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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Signs of pyloric stenosis usually appear within three to five weeks after birth. Pyloric stenosis is rare in babies older than age 3 months.
Watch for these signs and symptoms:
- Projectile vomiting. Pyloric stenosis often causes projectile vomiting — the forceful ejection of milk or formula up to several feet away — within 30 minutes after your baby eats. Vomiting may be mild at first and gradually become more severe. The vomit may sometimes contain blood.
- Persistent hunger. Babies who have pyloric stenosis often want to eat soon after vomiting.
- Stomach contractions. You may notice wave-like contractions that move across your baby's upper abdomen (peristalsis) soon after feeding but before vomiting. This is caused by stomach muscles trying to force food past the outlet of the pylorus.
- Dehydration. Your baby may cry without tears or become lethargic. You may find yourself changing fewer wet diapers or diapers that aren't as wet as you expect.
- Changes in bowel movements. Since pyloric stenosis prevents food from reaching the intestines, babies with this condition may be constipated.
- Weight problems. Pyloric stenosis can prevent a baby from gaining weight, and can sometimes even cause weight loss.
When to see a doctor
Contact your baby's doctor if your baby is:
- Frequently vomiting after feeding
- Projectile vomiting
- Less active or seems unusually irritable
- Urinating much less frequently or is having noticeably fewer bowel movements
- Isn't gaining weight, or seems to be losing weight
References
- Olive AP, et al. Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- Sondheimer JM, et al. Gastrointestinal tract. In: Hay WW Jr., et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics. 19th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3403837. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- D'Agostino J. Common abdominal emergencies in children. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. 2002;20:139.
- Guidelines for surgical treatment of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. Los Angeles, Ca.: International Pediatric Endosurgery Group. http://www.ipeg.org/education/guidelines/pyloric.html. Accessed July 7, 2010.
- Pyloric stenosis. The American Pediatric Surgical Association. http://www.eapsa.org//Surgeons/Content/NavigationMenu/Media/Resources/Pyloric_Stenosis.htm. Accessed July 7, 2010.
- Hoecker J (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 8, 2010.
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