What to start eating after a stomach virus?

[Anonymous]

I had a stomach virus Saturday-Sunday. It’s been 24 hours since I threw up. I had 4 crackers and diluted pedialyte this morning.

My urine is very dark. I am hungry.

What can I eat and drink? Can I have a soft boiled egg? I was thinking Ramen for lunch.

Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Start pushing fluids to get your dehydration sorted - water is best but coffee and tea are okay too.

I suffered horrible viral diarrhea and vomiting with my recent and first bout of covid.

As soon as my appetite began to return, I started immediately eating my usual gut healthy high fiber diet - walnuts, broccoli, brown rice, etc.

You want to get some really healthy fiber rich foods into your gut ASAP to feed the health bacteria and repopulate your gut biome.

Ramen is super salty and not a really healthy food at any time.

[Anonymous]

I'd just start slow. First up your liquid intake. Take sips of gatorade/pedilyte and water pretty much every few minutes.

Then just start slow. A soft boiled egg is fine. I usually start with toast or dry cereal and then see how my stomach feels after 15-30 minutes.

Being hungry is a great sign. Go easy, and eat smaller portions than normal. Bananas and plain carbs are good.

[Anonymous]

I drink tea with honey first (usually ginger tea as that is good for upset stomaches). If that stays down, crackers, then toast with peanut butter, then apples, usually. Lots of tea or Gatorade or ginger ale with all meals. If all of this works out I’ll get more adventurous. But if you’re craving ramen, I would try some, wait 20 minutes, and only then eat more if you haven’t thrown up again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start pushing fluids to get your dehydration sorted - water is best but coffee and tea are okay too.

I suffered horrible viral diarrhea and vomiting with my recent and first bout of covid.

As soon as my appetite began to return, I started immediately eating my usual gut healthy high fiber diet - walnuts, broccoli, brown rice, etc.

You want to get some really healthy fiber rich foods into your gut ASAP to feed the health bacteria and repopulate your gut biome.

Ramen is super salty and not a really healthy food at any time.

Oh my gosh this is horrible advice. Until you feel normal, do NOT eat a super high fiber diet. You want easily digestible carbs. It's not the time to worry about perfect health balance, it's the time to listen to your gut. I can not imagine eating walnuts and broccoli while recovering from a stomach bug. DO NOT DO THAT. If you feel even better tomorrow, that's when you can start adding in more normal foods.

[Anonymous]

I did toast with butter then toast with jelly. Applesauce. Pedialyte sips. And then once all that stayed down, we did pho day 1 post and then sushi day 2 post. Sushi made me feel almost normal.

If its the latest iteration of norovirus full disclosure it took me almost a week to get back to 100% and I was not feeling well (nausea, gas, bloating, serious discomfort ) for 4-5 days prior to the purge. But I am also pregnant. I still think its related to the virus because I had no nausea or bloating prior nor since 24h post. I still felt a bit dehydrated through the past week but thats resolved with time.

[Anonymous]

How long am I contagious?

[Anonymous]

BRAT diet.

https://www.piedmont.org/living-real-change/the-brat-diet#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20BRAT%20diet%20acronym%20stands,nausea%2C%20vomiting%20or%20diarrhea.%E2%80%9D

[Anonymous]

You basically need baby foods, no fats and no high fibers, if you are going to have soup make it clear soup like chicken broth or beef broth. Bread, avoid dairy and then when you're better you can progress to scrambled eggs etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start pushing fluids to get your dehydration sorted - water is best but coffee and tea are okay too.

I suffered horrible viral diarrhea and vomiting with my recent and first bout of covid.

As soon as my appetite began to return, I started immediately eating my usual gut healthy high fiber diet - walnuts, broccoli, brown rice, etc.

You want to get some really healthy fiber rich foods into your gut ASAP to feed the health bacteria and repopulate your gut biome.

Ramen is super salty and not a really healthy food at any time.

Oh my gosh this is horrible advice. Until you feel normal, do NOT eat a super high fiber diet. You want easily digestible carbs. It's not the time to worry about perfect health balance, it's the time to listen to your gut. I can not imagine eating walnuts and broccoli while recovering from a stomach bug. DO NOT DO THAT. If you feel even better tomorrow, that's when you can start adding in more normal foods.

And yet I just did it, I feel perfectly fine and my bowel movements are back to normal not even a week after illness.

But sure you know best, doc. My doctor doesn’t know anything, apparently.

[Anonymous]

Oh look, webmd with doctor approved articles says BRAT diet is outdated and unnecessary following diarrhea. But hey they are doctors, what do they know when DCUM harpies are weighing in?

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/ss/slideshow-diarrhea-myths-facts

[Anonymous]

Oh look, more medical advice to consume soluble fiber when suffering diarrhea!

https://www.everydayhealth.com/ibs/soluble-vs-insoluble-fiber-for-ibs.aspx

What are these crazy medical people talking about?? Don’t they know that mother knows best even if she’s parroting ancient advice from her grandma?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh look, more medical advice to consume soluble fiber when suffering diarrhea!

https://www.everydayhealth.com/ibs/soluble-vs-insoluble-fiber-for-ibs.aspx

What are these crazy medical people talking about?? Don’t they know that mother knows best even if she’s parroting ancient advice from her grandma?

I think you need blood pressure meds.

[Anonymous]

I also had a gross stomach bug yesterday and threw up/had diarrhea. Today I’ve had water, Gatorade, even some coffee. I had a banana - this was good. Then I had some of my packed lunch: avocado, chicken, red pepper, and plain yogurt. Tried to have tortilla chips - not a good idea.

Think I will just have broth later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start pushing fluids to get your dehydration sorted - water is best but coffee and tea are okay too.

I suffered horrible viral diarrhea and vomiting with my recent and first bout of covid.

As soon as my appetite began to return, I started immediately eating my usual gut healthy high fiber diet - walnuts, broccoli, brown rice, etc.

You want to get some really healthy fiber rich foods into your gut ASAP to feed the health bacteria and repopulate your gut biome.

Ramen is super salty and not a really healthy food at any time.

Oh my gosh this is horrible advice. Until you feel normal, do NOT eat a super high fiber diet. You want easily digestible carbs. It's not the time to worry about perfect health balance, it's the time to listen to your gut. I can not imagine eating walnuts and broccoli while recovering from a stomach bug. DO NOT DO THAT. If you feel even better tomorrow, that's when you can start adding in more normal foods.

Yeah, good for PP if it worked for them, but it takes me about a week to properly digest food after a stomach virus, especially at my age. I generally eat a high fiber diet, but you cannot "repopulate your gut biome" in a day after having a serious stomach virus. You need to eat foods that are easy to digest so that your body can rehydrate and absorb nutrients. The biggest concern right after a stomach virus is dehydration, not the pH balance in your intestines (which will be out of whack for days, most likely).

I do think some gentle fiber in the form of fruit is a good idea. Apples or applesauce, pears, and berries will all be reasonably gentle on your system while adding some fiber to your diet. If you can do a smoothie, you could also throw in some greens (just a few) to start getting you back on track. I also recommend something like lentils or beans, served with rice, which will satisfy what is probably intense hunger without just offering up carbs.

But no, I would not start in on broccoli and walnuts today. Your body is probably not in condition to actually process something like that anyway. You want easily processed foods until you are having normal, solid BMs, and to focus on hydration above all else.