If you ate something bad and your stomach is letting you know, the most important thing you can do right now is focus on staying hydrated. Most cases of food poisoning resolve on their own within one to three days, and replacing lost fluids is the single most effective treatment. Here’s what to do in the hours and days ahead.
What to Do in the First Few Hours
Your body is trying to flush out whatever made you sick, so vomiting and diarrhea are actually doing their job. Don’t fight them with medication right away. Instead, focus on small, frequent sips of water, diluted fruit juice, broth, or a sports drink. If you’re vomiting frequently, take tiny sips of clear liquids rather than gulping a full glass, which can trigger more vomiting.
You’re losing both water and electrolytes (salts your body needs to function), so plain water alone isn’t ideal. A simple rehydration drink you can make at home: mix 8 teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt into 1 liter of water. Saltine crackers also help replace electrolytes. For young children, use a pediatric rehydration solution like Pedialyte rather than sports drinks or homemade mixtures.
Rest as much as you can. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and dairy products, all of which can irritate your stomach further.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Adults can take Imodium or Pepto-Bismol to manage diarrhea from food poisoning, but with one important exception: if you have a fever or see blood in your diarrhea, skip these medications entirely. Bloody diarrhea or fever can signal a bacterial or parasitic infection, and anti-diarrheal drugs can make those situations worse by slowing down your body’s ability to clear the pathogen.
For nausea, ginger has solid clinical evidence behind it. A daily dose of about 1,000 to 1,500 mg (roughly a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger steeped in hot water, or ginger capsules) has been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting as effectively as some prescription anti-nausea drugs. Ginger tea, ginger chews, or even flat ginger ale with real ginger can help take the edge off.
When Symptoms Are Serious
Most food poisoning is miserable but not dangerous. However, you should get medical attention if you experience any of these:
- Bloody diarrhea
- Diarrhea lasting more than 3 days
- Fever above 102°F (38.9°C)
- Inability to keep any liquids down
- Signs of dehydration: very little urination, dry mouth and throat, or dizziness when standing up
Pregnant women should contact a doctor if they develop a fever and flu-like symptoms, even mild ones. Some foodborne infections, particularly Listeria, can cause serious pregnancy complications. Pregnant women are 10 times more likely than the general population to contract Listeria.
Higher Risk Groups
Food poisoning hits certain people much harder. Children under 5 are three times more likely to be hospitalized from a Salmonella infection, and 1 in 7 children under 5 diagnosed with a specific type of E. coli infection develop kidney failure. For kids, call a doctor at the first sign of vomiting or diarrhea rather than waiting it out.
Adults 65 and older also face elevated risk. Nearly half of people in this age group with confirmed Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, or E. coli infections end up hospitalized. People with weakened immune systems, including those on dialysis or undergoing chemotherapy, are similarly vulnerable. If you or someone you’re caring for falls into any of these groups, a lower threshold for seeking medical care is warranted.
How Soon Symptoms Start
The timing of your symptoms can hint at what made you sick. Some foodborne illnesses hit fast: Staph food poisoning can cause vomiting within 1 to 6 hours of eating the contaminated food, making it easy to connect to a specific meal. Norovirus, one of the most common causes, typically kicks in within 12 to 48 hours. Salmonella usually shows up between 6 and 48 hours.
Other pathogens take much longer. Campylobacter, often linked to undercooked poultry, can take 2 to 5 days to produce symptoms. E. coli O157 ranges from 1 to 8 days. Listeria is especially tricky: initial stomach symptoms can appear within 2 days, but the more serious form of the illness can take 2 to 6 weeks to develop. This wide range means the meal you suspect may not actually be the culprit, especially if symptoms appeared several days after eating it.
What to Eat as You Recover
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) as the go-to recovery plan. It won’t hurt you in the short term, but current evidence doesn’t support it as a treatment strategy, and sticking with it too long can leave you short on nutrients your body needs to recover. The better approach is simpler: once your appetite starts coming back, return to your normal diet.
That said, a few food categories are worth avoiding during recovery. Caffeine, high-fat foods like fried dishes and pizza, and very sugary drinks can all worsen diarrhea. Dairy is a particular problem. Some people develop temporary difficulty digesting lactose after a bout of food poisoning, and this sensitivity can last a month or more. If milk or cheese seems to make your symptoms flare, that’s why.
Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re not hungry. When your appetite does return, start with whatever sounds manageable. Bland, soft foods are fine if that’s what feels right, but there’s no need to restrict yourself to a specific list. The priority is getting calories and nutrients back in as your body heals.
Preventing It Next Time
If you can identify what made you sick, it helps to think about why. The most common culprits are undercooked meat and poultry, raw or undercooked eggs, unpasteurized dairy, unwashed produce, and food that sat at room temperature too long. Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40°F and 140°F, so leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours (one hour if it’s above 90°F outside).
Cross-contamination is another frequent cause. Using the same cutting board for raw chicken and salad vegetables, or not washing your hands between handling raw meat and other ingredients, can transfer bacteria to foods you won’t be cooking. Separate cutting boards and thorough handwashing are the simplest fixes.