The most important thing to do when you have diarrhea is replace the fluid you’re losing. Most acute diarrhea resolves on its own within two to three days, but dehydration can set in quickly, especially if you’re having frequent watery stools. Beyond fluids, a few simple changes to what you eat, drink, and take from the medicine cabinet can shorten your misery and keep you from getting worse.
Start Replacing Fluids Immediately
Every loose stool pulls water and essential salts out of your body. If you’re not actively drinking to keep up, you can become dehydrated within hours. Water alone isn’t ideal because it doesn’t replace the sodium and potassium you’re losing. The best approach is to alternate between plain water and something that contains electrolytes: oral rehydration solutions (sold at any pharmacy), diluted broth, or coconut water.
The World Health Organization’s oral rehydration formula combines a small amount of sugar with salts, because sugar helps your intestines absorb sodium and water together. You can buy pre-mixed packets or make a rough version at home with six level teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt dissolved in one liter of clean water. Sip steadily rather than gulping large amounts at once, which can trigger nausea.
Watch yourself for signs that you’re falling behind on fluids. A dry or sticky mouth, dark yellow urine, dizziness when standing, and skin that doesn’t spring back quickly when you pinch it into a fold are all signals of moderate dehydration. If you notice these, increase your intake and consider an electrolyte solution rather than water alone.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
You don’t need to stop eating. In fact, continuing to eat helps your intestinal lining recover faster. The goal is to choose foods that are low in fiber, easy to digest, and unlikely to irritate your gut further. White rice, plain white bread or toast, cooked potatoes without the skin, bananas, plain crackers, eggs, and well-cooked lean meats like chicken or fish are all good choices. Canned or cooked fruits (without added sugar) and well-cooked vegetables without seeds or skins also work.
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). Those foods are fine, but they’re unnecessarily restrictive. You’ll recover better eating a broader range of bland, low-fiber foods that give your body the protein and calories it needs to heal.
What you avoid matters just as much as what you eat. Several common foods and drinks actively make diarrhea worse by pulling extra water into your intestines:
- Dairy products. Milk, soft cheese, and ice cream contain lactose, which many people have trouble digesting even under normal circumstances. During a bout of diarrhea, your gut’s ability to break down lactose drops further. Limit dairy to two cups per day at most, or switch to lactose-free versions.
- High-fructose drinks. Soda, fruit juice, and applesauce with added sugar are loaded with fructose. A single 16-ounce cola contains close to 30 grams of fructose. Sugars stimulate the gut to release water and electrolytes, loosening stools even more.
- Sugar-free gum and candy. Sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol (common in “sugar-free” products and some medications) are poorly absorbed and have a well-known laxative effect.
- Caffeine. Coffee, tea, chocolate, and caffeinated sodas all speed up gut motility, which is the last thing you need.
- Fatty, greasy, or fried foods. These are harder to digest and can worsen cramping.
- Raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Their high fiber content adds bulk that your inflamed gut has to work harder to process.
Over-the-Counter Medications That Help
Two widely available medications can reduce the frequency of loose stools. They won’t cure the underlying cause, but they can make you more comfortable while your body fights it off.
Loperamide (the active ingredient in Imodium) slows intestinal contractions, giving your gut more time to absorb water. Adults can take up to 8 mg per day with the tablet formulation. It’s not recommended for children under 6 without a doctor’s guidance, and it should never be given to children under 2. If your diarrhea involves a high fever or bloody stools, skip the loperamide, since slowing your gut down when your body is trying to flush out a bacterial infection can make things worse.
Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) works differently. It reduces inflammation inside the intestine, decreases the flow of fluid into the bowel, and may kill some of the organisms causing the problem. It’s a good option for milder symptoms and traveler’s diarrhea. However, it contains a compound related to aspirin, so avoid it if you have an aspirin allergy. Children and teenagers with flu-like symptoms or vomiting should not take it due to the risk of a rare but serious condition linked to salicylates.
Probiotics Can Shorten Recovery
Certain probiotic strains help your gut recover faster. The best-studied one for acute diarrhea is a beneficial yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii, available over the counter in capsule form (often sold as Florastor). A meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials found that people taking this strain experienced diarrhea for roughly 1.6 fewer days compared to those who didn’t. That’s a meaningful difference when you’re counting the hours.
Probiotics containing Lactobacillus strains have also shown modest benefits. They work by crowding out harmful bacteria and helping restore your gut’s normal microbial balance. Start taking them as early in the episode as possible for the best effect.
How Long Diarrhea Should Last
Most cases of acute diarrhea, whether caused by a virus, food poisoning, or a dietary trigger, clear up within two to three days. You should see gradual improvement: stools becoming less watery, fewer trips to the bathroom, and cramping easing up. If you’re steadily improving, you’re on the right track even if things aren’t fully normal yet.
If diarrhea continues beyond two days in adults without any improvement, something more than a simple stomach bug may be going on. Bacterial infections, parasites, medication side effects, and conditions like inflammatory bowel disease can all cause prolonged episodes that need medical evaluation.
Red Flags That Need Medical Attention
Most diarrhea is unpleasant but not dangerous. A few specific warning signs change that picture:
- Blood or black color in your stool. This can indicate a bacterial infection, intestinal inflammation, or bleeding in the digestive tract.
- Fever above 102°F (39°C). A high fever alongside diarrhea suggests an infection that your body may not clear on its own.
- Severe abdominal or rectal pain. Mild cramping is normal, but intense pain is not.
- Signs of significant dehydration. Extreme thirst, very dark urine, little or no urination, severe weakness, or dizziness when you stand up.
- More than 10 bowel movements a day or fluid losses clearly outpacing what you can drink.
For children, the timeline is tighter. Seek help if a child’s diarrhea doesn’t improve within 24 hours, if they have no wet diaper for three or more hours, or if they develop a fever above 102°F or bloody stools. Young children and infants dehydrate much faster than adults, and what looks like a mild case can escalate quickly.