 [ Symptoms ] my 5 year old was vomiting and it has turned into dry heaving can i give her pepto bismol to halt the dry heaves [ Disease ] the first thing that came to my mind is how long has this been going on for  anytime i hear that children have been vomiting for some time or is starting to dry heave my first words are call the pediatrician and go to the er  the child is probably severely dehydrated and probably needs iv fluids you should not give her pepto bismol because it is not for vomiting and since this may be a virus you should not use pepto bismol liquid because one of the ingredients is related to aspirin and is associated with reye is syndrome pepto bismol actually has a children is formulation that contains calcium carbonate instead which is safe to use