Most upset stomachs resolve on their own within a few hours, and you can speed that process along with a handful of simple remedies. What works best depends on your specific symptoms: nausea, bloating, cramping, or diarrhea each respond to slightly different approaches. Here’s what actually helps.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the most reliable natural remedies for nausea and general stomach discomfort. Its active compounds speed up the movement of food through your digestive tract and block certain chemical signals in both the gut and brain that trigger the urge to vomit. Clinical trials have tested doses ranging from 250 mg to 2 g per day, split into three or four smaller doses, and found that 1 g per day worked just as well as 2 g.
The easiest way to get ginger into your system quickly is to steep a few thin slices of fresh ginger root in hot water for five to ten minutes. Ginger chews, ginger capsules, and even flat ginger ale (with real ginger listed in the ingredients) can also help. If your stomach is very sensitive, sipping slowly tends to work better than drinking a full cup at once.
Peppermint for Bloating and Cramping
If your discomfort feels more like pressure, fullness, or cramping than nausea, peppermint is a better fit. It relaxes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract, which eases spasms and helps trapped gas move through. Peppermint tea is the gentlest option. You can also try enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules, which dissolve in the intestine rather than the stomach and are particularly effective for bloating and indigestion.
A Pressure Point That Eases Nausea
There’s a simple acupressure technique you can try anywhere with no supplies. The P6 point sits on the inside of your wrist, in the groove between the two large tendons that run from the base of your palm. To find it, place three fingers from your opposite hand flat across your wrist just below the crease, then press your thumb into the space between those tendons just below your fingers. Apply firm, steady pressure for one to two minutes. It shouldn’t hurt. This technique is commonly used for motion sickness and morning sickness, and many people find it takes the edge off mild to moderate nausea.
Slow, Deep Breathing
When your stomach is in distress, your nervous system is often in a heightened state that makes digestion harder. Slow, deliberate breathing activates the vagus nerve, which runs from your brain to your abdomen and acts as a direct line of communication between your brain and gut. Activating it shifts your body out of its stress response and into a calmer state where digestion can normalize.
Try breathing in through your nose for a count of four, holding briefly, and exhaling slowly through your mouth for a count of six to eight. Even five minutes of this can noticeably reduce nausea and cramping. Humming while you exhale creates vibrations in your throat that further stimulate the vagus nerve.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s a reasonable starting point for the first day or two of a stomach bug, food poisoning, or traveler’s diarrhea, but there’s no clinical evidence that those four foods are uniquely beneficial. You don’t need to limit yourself to them. Brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereals are all equally easy on the stomach.
The real goal is to avoid anything that forces your digestive system to work hard while it’s irritated. That means steering clear of fatty, fried, or heavily spiced foods, dairy products, caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated drinks. Acidic foods like tomato sauce and citrus can also worsen things.
Once you’re keeping bland foods down comfortably, start reintroducing more nutritious options: cooked squash, carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These are still gentle but provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover, which plain toast and crackers don’t.
Staying Hydrated
Dehydration is the biggest practical risk from an upset stomach, especially if you’re dealing with vomiting or diarrhea. Small, frequent sips work far better than gulping a full glass, which can trigger more nausea. Water is fine for mild cases. If you’ve been vomiting or having diarrhea for more than a few hours, an oral rehydration solution or a drink with electrolytes helps replace the sodium and potassium you’re losing. Avoid sugary sports drinks, which can actually pull more water into your intestines and make diarrhea worse.
Over-the-Counter Medications
If home remedies aren’t cutting it, a few pharmacy options target specific symptoms. Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) treats a broad range of stomach complaints: heartburn, indigestion, nausea, and diarrhea. The standard dose is two tablets or two tablespoons of liquid every 30 minutes to an hour as needed, up to 16 doses of regular strength in 24 hours.
Antacids work well when your discomfort is primarily heartburn or acid-related, the kind that feels like burning in your upper stomach or chest. They neutralize stomach acid within minutes.
For diarrhea specifically, anti-diarrheal medications slow the movement of your intestines and can provide quick relief. However, if you suspect food poisoning or a bacterial infection (especially if you have a fever), it’s generally better to let your body clear the infection rather than slowing things down.
Probiotics Probably Won’t Help
You might expect probiotics to speed recovery from a stomach bug, but the evidence is surprisingly weak. A large U.S. study tested Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, the probiotic strain with the most prior evidence supporting its use in gastroenteritis, and found it made no difference. A similar Canadian trial using a different probiotic combination reached the same conclusion. In both studies, symptoms lasted about two days regardless of whether participants took probiotics or a placebo. If you already take probiotics and tolerate them, there’s no harm in continuing, but buying them specifically for an active stomach illness is unlikely to help.
Symptoms That Need Medical Attention
Most stomach upset passes within 24 to 48 hours. Certain patterns, though, signal something more serious. Get to an emergency room if the pain is severe enough to interfere with your ability to function, if you can’t keep any liquids down despite repeated attempts, or if you’re bloated and unable to pass gas or have a bowel movement (especially if you’ve had abdominal surgery in the past, which raises the risk of a bowel obstruction).
Pay attention to where the pain is located. Pain that starts near your belly button and migrates to your lower right side, particularly if it worsens when you move, cough, or take deep breaths, is a classic pattern for appendicitis. Upper abdominal pain that gets worse after eating and comes with fever or a rapid pulse can indicate pancreatitis. A sudden, intense cramping in the lower abdomen that peaks almost immediately may be a kidney stone. Any of these warrant prompt medical evaluation rather than waiting it out at home.