Most stomach aches respond well to a combination of rest, heat, gentle hydration, and avoiding foods that make things worse. The right approach depends on what’s causing your discomfort, whether that’s gas, indigestion, cramping, or nausea, but a few strategies work across nearly all of them.
Start With Heat and Rest
A heating pad or warm water bottle placed on your abdomen is one of the simplest and most effective first steps. The heat relaxes your outer stomach muscles and promotes movement in the digestive tract, which helps when pain comes from gas, bloating, or cramping. A warm bath works the same way, with the added benefit of relaxing the rest of your body. Keep the heat at a comfortable level and use a cloth barrier between a heating pad and your skin to avoid burns.
Bowel rest matters too. Stop eating for a while, or stick to small amounts of very simple foods like crackers or bananas. Your stomach handles smaller meals better when it’s irritated, so even once you start feeling improved, don’t jump straight to a full plate.
What to Drink (and What to Skip)
Dehydration makes stomach aches worse and slows recovery, especially if you’ve been vomiting or dealing with diarrhea. Plain water is fine, but diluted fruit juice can be even better. Harvard Health notes that diluted apple juice, with a little extra water and a little less sugar, is easier on the stomach than full-strength juice or heavily sweetened sports drinks. Ice chips, broth, electrolyte drinks, and popsicles are all good options when you’re at your sickest.
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and acidic drinks like orange juice or lemonade until your stomach settles. These can irritate your digestive lining and make cramping or nausea worse.
Herbal Remedies That Actually Help
Three herbal options have real evidence behind them: ginger, peppermint, and chamomile.
Ginger is the strongest option for nausea. It speeds up the movement of food through your digestive system and acts on the same pathways that anti-nausea medications target. Clinical trials have used doses ranging from 250 mg to 1 g per day, split into three or four smaller doses, with no extra benefit found at the higher end. Fresh ginger steeped in hot water, ginger chews, or ginger capsules all work. You don’t need much.
Peppermint acts as a natural muscle relaxant for your gut. It works by blocking the signals that cause your intestinal muscles to spasm, which makes it particularly useful for cramping, bloating, and gas pain. Peppermint tea is the easiest way to get this benefit. If you have acid reflux, though, peppermint can relax the valve at the top of your stomach and make heartburn worse.
Chamomile tea has anti-inflammatory properties that can calm general stomach irritation. Drinking it after meals or before bed may help if your discomfort is related to acid reflux or mild inflammation. It’s the gentlest of the three and a good choice when you’re not sure exactly what’s causing your pain.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Which product to reach for depends on your specific symptoms:
- For heartburn or acid-related pain: Antacids containing calcium (like Tums) or a combination of magnesium and aluminum (like Maalox or Mylanta) neutralize stomach acid quickly. Be aware that magnesium-based antacids can cause diarrhea, while calcium and aluminum-based ones tend to cause constipation. If you’re on a salt-restricted diet or have high blood pressure, avoid sodium bicarbonate products like Alka-Seltzer.
- For gas and bloating: Products containing simethicone help break up gas bubbles so they’re easier to pass.
- For general pain: Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever for stomach aches. Avoid ibuprofen and aspirin, which can irritate your stomach lining and make things worse.
What to Eat During Recovery
The old advice to follow the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) is outdated. It’s too restrictive and lacks the calcium, protein, vitamin B12, and fiber your body needs to recover. Following it for more than 24 hours can actually slow down healing, especially in children, where the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends it at all.
A better approach: eat as tolerated, keeping portions small. When you’re at your worst and actively vomiting, stick to clear liquids. Once you can keep those down, move to soft, bland foods that offer more nutrition, like scrambled eggs, skinless chicken or turkey, and cooked vegetables. Avoid fried foods, spicy foods, dairy, and anything high in sugar until you feel consistently better.
How You Position Your Body Matters
If your stomach ache involves heartburn or acid reflux, your sleeping position makes a real difference. Lying on your right side tends to worsen reflux symptoms, while switching to your left side reduces them. This applies whether your heartburn is from GERD, pregnancy, or just a bad meal. Propping your upper body slightly with an extra pillow can also help keep acid from traveling upward.
For general cramping or gas pain, some people find relief by lying on their back and gently pulling their knees toward their chest, which can help release trapped gas and reduce pressure in the abdomen.
Signs Your Stomach Ache Needs Medical Attention
Most stomach aches resolve on their own within a few hours to a day. But certain patterns signal something more serious. Get emergency care if the pain is so severe it stops you from functioning normally, if you can’t keep any liquids down, or if you’re unable to have a bowel movement along with worsening pain.
Watch specifically for pain that starts near your belly button and moves to your lower right side, gets worse when you move or cough, and comes with fever, vomiting, or abdominal swelling. This pattern is classic for appendicitis, which typically worsens over hours rather than improving. If you’ve had abdominal surgery in the past and your current pain feels different or more severe than usual, that also warrants a call to your doctor or a trip to the emergency room.