After vomiting and diarrhea, your first priority is replacing lost fluids, not food. Give your stomach a break for a few hours after the last episode of vomiting, sip on clear liquids, and then gradually reintroduce bland foods as your body signals it’s ready. Rushing back to normal meals too quickly can restart the cycle.
Start With Fluids, Not Food
Vomiting and diarrhea together drain your body of water, sodium, and potassium fast. Before you think about eating, focus on getting those back. Take small sips of water, clear broth, or an oral rehydration solution every few minutes rather than gulping a full glass, which can trigger more vomiting.
Oral rehydration solutions (sold as Pedialyte, DripDrop, or similar products) work better than plain water because they contain a specific balance of sugar and sodium that helps your intestines absorb fluid more efficiently. Research on fluid absorption shows the ideal ratio is roughly two parts glucose to one part sodium. Sports drinks contain far more sugar than needed and can actually worsen diarrhea by pulling extra water into the gut.
Other good options during this phase: diluted apple juice, coconut water, ice chips if even sips feel like too much, and warm broth. Avoid anything carbonated, caffeinated, or high in sugar.
When to Start Eating Again
Once you’ve kept liquids down for a few hours and your appetite starts returning, even faintly, you can try small amounts of solid food. There’s no strict timer here. Some people feel ready after three or four hours, others need closer to a full day. Follow your body’s signals rather than forcing yourself to eat on a schedule.
Start small. A few bites of toast or a quarter cup of plain rice is enough for a first attempt. If that stays down for 30 to 60 minutes, you can eat a bit more. The goal is to test the waters, not to make up for lost calories all at once.
Best Foods for the First Day or Two
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s a fine starting point, but nutrition experts now recommend broadening beyond those four foods fairly quickly. Sticking to only BRAT foods for more than a day or two leaves you short on protein and nutrients your body needs to recover.
For the first meals, stick to bland, low-fat, easy-to-digest options:
- Simple starches: white rice, plain toast, saltine crackers, plain oatmeal, boiled potatoes
- Soft fruits: bananas, applesauce, cooked squash like butternut or pumpkin
- Brothy soups: chicken broth with a few noodles or plain rice added
- Unsweetened dry cereals: like Cheerios or cream of wheat
These foods are gentle on an irritated stomach and provide the simple carbohydrates your body can convert to energy without much digestive effort.
Adding Protein Back In
As soon as you’re tolerating bland starches, start working in lean protein. Your body uses protein to repair tissue and rebuild strength, and skipping it delays recovery. Good early options include scrambled or boiled eggs, skinless chicken or turkey (baked or steamed, not fried), white fish, and tofu. Keep portions small and preparation simple, with minimal added fat or seasoning.
Cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, and avocado are also worth adding once your stomach feels more settled. These provide vitamins and a broader nutritional base than plain crackers alone.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Your gut lining is inflamed and temporarily less efficient at digesting certain compounds. Some foods that are normally fine will cause problems for a few days:
- Fatty or fried foods: these require more bile to digest and can trigger cramping and more diarrhea
- Dairy products: your ability to break down lactose may be temporarily reduced, though research shows most people can return to milk and cheese within a few days without issues
- Sugar alcohols: sorbitol and other sugar substitutes found in sugar-free gum, diet candies, and some liquid medications pull water into the intestines and directly cause osmotic diarrhea. Even small amounts can keep symptoms going.
- Caffeine and alcohol: both are dehydrating and irritate the stomach lining
- Fruit juice and carbonated drinks: the high sugar content can worsen diarrhea, and carbonation increases bloating and nausea
- Spicy or heavily seasoned food: irritates already-sensitive gut tissue
Some fruits that seem healthy can be surprisingly problematic during recovery. Apples, pears, prunes, peaches, and dried fruits naturally contain sorbitol, which has the same diarrhea-promoting effect as the artificial version.
Ginger for Lingering Nausea
If you’re past the vomiting phase but still feel queasy, ginger can help. Clinical studies have found that 0.5 to 1 gram of ginger (roughly a half teaspoon of fresh grated ginger, or a standard ginger supplement capsule) significantly reduces nausea intensity. Ginger tea, ginger chews, or even flat ginger ale made with real ginger are practical ways to get enough. Just check the label, as many commercial ginger ales contain almost no actual ginger.
Whether Probiotics Help
Probiotics may shorten the duration of diarrhea by roughly 25 hours, based on a large Cochrane review pooling data from over 4,500 people across 35 trials. That’s meaningful when you’re miserable. The strains with the most evidence behind them are Lactobacillus (found in most yogurts and many supplements) and Saccharomyces boulardii (a yeast-based probiotic sold specifically for digestive issues). In one study, children given S. boulardii had diarrhea lasting about 86 hours compared to 115 hours in the group that didn’t receive it.
You don’t need to rush out and buy a supplement. Plain yogurt with live active cultures, once your stomach can handle dairy, is a reasonable food-based source. If you do choose a supplement, look for one containing the strains mentioned above.
Feeding Children After Stomach Illness
Kids under five follow a slightly different path. If a baby is breastfeeding, continue nursing throughout the illness, even during the worst of the vomiting and diarrhea. Breast milk is well tolerated and helps with hydration. For formula-fed babies, pause formula only during active rehydration with an oral rehydration solution, which typically takes three to four hours, then resume full-strength formula right away. There’s no benefit to diluting formula or switching to soy-based versions.
Once a child is rehydrated, reintroduce their usual solid foods. Clinical guidelines emphasize early refeeding in children because it supports weight recovery without worsening symptoms. Avoid fruit juice and carbonated drinks until the diarrhea has fully stopped.
Signs of Dehydration to Watch For
The biggest risk from vomiting and diarrhea together isn’t the illness itself but the fluid loss. In adults, watch for noticeably darker urine or urinating much less than normal, dizziness when standing, and a dry mouth that doesn’t improve with sips of water. In young children, a rapid heart rate, no wet diapers for three hours, or unusual sleepiness are warning signs. Diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours, inability to keep any fluids down, bloody or black stool, or a fever above 102°F are all reasons to seek medical care promptly.