Most upset stomachs resolve on their own within a few hours to a couple of days, and the fastest way to feel better is a combination of resting your digestive system, staying hydrated, and choosing the right foods and remedies for your specific symptoms. What works best depends on whether you’re dealing with nausea, cramping, bloating, acid reflux, or diarrhea, so it helps to match your approach to what your body is actually doing.
Start With What You Drink
Dehydration makes almost every stomach symptom worse, and if you’re vomiting or have diarrhea, you’re losing fluids fast. Small, frequent sips of water are the safest starting point. If plain water feels hard to keep down, try letting it reach room temperature first, since cold drinks can trigger more cramping in an irritated stomach.
Clear broths, diluted fruit juices, and oral rehydration solutions all help replace lost electrolytes. Ginger tea is a well-studied option for nausea relief specifically. Avoid coffee and alcohol while your stomach is upset. Both increase stomach acid production and can weaken the muscular valve between your stomach and esophagus, making nausea, reflux, and pain worse.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
The old advice to stick strictly to bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (the BRAT diet) is no longer recommended. The American Academy of Pediatrics considers it too restrictive for children, and the Cleveland Clinic notes it lacks calcium, vitamin B12, protein, and fiber. Following it for more than 24 hours can actually slow recovery by depriving your gut of the nutrients it needs to heal.
A better approach: eat as tolerated, starting with small portions of soft, bland foods. Plain crackers, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, steamed chicken, and soup all work well. As soon as you feel ready for more variety, add it back. Your stomach handles smaller, more frequent meals better than large ones when it’s inflamed.
While you’re recovering, steer clear of fatty, greasy, and fried foods. High-fat meals slow digestion, meaning food sits in your stomach longer and increases pressure that can push acid upward. Chocolate is a triple threat for reflux since it contains caffeine, fat, and a compound that relaxes the valve at the top of your stomach. Dairy-heavy dishes like creamy sauces and cheese plates have the same effect.
Over-the-Counter Options by Symptom
The right medication depends on what’s bothering you most:
- Nausea, heartburn, or indigestion: Bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) treats all three. Adults can take 2 tablets or 2 tablespoonfuls every 30 minutes to an hour as needed, up to 16 regular-strength doses in 24 hours.
- Acid reflux or burning pain: Antacids neutralize stomach acid quickly and provide short-term relief. If burning is your main symptom, they’re usually the fastest fix.
- Diarrhea: Loperamide (Imodium) slows gut motility. It’s useful for managing symptoms but shouldn’t be used if you have a high fever or bloody stools, since those may signal an infection your body needs to clear.
- Bloating and gas: Simethicone breaks up gas bubbles in the digestive tract. It won’t help with nausea or cramping, but if pressure and bloating are the main problem, it can bring noticeable relief within 20 to 30 minutes.
Physical Comfort Measures That Work
A heating pad or warm compress placed on your abdomen is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce stomach cramps. Heat dilates blood vessels in the area, increasing circulation and helping tight abdominal muscles relax. This is especially helpful for cramping and spasm-type pain. Keep the temperature comfortable (not hot enough to redden skin) and use it for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
Lying on your left side can also help. This position keeps the junction between your stomach and esophagus above the level of stomach acid, which reduces reflux. If you’re feeling nauseated, propping yourself up slightly rather than lying flat gives gravity an assist in keeping things down.
Acupressure for Nausea
There’s a pressure point on your inner wrist called P-6 that’s been used in clinical settings, including at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to reduce nausea and prevent vomiting. To find it, hold your hand palm-up with fingers pointing toward the ceiling. Place three fingers from your other hand across your wrist, just below the crease where your wrist bends. The point sits right below your index finger, between the two tendons you can feel running up your forearm. Press firmly with your thumb for two to three minutes, then switch wrists. This technique is free, has no side effects, and can be done anywhere.
Peppermint: Helpful for Cramps, Risky for Reflux
Peppermint has a genuine physiological effect on the digestive tract. The menthol in peppermint blocks calcium channels in the smooth muscle lining your gut, which causes those muscles to relax. This makes it useful for cramping and spasm-type stomach pain.
There’s an important catch, though. That same muscle-relaxing effect can loosen the valve between your stomach and esophagus, allowing acid to flow back up and worsening heartburn or reflux. If your upset stomach involves burning or acid taste in the back of your throat, skip the peppermint tea and reach for ginger instead. If cramping is the main issue and reflux isn’t a factor, peppermint can be genuinely helpful.
What About Probiotics?
Probiotics are widely marketed for digestive recovery, but the evidence for acute stomach illness is weaker than most people expect. A major study from Washington University School of Medicine tested Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (sold as Culturelle) in children with stomach viruses and found it had no effect on symptoms. Diarrhea lasted about two days in both the probiotic group and the placebo group, and the children missed the same amount of day care. A similar Canadian study using a different probiotic strain found the same results.
Probiotics may still have value for long-term gut health or for specific conditions like antibiotic-associated diarrhea, but popping a probiotic capsule in the middle of a stomach bug is unlikely to speed your recovery.
When an Upset Stomach Needs Attention
Most stomach trouble passes without medical care, but certain symptoms signal something more serious. Seek prompt medical evaluation if you notice vomiting that’s green or yellow (bilious), blood in your vomit or stool, severe abdominal pain with a rigid or distended belly, a fever above 101.3°F (38.5°C), or signs of significant dehydration like dizziness, fainting, or very dark urine. Abdominal pain after recent surgery, during pregnancy, or alongside use of blood-thinning medications also warrants a call to your doctor rather than a wait-and-see approach.