Home remedies for stomach bugs?

[Terabith]

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, zero appetite, fever, exhaustion?  Besides crackers and tiny amounts of water/ Gatorade?

[Katy]

Kefir, as much as you can stomach. I’ve heard other probiotics can help too, but the study I read & the thing that worked for me is kefir. 
 

Don’t forget to clean with bleach based products in case it is norovirus.  And don’t forget to take Vitamin D & melatonin in case it’s Covid-19.

[almondbutterandjelly]

We always eat a little yogurt for any gastro distress.  

[EKS]

We do saltines and ginger ale here.

[athena1277]

To avoid dehydration, eat on some ice chips.  You’ll absorb most of the water in inside of your mouth, instead of swallowing it.  It can be a big help if drinking makes nausea and vomiting worse.

[Hilltopmom]

With the fever involved, I would take Covid precautions as well.

 

[The Governess]

Lots of good suggestions.

Check often for signs of dehydration - it can happen fast with all of those symptoms. 

After the vomiting seems to be over and they can drink fluids a mug of hot chicken broth would be a good addition to Gatorade/sprite.

Saltines or pretzels are good first snacks.

 

[Terabith]

The vomiting and diarrhea seems to have stopped, but the thought of any real food or more than the tiniest sips of liquid....does not appeal.  Nausea is still on board, and fever, achiness, and utter exhaustion.  I don’t really know how to get past those.  

[gardenmom5]

Coconut water for dehydration (it's a better match for human electrolytes than all the sports drinks, and many of the rehydration products.)  I like the Kirkland brand from Costco.      (Nuun + 5  99mg potassium capsules can work for dehydration if  you can't get coconut water.)

greek yogurt (it has more probiotics than most commercial yogurt, and less sugar.) - buy plain, you can add your own fruit, or honey, etc.  (I'll also add some raw oats.)

peppermint tea can be settling to the stomach.

 Saccharomyces Boulardii,  probiotic good for intestinal upset specifically.  

 

[The Governess]

Can they get some ibuprofen or Tylenol down? If not you could try a suppository.... not fun but would help with aches and fever.

For nausea, you could try sea bands on the wrists, breathing cold air (just stay bundled up otherwise), smelling citrus slices... from personal experience these things have all helped me on various occasions. 

If the nausea persists and is making it hard to get enough fluids you could ask about a Zofran prescription. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We drink red raspberry leaf or blackberry tea for diarrhea.

[wintermom]

Flat ginger ale, peppermint tea, 

The BRAT diet works here: Banana, Rice, Apple sauce, Toast/crackers.

[PeterPan]

Diluted coconut water (pineapple flavored is good) or diluted pear juice if you can keep it down. Plain rice cakes.

I usually keep a probiotic and for stomach issues will open it up and slurp down on a spoon. If you don't open the capsule, the enteric coating will make it open later, not helping the stomach.

Edited December 7, 2020 by PeterPan

[Terabith]

So far can keep down water, La Croix, some tea, some saltines, and some crystallized ginger, all in tiny quantities.  Still nauseous and crampy and feel terrible though. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Terabith

[Matryoshka]

6 hours ago, kand said:

We rest the stomach by taking nothing by mouth for two hours after any vomiting. Then we start slowly with introducing a teaspoon at a time, starting with some form of concentrated sugar. We use honey for this, though I know articles online will suggest corn syrup (which sounds yucky to me and we don’t keep in the house). Some use cola syrup. Anyway, if they can handle that, we move on to teaspoons of water (Gatorade would be fine) ten minutes apart. When my kids were very little, I used to try to get fluids into them right away after vomiting and the vomiting would keep recurring. A nurse at the dr’s office once instructed me in letting the stomach rest, and I subsequently read up on it, and it has made stomach illnesses much easier to get through ever since. 
 

And very much yes to bleach based cleaners. If you have more than one bathroom, anyone sick should use a separate one from everyone else. And anyone healthy shouldn’t be in there, especially when they flush. I keep bleach wipes for such occasions, and hit all the high touch bathroom surfaces after it has been used by the sick person. This seems to have helped a ton in keeping a stomach bug to just one or two of the kids instead of going through everyone. 

This, this, this. I always wait a couple of hours after the last puke before giving anything.  Then slowly, slowly reintroduce fluids (about a teaspoon at first sounds just about right. Wait, if that stays down for a while, add a bit more a while later.  Add, say one saltiness a bit later. Slowly, safter. Only Gatorade and saltines first day, BRAT diet for at least a couple of days after.

And yes to bleach and a designated bathroom! 

Never had a stomach bug last more than 24 hours. Try to push fluids too soon and you'll just restart the cycle, which will dehydrate more and prolong things.  The stomach needs to rest.

And NEVER plain water to rehydrate. Ginger tea or coconut water or something with electrolytes if not Gatorade. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Matryoshka

[MercyA]

Sprite or cola helps us. Not diet--you want that sugar. Ginger ale is great for nausea but can worsen diarrhea. 

Chicken noodle soup, dry toast, saltines, crackers.

