How Can I Treat My 9 Yo Daughter's Severe Nausea?

See if crystallized ginger helps her.
She should be able to eat a piece of it when ever she needs to through the day.

I can think of a couple of things.

Migraines in children can show up without headache - and be tummy aches/nausea. My husband had those growing up. I get migraines too - and sometimes the aura (the non-headache part) involves nausea. Symptoms can last for up to 72 hours. Quite often, kids don't get the headache part. I often don't myself. So it can be confusing to diagnose.

I have a child who as part of her anxiety, feels nauseous. It's our tell-tell sign that she's feeling worried or nervous about something. Our doctor actually treated her for re-flux but once she saw a child therapist (just a few sessions) I've realized I think it was anxiety all along. My daughter has little techniques that are helpful. Deep breaths, etc.

The only other thing I can think of is has she been tested for food allergies or intolerance? I have lactose intolerance as do a couple of my kids - and we get bloated more, but can feel really nauseous at times.

Ulcer? I'm guessing they checked for that.

The most important thing I can suggest would be to keep a diary of her symptoms. What I do is print off a calendar from computer, then just write the days when it's problematic. What she ate that day, and drank. Or it could be a day before (or even more) so however much detail you need. Any others symptoms. If she finds light bright, etc. (that would also be a sign for some of migraines).

Good luck and I hope you figure it out soon :)

Has she seen a therapist? Nausea can be related to anxiety, not necessarily a physical problem. I would be surprised if her doc hadn't already suggested this. I'm assuming she's been tested for Celiac disease (?)

i wuld keep a food journal and note whats eaten and how severe symptoms are. after a while you may see a pattern.

Margie has terrific suggestions below. I'd re-read her post. Keeping very detailed records of when and where she gets nauseous, what she eats and drinks (EVERYthing), what she's exposed to (do you have pets? This could be even a pet allergy --they do not all present as sneezing or congestion and she might have been allergic her whole life)--keeping records is good. Has she been tested by an allergist for food allergies, pet allergies, mold allergies, etc.?

Unless a doctor orders it, I would not start adding herbs or anything that your daughter has to consume -- you would have no way to know if continued nausea was made worse by new foods or herbs or supplements, or if a change for the better was due to those things or to something unrelated to them. (I would make one exception which would be to try chewing crystallized ginger but do that only when the early symptoms begin.)

Please search the Washington Post web site for articles in its Health and Science weekly section about "medical mysteries." This series looks in depth at people who had strange symptoms or "normal" but problematic symptoms that dragged on for years and even decades, and how doctors eventually figured out what was going on in each case. I recommend these articles not because they deal directly with child having nausea but because they show how in each case, it took very assertive patiients (or in your case, very assertive parents) and finally finding a doctor who would look beyond the usual list of possible causes and really go far outside the box. Your DD's issue could be some rare gastro problem that even the specialist hasn't seen, or it could be emotional and a result of anxiety (absolutely get her evalutated by a therapist at least to rule out an emotional component), or it could be a brain issue that can get resolved but nobody looks for it. The people in the articles also "have tried everything" and eventually did find help -- maybe the articles can give you some ideas on how to get beyond the doctors you've seen so far. I hope so. I really feel for your daughter and for you too.

There is a huge connection between the gut and the brain. The vagus nerve provides a direct connection between the brain and gut, and other systems (this is how someone paralyzed can still digest food, the connection doesn't go through the spinal cord). This was explained to me by a chiropractor who I saw last year for some overall health and wellness issues and once I started taking a supplement that supported digestion (Enzycore from Standard Process but there are other digestive enzyme formulas out there), my migraines went away. For some people with migraines, they have only nausea but no headache or aura or other symptoms so her nausea could be migraine-related.

When you say you've tried everything, can you provide a summary so that people don't spend time suggesting things that didn't work? If I were you, I'd focus on overall gut health at the microbiome level and I think that "alternative" medicine (chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, osteopathy) does a much better job in this area than conventional medicine does. With conventional medicine if something doesn't show up on an image or a lab, they're out of ideas. It's good that a GI has ruled out any obvious physical problems but now it's time to see someone who looks at the body as a whole and not just the parts.

