Weird Vomit Question. Do not enter if emetophobic.

[Danae]

My 12 year old has frequent stomachs aches.  This morning he suddenly vomited, and since he didn’t make it to the toilet we got a more detailed look at the contents than we normally would.  There were four grey cylinders about the size of my little finger.  Very regular in diameter.  I pulled one apart and it seemed like overcooked smooshed rice, which would make sense because we had rice with supper last night.  But why would undigested rice form regular cylinders?  Was it causing some kind of blockage, and that’s why he barfed?  
 

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

[Gobblygook]

This is pretty gross, but my son had a similar issue a few years ago. One time, he vomited in bed and it looked like he vomited up entire chicken nuggets. Only, we hadn’t actually had chicken nuggets recently. He had eaten penne pasta, however, and apparently it expanded in his stomach. We never got an explanation and he’s since grown out of it, but I feel your pain! 

[maize]

8 minutes ago, Danae said:

My 12 year old has frequent stomachs aches.  This morning he suddenly vomited, and since he didn’t make it to the toilet we got a more detailed look at the contents than we normally would.  There were four grey cylinders about the size of my little finger.  Very regular in diameter.  I pulled one apart and it seemed like overcooked smooshed rice, which would make sense because we had rice with supper last night.  But why would undigested rice form regular cylinders?  Was it causing some kind of blockage, and that’s why he barfed?  
 

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

The cylinders are probably from the way food is moved down the esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular tube, and when you swallow a bite that chunk of food gets pushed down through the esophagus by waves of muscle contraction.

Possibly he would benefit from chewing his food better and drinking more water with his meals?

[maize]

It think it is worth taking him to a doctor; usual stomach emptying time is about 5 hours so it is not normal to have food from dinner in the stomach in the morning.

[Katy]

Rice especially should have moved out of the stomach that long afterwards. I think he needs a doctor visit too. And frankly I’d be prepared for a specialist visit and multiple appointments. 

[Danae]

I called our primary care clinic and talked to an RN.  She said he doesn’t need to be seen unless the vomiting doesn’t stop in under 12 hours.  I’m not sure she understood what I was saying about the rice, though.  He seems to be doing much better, so I think I’ll call back and make a “repeating/ongoing concerns” appointment instead of a “sick right now” appointment. 

[Arcadia]

I have difficulty with starchy food, rice, pasta, potatoes. I can have small amounts. DS16 used to puke if he wakes up cold (kicked off blanket). 

[ktgrok]

21 minutes ago, Danae said:

I called our primary care clinic and talked to an RN.  She said he doesn’t need to be seen unless the vomiting doesn’t stop in under 12 hours.  I’m not sure she understood what I was saying about the rice, though.  He seems to be doing much better, so I think I’ll call back and make a “repeating/ongoing concerns” appointment instead of a “sick right now” appointment. 

It's not so much the one time vomiting that concerns me as much as him having frequent stomach aches AND this happening. 

To me, frequent stomach aches with no real reason = pediatric gastroenterology visit. Digestive issues can cause problems with growth, bone health, all sorts of things. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by ktgrok

[Danae]

5 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

It's not so much the one time vomiting that concerns me as much as him having frequent stomach aches AND this happening. 

To me, frequent stomach aches with no real reason = pediatric gastroenterology visit. Digestive issues can cause problems with growth, bone health, all sorts of things. 

Right.  That’s why I want a “figure this out” appointment.  The nurse today was much more focused on the “is this an emergency” question.

[ktgrok]

1 minute ago, Danae said:

Right.  That’s why I want a “figure this out” appointment.  The nurse today was much more focused on the “is this an emergency” question.

If your insurance allows it, I'd just call a pediatric gastro and see if you can get an appointment. Or ask ped to refer you. 

[City Mouse]

My DS is gluten intolerant, and we didn’t figure it out until he was in middle school.  Until then he vomited quite frequently. Often the food came back up and barely looked like it had been chewed.