A stomach virus typically runs its course in one to three days, and the main thing you need to do is stay hydrated, rest, and ease back into eating as your body recovers. There’s no antiviral medication that cures it. Your job is to manage symptoms, replace lost fluids, and avoid spreading it to the people around you.
Hydration Is the Priority
Dehydration is the most common complication of a stomach virus, and it can happen fast when you’re losing fluids from both ends. For adults, the goal is to take small, frequent sips rather than gulping large amounts at once, which can trigger more vomiting. Water is fine, but oral rehydration solutions (like Pedialyte or store-brand equivalents) are better because they replace the sodium and potassium your body is losing. The World Health Organization’s formula contains 75 milliequivalents per liter of sodium and 75 millimoles per liter of glucose, a balance specifically designed to help your intestines absorb fluid efficiently.
For children, the stakes are higher because they dehydrate more quickly. Kids under 22 pounds should get 2 to 4 ounces of oral rehydration solution after each bout of vomiting or watery stool. Children over that weight need 4 to 8 ounces per episode. If a child is moderately dehydrated, pediatric guidelines recommend 50 to 100 milliliters per kilogram of body weight over two to four hours to catch up on fluid losses.
Skip sodas, fruit juice, and sports drinks as your main fluid source. They contain too much sugar and not enough electrolytes, which can actually worsen diarrhea.
What to Eat (and When)
You may have heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s not wrong exactly, but it’s outdated as a strict protocol. Those foods are gentle on your stomach, but they lack the vitamins and protein your body needs to recover. Sticking to only BRAT foods for more than a day or two can leave you nutritionally short.
A better approach: eat whatever bland, soft foods you can tolerate. Start with the BRAT staples if that’s all that sounds bearable, then gradually add scrambled eggs, skinless chicken or turkey, and cooked vegetables as your nausea eases. The key phrase is “as tolerated.” If something sounds appealing and stays down, that’s a good sign. Avoid greasy, spicy, or heavily seasoned foods until you’re feeling closer to normal. Dairy can also be harder to digest during and shortly after a stomach virus, so you may want to hold off on milk and cheese for a few days.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Adults can use loperamide (Imodium) to slow diarrhea or bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) to calm nausea and loose stools. These won’t cure the virus, but they can make the worst hours more manageable. One important rule: if you have a fever or notice blood in your stool, do not take anti-diarrheal medications. Those symptoms can indicate a bacterial infection, and slowing your gut down in that situation can make things worse.
Neither of these medications is considered safe for infants or young children without a doctor’s guidance. For fever, standard over-the-counter fever reducers are generally fine for adults. Avoid aspirin in children.
Probiotics May Shorten Recovery
There’s reasonable evidence that certain probiotics can trim roughly 30 hours off the duration of diarrhea, particularly in children. A large Cochrane review found that probiotics reduced the risk of diarrhea persisting past three days by about 34%. The strain with the strongest track record is Lactobacillus GG (often sold as Culturelle), which appears especially effective against rotavirus. Starting probiotics within the first 60 hours of symptoms seems to matter for getting the benefit.
Probiotics aren’t a cure, and the effect varies from person to person. But if you’re looking for something proactive to do beyond fluids and rest, they’re a low-risk option.
How Long You’re Contagious
This is where stomach viruses are sneaky. Most people feel better within one to two days of symptoms starting, but they remain contagious well beyond that. Norovirus, the most common culprit in adults, can linger in your stool for two weeks or more after you’ve recovered. Rotavirus, which hits children hardest, is contagious even before symptoms appear and for up to two weeks after recovery.
Children should stay home from school or daycare for at least two days after their last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. Adults should follow the same principle for work, especially in food service or healthcare settings.
Preventing Spread at Home
Here’s something most people get wrong: alcohol-based hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus. The CDC is clear on this point. Soap and water is the only reliable method for cleaning your hands after using the bathroom or before handling food. You can use hand sanitizer as an extra step, but never as a substitute for washing.
Clean any surfaces that may have been contaminated, particularly bathrooms, doorknobs, and shared spaces. Norovirus is tough to kill, so standard household cleaners may not be enough. A bleach-based solution is your best bet for hard surfaces. Wash contaminated clothing and linens on the hottest cycle available, and dry them on high heat. If someone in your household is sick, give them their own towel, drinking glass, and ideally their own bathroom if possible.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most stomach viruses resolve on their own, but dehydration can become dangerous. In adults, watch for extreme thirst with a dry mouth, dark-colored urine, dizziness or lightheadedness, urinating much less than usual, or skin that doesn’t bounce back when you pinch it. Any change in mental state, like unusual confusion or irritability, is a red flag.
Adults should also seek care if diarrhea lasts more than two days, vomiting is frequent enough that you can’t keep fluids down, you develop a fever above 104°F, you’re having six or more loose stools per day, or you notice blood or pus in your stool.
For infants and young children, the thresholds are lower. No wet diapers for three hours or more, no tears when crying, sunken eyes, or any fever in infants all warrant a call to the pediatrician. In older children, a fever of 102°F or higher during a stomach virus is reason to get medical advice. Children become severely dehydrated more quickly than adults, and they sometimes need IV fluids to catch up.