The most important thing you can do for food poisoning is stay hydrated, because vomiting and diarrhea drain your body of water and essential salts faster than most people realize. Most cases resolve on their own within one to seven days depending on the cause, but the right fluids, the right foods, and a few targeted remedies can shorten your misery and prevent complications.
Hydration Is the Priority
Dehydration is the main danger of food poisoning, not the infection itself. Every round of vomiting or diarrhea pulls water, sodium, and potassium out of your body, and plain water alone won’t replace what you’re losing. You need fluids that contain both electrolytes and a small amount of sugar, because sugar helps your intestines absorb sodium and water together.
The gold standard is oral rehydration solution, the formula used worldwide to treat dehydration from diarrheal illness. The WHO version contains about 13.5 grams of glucose, 2.6 grams of salt, and small amounts of potassium chloride and sodium citrate per liter of water. You can buy premixed ORS packets at most pharmacies, and they work better than anything else you’ll find on the shelf.
What about sports drinks or fruit juice? They’re surprisingly poor choices. Lab analysis of commercial “clear” fluids, including juices, sodas, and sports drinks, found osmolality levels ranging from 50 to over 900 milliosmoles per kilogram. Many of these products contain so much sugar relative to electrolytes that they can actually pull more water into your intestines and make diarrhea worse. If ORS packets aren’t available, diluting a sports drink with equal parts water is a reasonable backup, but it’s not ideal.
Take small, frequent sips rather than gulping large amounts. If you’re vomiting, wait 15 to 20 minutes after an episode, then try a few sips. Ice chips work well when even small amounts of liquid feel like too much.
Over-the-Counter Remedies That Help
Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) is one of the more useful options for food poisoning specifically. It does more than just coat your stomach. Lab studies show it actually binds to bacteria and kills them by depleting their energy stores and disrupting their cell membranes. In the acidic environment of your stomach, it breaks down into compounds that are even more effective against common gut bacteria like E. coli. It also reduces inflammation in your intestinal lining and can ease nausea, cramping, and diarrhea simultaneously.
Anti-diarrheal medications containing loperamide (Imodium) can provide relief, but they come with an important restriction. The FDA labels these as contraindicated when you have bloody stools or a high fever, both signs of a more invasive bacterial infection. Loperamide works by slowing your gut, which in those cases can trap the bacteria and toxins your body is trying to expel. If your diarrhea is watery and you don’t have a fever, loperamide is generally safe for short-term use.
Ginger for Nausea
Ginger is one of the few natural remedies with a well-understood mechanism behind it. Its active compounds work on the same serotonin receptors that prescription anti-nausea drugs target. Specifically, they reduce serotonin levels in your gut and brain, block the receptors that trigger the vomiting reflex, and lower levels of substance P, another chemical messenger involved in nausea. They also appear to reduce dopamine activity in the pathways that contribute to feeling sick.
Fresh ginger tea (a thumb-sized piece sliced into hot water), ginger chews, or ginger capsules can all help. If you’re struggling to keep anything down, ginger tea sipped slowly is often the easiest starting point.
What to Eat During Recovery
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) as the go-to recommendation for food poisoning. Medical guidelines no longer support it. The CDC, WHO, and American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend eating a normal, varied diet as soon as you can tolerate it. Randomized clinical trials confirm that eating real food soon after rehydration leads to less stool output, shorter illness, and better nutritional recovery compared to restricting yourself to bland foods for days. Sticking to only BRAT foods can actually impair your recovery and, in prolonged cases, contribute to malnutrition.
That said, “eat normally” doesn’t mean diving into a heavy meal. Start with whatever sounds tolerable. Simple carbohydrates, lean proteins, cooked vegetables, and broth-based soups are all fine. Avoid greasy, spicy, or very high-fiber foods until your gut settles, not because they’re dangerous but because they’re more likely to trigger cramping when your intestines are already irritated. Dairy can be tricky for some people during acute diarrhea because temporary lactose intolerance is common when your gut lining is inflamed.
Probiotics Can Shorten Symptoms
Certain probiotic strains can meaningfully reduce how long diarrhea lasts. The most studied strain for this purpose is Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (often labeled as LGG on supplement packaging). A meta-analysis found that LGG shortened diarrhea duration by about 24 hours on average. In trials comparing LGG to a control group, children receiving the probiotic had diarrhea for 60 hours versus 78 hours, with faster improvement in stool consistency as well. High doses were particularly effective against rotavirus-induced diarrhea, cutting it by roughly 31 hours.
Look for products that list a specific strain, not just “Lactobacillus blend,” and aim for a product with at least 10 billion colony-forming units (CFU). Starting the probiotic as early as possible in your illness gives the best results.
How Long Food Poisoning Lasts
Recovery time depends on what caused the illness. Norovirus, the most common culprit, typically runs its course in one to three days. Salmonella infections usually last four to seven days. Most people with Campylobacter, another frequent cause, recover completely within a week. Staphylococcal food poisoning, caused by toxins rather than live bacteria, is often the shortest, sometimes resolving within 24 hours once the toxin clears your system.
You won’t usually know which pathogen you have, and in most cases it doesn’t matter because the treatment is the same: fluids, rest, and time. The timeline becomes important only if your symptoms aren’t following the expected pattern.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most food poisoning is miserable but self-limiting. The CDC identifies specific thresholds that warrant seeing a doctor: a fever above 102°F, bloody diarrhea, diarrhea lasting more than three days, or vomiting so persistent that you can’t keep liquids down. Signs of dehydration also warrant a visit. These include urinating very little, having a dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when you stand up.
Young children, adults over 65, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications and should have a lower threshold for seeking care. For everyone else, if you’re able to keep sipping fluids and your symptoms are gradually improving, you’re likely on the right track.