After you throw up, the most important things are to rest your stomach, rehydrate slowly, and avoid brushing your teeth right away. Most people recover within a few hours if they follow a gradual approach to fluids and food. Here’s exactly what to do, step by step.
Rest Your Stomach First
Your instinct might be to drink water immediately, but your stomach needs a break. Trying to eat or drink too soon often triggers another round of vomiting. Research on patients admitted for acute vomiting found that waiting 4 to 6 hours before reintroducing food had the lowest rate of refeeding failure, with about 90% of people tolerating food again after that window.
You don’t necessarily need to wait that long for small sips of liquid, but give yourself at least a couple of hours before reaching for anything. During this time, the best position is sitting up with your upper body elevated at roughly a 45-degree angle, propped up with pillows. This position uses gravity to pull your abdominal organs away from your diaphragm and stomach, which reduces pressure on the stomach and helps ease lingering nausea. Lying flat can make nausea worse and increases the risk of inhaling vomit if you throw up again.
Rinse Your Mouth, but Don’t Brush
Stomach acid is harsh on your teeth. After vomiting, that acid sits on your enamel and temporarily softens it. If you brush right away, you’re essentially scrubbing acid into the tooth surface and stripping away the softened outer layer before it has a chance to reharden.
Instead, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water or, even better, a baking soda rinse (about half a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a cup of water). The baking soda neutralizes the acid. Wait at least 30 minutes before brushing to give your enamel time to remineralize. This is especially important for anyone who vomits frequently, since repeated acid exposure without proper mouth care leads to significant dental erosion over time.
Start Fluids Slowly
Once a couple of hours have passed and you feel ready, begin with ice chips or very small sips of water every 15 minutes. The goal is to test whether your stomach can handle it without triggering more vomiting. If plain water stays down, you can gradually increase the amount and try clear fluids like broth or an electrolyte drink.
Staying hydrated is the single most important part of recovery. Vomiting depletes fluids and electrolytes quickly, and dehydration can set in faster than most people realize. Stick to small, frequent sips rather than gulping a full glass. Large volumes at once can stretch the stomach and provoke nausea all over again.
Ease Back Into Food
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) as the go-to after stomach illness. It’s fine as a starting point for a day or two, but there’s no medical reason to limit yourself to only those four foods. A less restrictive approach works just as well and provides better nutrition during recovery.
Once your stomach feels settled, try bland, easy-to-digest options like cooked carrots, sweet potatoes without the skin, butternut squash, avocado, skinless chicken, fish, or eggs. The key is to avoid anything greasy, spicy, or heavily seasoned for the first day. Eat small portions. If something doesn’t sit well, scale back to simpler foods and try again later.
If you’re still actively nauseated and can’t keep anything solid down, don’t force it. Focus entirely on fluids until the nausea passes.
Skip the Painkillers (for Now)
If you have a headache or body aches alongside vomiting, you might reach for ibuprofen or aspirin. Hold off. Anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen irritate the stomach lining by reducing the protective mucus your stomach produces. On a stomach that’s already inflamed from vomiting, these medications can cause gastritis, acid reflux, nausea, and abdominal pain. In more serious cases, they increase the risk of erosions and ulcers.
If you need pain relief, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is gentler on the stomach. Take it with a small amount of water or crackers if you can tolerate them.
Rehydration for Children
Kids dehydrate faster than adults, and the approach is slightly different. For children, the recommended oral rehydration volume is 50 to 100 milliliters per kilogram of body weight over 2 to 4 hours. In practical terms, that means a 22-pound (10 kg) toddler needs roughly 2 to 3.5 cups of fluid over a few hours, given in very small amounts at a time.
Use a pediatric electrolyte solution rather than juice or soda, which can worsen diarrhea. Offer a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time every few minutes. If the child vomits it back up, wait 20 to 30 minutes and try again with an even smaller amount.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most vomiting episodes resolve on their own within 12 to 24 hours. But certain signs point to dehydration or a more serious problem that requires care.
- Little or no urine output: In adults, not urinating for 8 or more hours is a red flag. For infants, fewer than six wet diapers a day, or no wet diaper for 8 hours, signals trouble.
- Rapid heart rate with low blood pressure: You might feel this as a racing pulse, dizziness when standing, or feeling faint.
- Dry mouth, lips, and no tears: Especially concerning in young children.
- Confusion or slurred speech: A sign of severe dehydration that needs emergency treatment.
- Sunken eyes or cool, blotchy hands and feet: These indicate significant fluid loss.
- Fever above 103°F (39.4°C): Combined with vomiting, this warrants prompt evaluation.
- Vomiting that lasts beyond 12 hours without improvement: Research shows that virtually all patients can tolerate refeeding by 12 hours. If you still can’t keep anything down after that point, something beyond a simple stomach bug may be going on.
Blood in your vomit (which can look bright red or like dark coffee grounds) also warrants immediate medical attention, regardless of other symptoms.