's not doing it to get attention unless it's turned into a game of sorts. I also believe that it's never wrong to give a bit of sympathy in this situation. Sympathy indicates love and concern. We all need loads of that.
Gagging is not pleasant and it is a rare child who does it for attention alone. They do do it if it creates drama and feels like a game.
Also, at 1, and on into the toddler years, a child is learning about their body and how it works. They have to repeat what they're doing over and over to make the knowledge a part of their world and to know that it will always happen that way.
Could very well be behavioral, but I hate calling anything behavioral in children (especially tiny tots) until all other possibilities have been ruled out.
I would find out if tonsils are an issue (sometimes small children gag as a symptom of a sore throat. Personally, I gag when I can not breathe easily). Also check out acid reflux. Another strong possibility would be sinus issues and/or stuffy or dry nasal passages. Drainage in the back of his throat is enough to make anyone gag.