Definitely ibuprofen. Taking down the fever and easing any muscle cramping or intestinal cramping will aid rest and help the sickee feel SO much better. You can buy liquid ibuprofen if need be. We did suppositories, too, when DD was too little to take anything by mouth.

Edited December 7, 2020 by MercyA

[Terabith]

This is just absolutely miserable, even with the vomiting stopped.  Feel so nauseous and just generally sick and weak and achy, even with Tylenol.  Can barely stagger from bed to bathroom.  Just so dizzy.  And exhausted but feel too sick to sleep well.  
 

Really hoping to be over it by tomorrow.   

Edited December 7, 2020 by Terabith

[Melissa in Australia]

dry slightly burned toast.

 It works a treat for  the runs. My FIL attributes it to saving his live multiple times  in WW2 . it is very effective and works quickly.

[Melissa in Australia]

grated apple with cinnamon sprinkled on it is good for vomiting. eat it very slowly . 

[J-rap]

We've always had 7-up...  Isn't that what it was originally used for?  (stomach problems, nausea?)  I remember my mother would put it by our beds when we were sick and warned us to only take 3 sips at a time, or else it would come back up again.  😄   The first meal we always ate after being very nauseous was "milk toast" -- bland, very sightly buttered toast soaked in a few tablespoons of warm milk.  It always seemed to stay down.

Nowadays, I've also noticed that a cup of coffee (with nothing added) sipped very slowly seems to calm a nauseous stomach.  

 

[Melissa in Australia]

4 minutes ago, J-rap said:

We've always had 7-up...  Isn't that what it was originally used for?  (stomach problems, nausea?)  I remember my mother would put it by our beds when we were sick and warned us to only take 3 sips at a time, or else it would come back up again.  😄   The first meal we always ate after being very nauseous was "milk toast" -- bland, very sightly buttered toast soaked in a few tablespoons of warm milk.  It always seemed to stay down.

Nowadays, I've also noticed that a cup of coffee (with nothing added) sipped very slowly seems to calm a nauseous stomach.  

 

that reminds me. When I was a child when we were sick mum would give us some cooking sherry with water. It cured me from ever trying any alcohol. The taste brings me right back to being a child vomiting 😬

[J-rap]

3 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

that reminds me. When I was a child when we were sick mum would give us some cooking sherry with water. It cured me from ever trying any alcohol. The taste brings me right back to being a child vomiting 😬

Ha, it's funny how that stays with you!  

[Terabith]

I tried some dry cereal but now I’m nauseous and crampy and feel worse again.  Ugh   

[TravelingChris]

I am sorry you are having such issues.

[Terabith]

17 hours ago, kand said:

Is it only you that has it? It sounds miserable. How long has it been? Did you decide to get a Covid test?

One kid also had it before I did.  I got sick Saturday.  Covid test was negative.  No longer having digestive issues but still no appetite, running low grade fever off and on, and just feel lousy and completely exhausted.  I'm not actually nauseous, but if I try to eat more than a few bites of anything, it comes back.  

[Matryoshka]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

One kid also had it before I did.  I got sick Saturday.  Covid test was negative.  No longer having digestive issues but still no appetite, running low grade fever off and on, and just feel lousy and completely exhausted.  I'm not actually nauseous, but if I try to eat more than a few bites of anything, it comes back.  

Have you been sticking to the BRAT diet?  Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast.  All of it plain, toast maybe towards burnt.

No dry cereal!!!!

I always make my kids stick to the BRAT diet for at least a couple of days after an episode.  Your gut needs time to recover.

My mom also always swore by carrots and potatoes cooked and mashed together with salt for gut recovery.  Electrolytes, very easy to digest.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Matryoshka

[Terabith]

I assumed dry cereal and crackers were essentially toast?  
 

But no.  The thought of any of the BRAT items made me feel queasy.  

[Matryoshka]

15 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I assumed dry cereal and crackers were essentially toast?  
 

But no.  The thought of any of the BRAT items made me feel queasy.  

Crackers, maybe, but most cereal has lots of other stuff in it.  And I think this is one time where whole grains is not the way to go (harder to digest).  So, with cereal, most 'healthy' stuff has whole grains, and the 'not-healthy' stuff is full of sugar and additives...

How about the carrots and potatoes cooked together (this is literally what my mom calls it)?  My mother's gone so far as to deliver it to my door, lol...  Cook till mushy and mash together.  Add a bit of salt.  Simple sugars and electrolytes...

[Terabith]

Worth trying.  Right now the digestive symptoms, while still an issue, aren’t nearly the issue that the exhaustion and weakness are.  I need to perk up!   Sitting is exhausting.  Going from bed to bathroom is exhausting.  All I feel like doing is sleeping.  

[Hilltopmom]

How are you feeling now? Hope you’re on the mend!

[Terabith]

14 hours ago, Hilltopmom said:

How are you feeling now? Hope you’re on the mend!

I'm fine now.  It lasted about three days, total, I guess?  The puking was only about 24 hours, but it took another couple days to be able to eat and stuff.  But I've been fine since Tuesday evening ish.  Thanks.