As someone else recommended, I would keep a very detailed log of her life for a period of 1-2 weeks. Note everything from sleep and wake times, everything she eats and drinks, if she takes any medications or supplements or vitamins, what she uses for personal care products (soap, shampoo), whether or not you have pets, and when she has symptoms, where she is when they start, how long it lasts, etc. And then ask around in your area for recommendations for a more holistic kind of doctor (ND, DC, DO, etc.), make some phone calls and go for a consultation. Before wasting time and money on appointments, see if you can get a phone consult to see if they have actually helped patients with similar issues. When you find someone you like, bring in all of your info and see if they see a pattern that doesn't jump out at you, or they may recommend some supplements to try. With stomach issues I'd definitely want the guidance of an experienced practitioner instead of going to a health food store and playing hit or miss in the supplement aisle in case you end up wasting money on something that makes the symptoms worse.

Good luck...it's so frustrating when our kids are unwell and yet there seems to be nothing obviously wrong. I'd also say that if improving her gut health (perhaps through supplements or eliminating certain foods) does do the trick then it may be anxiety instead.

Andy, I have a niece who dealt with this for years. Most of high school and she's graduating college, so I hope it's resolved. In her situation it was anxiety and stress. She's a perfectionist with a perfectionist parent and thus, life feels more "high stakes" for her.

I also dealt with this for a period of a few months during a hard life transition. I understand how bad it feels. I also dealt with the medical establishment "not finding anything". I chose to use a naturopath and was given some herbs which did help. That said, I am not going to name them here because you would need an ND to assure that the dosage and use would be correct for your daughter.

Margie's post was right on. PLEASE don't start any herbs or OTC meds suggested here without talking to a professional. We are not medical professionals and can only answer with our own experiences and anecdotes.I do suggest seeing a Naturopath (ND) as one avenue to go down. They do a very thorough inventory of a person before any prescribing happens. Also, talk to a counselor and get your daughter in to talk about what might be bothering her. The mind/body connection is powerful and should not be underrated. Good luck-- I know firsthand how hard this can be.

In addition to the other responses, consider herbs, natural supplements, as well. You can see if there's an herbalist in your area.

Personally, I had nausea for many years growing up. For the most part, it was always in a vehicle. I learned that there was formaldehyde in many of the air fresheners that were used. My younger sister suffered with me as well.

My daughter also has constant nausea, and has seen many specialists and had tests done as well. Can you tell me what kind of tests your daughter has undergone, and maybe there's something that I can suggest that you look into?

I used to feel nauseous after I woke and couldn't eat breakfast for an hour or two after waking up. Turns out that it was because of dehydration. Your daughter's sounds more severe but I thought that I would throw that out there.

Well, if it's not physical then it's mental. Get her to a psychologist and have her try counseling a few months to see if they can come up with anything.

I also have a little friend who is having many issues with her stomach. Her mom is flat out having to go to school with her and sit by her or her daughter is crying and in pain, needing to go home. She is physically sick and puking. I believe the principle at her school is a bully. I fully, absolutely took my girl out of that school, moved OUT of that boundary.

I hope you'll see if the psychologist will refer her to a psychiatrist for meds. She could be depressed, having anxiety attacks, and many other things. Meds can help her cope with things too. If she calms down and has less pain then you can know it's more mental health and that she is going through something.

Andy, so sorry she's had to deal with this so long. I know this might sound obvious but have you ditched all your doctors and started over with a new batch? There is an answer, keep searching. Keep track of everything she eats and drinks and her reactions to it. Keep beating down doors until you get answers. Hang in there!!

Hello: Have you tried giving her ginger tea made from a tea bag or from fresh ginger. It worked better for us than prescription medicines. We saw results in a few days. Make sure there's no hidden caffeine in her diet from chocolate, or soft drinks. Caffeine causes reflux which causes kids to have severe tummy aches and nausea.. Noone usually associates reflux with nausea, but it happens a lot in kids. This was a good catch on our pediatrician's part.

Acupuncture. I had nausea issues that my doctors were unable to solve. One visit to the Acupuncturist was all it took to make the nausea go away