Most upset stomacches resolve on their own within a few hours, but the right combination of fluids, food choices, and simple remedies can speed things along considerably. What works best depends on whether you’re dealing with nausea, cramping, bloating, or diarrhea, but a few strategies help across the board.
Start With Small Sips, Not Big Glasses
Dehydration is the main risk when your stomach is off, especially if vomiting or diarrhea is involved. But gulping water can make nausea worse. Take small, frequent sips instead. Room-temperature or slightly warm liquids tend to be easier on the stomach than ice-cold drinks.
If you’ve been vomiting or had significant diarrhea, plain water alone isn’t ideal because you’re losing sodium and potassium along with fluid. The World Health Organization’s oral rehydration formula works by matching sodium and glucose in a 1:1 ratio, which optimizes absorption through the gut wall. You don’t need to mix your own. Products like Pedialyte or similar electrolyte drinks follow this principle. Broth-based soups also work well because they deliver salt, water, and a small amount of calories in a form your stomach can handle.
Sports drinks are a common go-to, but many contain far more sugar than sodium, which can actually pull more water into the intestines and worsen diarrhea. If that’s all you have, dilute it by half with water.
Peppermint and Ginger: What Actually Works
Peppermint oil relaxes the smooth muscle lining your digestive tract, likely by blocking calcium channels that trigger muscle contractions. This makes it particularly useful for cramping and that tight, pressurized feeling in your upper stomach. Peppermint tea is the gentlest option. Enteric-coated peppermint oil capsules deliver a stronger effect lower in the digestive tract, which helps more with intestinal cramping and bloating. One caveat: if your upset stomach involves acid reflux or heartburn, peppermint can make it worse by relaxing the valve between your esophagus and stomach.
Ginger has a long track record for nausea specifically. It speeds up the rate at which your stomach empties into the small intestine, which helps when food is sitting like a brick. Fresh ginger sliced into hot water, ginger chews, or ginger capsules all work. Most studies showing benefit used doses equivalent to about one gram of dried ginger root. Ginger ale from the store contains very little actual ginger, so it’s not a reliable substitute.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
The old advice was to stick strictly to the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Those foods are fine as a starting point, but Harvard Health Publishing notes there are no studies showing the BRAT diet outperforms other bland options, and restricting yourself to just those four foods means missing out on the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover. A day or two of BRAT-only eating is reasonable during the worst of a stomach bug, but you should expand beyond it as soon as you can tolerate more.
Good options as your stomach settles include brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereal. Once you’re keeping those down, add cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, cooked squash, avocado, eggs, and skinless chicken or fish. These provide the protein and micronutrients that bland starches alone can’t deliver.
What to avoid until you’re feeling better: dairy (except yogurt, which some people tolerate well), fried or greasy foods, raw vegetables, caffeine, alcohol, and anything heavily spiced. These all either stimulate excess acid production, slow digestion, or irritate an already sensitive stomach lining.
Over-the-Counter Options
Antacids containing a combination of aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, and simethicone (the active ingredients in products like Maalox) start working faster than calcium carbonate tablets (the active ingredient in Tums). Calcium carbonate still works within about 6 minutes in some formulations, which is far faster than acid-reducing pills that can take over an hour to kick in. If your main symptom is a burning or sour feeling in your upper stomach, antacids are a reasonable first choice.
For nausea, bismuth subsalicylate (the pink liquid) coats the stomach lining and has mild anti-inflammatory properties. It’s effective for nausea, mild diarrhea, and that general “my stomach feels wrong” sensation. For bloating and gas specifically, simethicone helps break up gas bubbles so they’re easier to pass. It doesn’t reduce gas production, but it makes existing gas less painful.
If diarrhea is the primary problem, loperamide slows intestinal contractions and lets your body absorb more water from stool. It works well for garden-variety diarrhea, but you should avoid it if you have a fever or bloody stool, which can signal an infection that your body needs to clear.
The Acupressure Trick for Nausea
Pressing on a specific point on your inner wrist, known as P6, can reduce nausea without putting anything in your stomach. The spot sits about three finger-widths above your wrist crease, in the small depression between the two tendons on the inner forearm. Press firmly with your thumb for two to three minutes, or use a motion sickness wristband that applies constant pressure to the same point. This technique has been studied in surgical patients, pregnant women with morning sickness, and people undergoing chemotherapy. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s free, immediate, and has no side effects.
Probiotics for Ongoing Stomach Trouble
If your upset stomach is tied to a course of antibiotics, probiotics can help. The yeast strain Saccharomyces boulardii is particularly useful during antibiotic treatment because antibiotics can’t kill it the way they kill bacterial probiotics. The bacterial strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (sold as Culturelle) has also shown effectiveness for antibiotic-associated diarrhea and provides significant reduction in bloating, gas, and overall abdominal discomfort.
Probiotics aren’t an instant fix for a one-off stomach bug, though. They work best when taken consistently over days, so they’re more useful for recurring digestive issues or protecting your gut during antibiotic therapy than for settling your stomach right now.
When an Upset Stomach Is Something More
Most upset stomachs pass within a few hours to a couple of days. But certain patterns signal something that needs medical attention. Abrupt, excruciating abdominal pain can indicate serious conditions including organ perforation, internal bleeding, or a blocked duct. Fever combined with abdominal pain, a rapid heart rate, or pain that’s far worse than what the situation seems to warrant are all signs that something beyond a simple stomach upset is happening.
Other warning signs: you can’t keep any fluids down for more than 12 hours, there’s blood in your vomit or stool, your abdomen is rigid or extremely tender to touch, or pain intensifies when you cough or tap your heel on the ground. Stomach pain that persists beyond a week, even if it’s mild, also warrants a visit to your doctor, since acute abdominal pain is generally defined as nontraumatic pain lasting fewer than seven days.