What causes vomiting in infants?
Food allergies such as Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) may be responsible for infant vomiting. Upto 50% of babies with CMPA experience vomiting as a symptom at some time (Klemola et al 2002; Hill et al., 1988).
Sudden onset of vomiting episodes is likely to be caused by a gastrointestinal infection such as gastroenteritis and may be accompanied by diarrhea (Guarino et al 2014).
Other causes might include gastroesophageal reflux (link to Reflux & regurgitation), a reaction to a medicine, intestinal obstruction or a metabolic disorder (Medline Vomiting causes 2023).
Could it be a symptom of Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy?
Up to 34% of children with food allergy will have gastrointestinal symptoms including vomiting (Vandenplas et al 2022). In newborn babies and young infants, vomiting is a common symptom of CMPA (Koletzko et al 2012; Ravelli et al 2001). Clinically, it may present both as an immediate (within minutes) (Caffarelli C et al., 2010) or as a late reaction (days to a week) (Koletzko et al 2012).
The presence of infection as a cause for vomiting in the infant, needs to be ruled out before proceeding to other diagnosis.
However, when considering the diagnosis of CMPA, it’s important to consider that the majority of infants with CMPA have at least two symptoms affecting at least two different organ systems (Lifschitz C. and Szajewska H 2015; Høst & Halken 1990; Høst et al 1994).
Therefore, it is important to consider the individual child as well as the magnitude of their symptoms. This can be achieved using an awareness tool such as the Cow’s Milk Related Symptom Score (CoMiSS®) which will help you determine if CMPA might be indicated (Vandenplas et al 2015;Vandenplas et al 2022).
