After vomiting, the best approach is to rest your stomach for a few hours, start with small sips of fluid, and then gradually reintroduce bland, easy-to-digest foods when you feel ready. The NHS advises eating when you feel able to and avoiding anything fatty or spicy. Most people can return to normal eating within 24 to 48 hours.
Start With Fluids, Not Food
Right after throwing up, your stomach needs a short break. Rather than reaching for food straight away, give yourself a grace period of a few hours and focus on replacing lost fluids. Vomiting pulls water and electrolytes out of your body quickly, and dehydration is the most common complication of a stomach bug or food poisoning.
Take small, frequent sips rather than gulping down a full glass. Water is fine for most adults. Oral rehydration solutions (available from pharmacies) are particularly helpful if you’ve been vomiting repeatedly, as they replace both water and salts your body has lost. Some people find flat lemonade, diluted squash, or clear broth easier to tolerate in the first few hours.
If even a small sip triggers more nausea, wait another 15 to 20 minutes and try again. Your body will tell you when it’s ready. Once you can keep fluids down for a few hours without vomiting again, you can start thinking about food.
What to Eat First
When your appetite starts to return, stick to small portions of bland food. You don’t need to force yourself to eat a full meal. A few bites of plain toast, a couple of crackers, or a small bowl of plain rice is enough to start. The goal is to test your stomach gently, not to catch up on missed calories.
Good options for the first 24 hours include:
- Plain toast or bread
- White rice
- Plain crackers
- Bananas
- Boiled potatoes
- Oatmeal or porridge
- Brothy soups (chicken broth, vegetable broth)
- Unsweetened dry cereal
You may have heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast), which has been a go-to recommendation for decades. These foods are still perfectly fine choices, but there’s no evidence that restricting yourself to only those four items speeds recovery. A broader range of bland, starchy foods works just as well and gives your body more nutrients to recover with. Harvard Health notes that a less restrictive approach makes more sense for most people.
Why Small, Frequent Portions Matter
After vomiting, your stomach’s normal muscle contractions can be sluggish. The muscles that push food through your digestive tract may not be working at full speed, which means large meals sit in the stomach longer and can trigger more nausea. This is why eating three or four small snacks spread across the day works better than sitting down to a regular-sized plate of food.
If you eat a few bites and feel full or slightly queasy, stop. Wait an hour or two and try again. Your stomach’s motility will return to normal as you recover, typically within a day or two. Pushing too much food too soon is one of the most common reasons people end up vomiting again.
Foods and Drinks to Avoid
Your stomach lining is irritated after vomiting, so anything that adds to that irritation will slow your recovery. For the first day or two, steer clear of:
- Fatty or fried foods: chips, takeaways, greasy cooked breakfasts
- Spicy foods: curries, chilli, hot sauces
- Dairy products: milk, cheese, yoghurt (these are harder to digest when your gut is upset)
- Sugary foods and drinks: fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate
- Alcohol and caffeine: both can worsen dehydration and irritate the stomach
- Acidic foods: citrus fruits, tomato-based sauces
Dairy deserves a special mention. While plain yoghurt is sometimes recommended for gut health, it’s best to wait at least eight hours after your last episode of vomiting before reintroducing any milk-based products. Your digestive system temporarily loses some of its ability to break down lactose during a stomach illness, which can cause bloating and more discomfort.
Feeding Children After Vomiting
Children get dehydrated faster than adults, so fluid replacement is even more important. Offer small sips of water or oral rehydration solution frequently. For breastfed babies, continue breastfeeding in shorter, more frequent sessions.
After about six to eight hours of keeping clear fluids down, you can start offering small amounts of food. Starchy, bland options like plain cereal, crackers, or bread are easiest on a child’s stomach. Avoid anything high in sugar, greasy, or fried. It’s also worth avoiding red-coloured foods and drinks, as these can look alarming if a child vomits again and you mistake the colour for blood.
Hold off on milk and yoghurt drinks until your child has gone at least eight hours without vomiting. Once they’re tolerating bland foods well, you can gradually return to their normal diet over the next day or two.
What About Probiotics?
Probiotics, the “friendly bacteria” found in supplements and some yoghurts, are often suggested for restoring gut balance after a stomach illness. The NHS notes that while probiotics are thought to help restore bacteria disrupted by illness, there is little evidence to support many of the health claims made about them. They’re unlikely to do harm for most people, but they’re not a proven shortcut to recovery either. If you have a weakened immune system or an existing health condition, speak to a pharmacist or GP before taking probiotic supplements.
A Realistic Recovery Timeline
Most stomach bugs and bouts of food poisoning resolve within one to three days. Here’s roughly what a typical recovery looks like:
- First few hours: rest your stomach, take small sips of water or rehydration solution
- After 2 to 4 hours without vomiting: try a few bites of bland food (toast, crackers, plain rice)
- 6 to 12 hours: increase portions gradually if you’re keeping food down
- 24 to 48 hours: most people can return to a normal diet, reintroducing dairy and more flavourful foods slowly
There’s no need to rush the process. If you only manage fluids and a few crackers on the first day, that’s completely fine. Your body has enough stored energy to get through a day or two of light eating. The priority is staying hydrated and letting your digestive system recover at its own pace.