Most cases of diarrhea resolve on their own within two days to two weeks. The single most important thing you can do is replace the fluid and electrolytes your body is losing. Beyond that, a few targeted steps with food, drinks, and over-the-counter options can shorten your discomfort and help you recover faster.
Fluid Replacement Comes First
Diarrhea pulls water and electrolytes out of your intestines faster than your body can reabsorb them. Even mild cases can leave you dehydrated surprisingly quickly, especially in hot weather or if you’re also vomiting. Plain water helps, but it doesn’t replace the sodium and potassium you’re losing. Sports drinks work in a pinch for adults, though they contain more sugar than ideal.
The gold standard is an oral rehydration solution. You can buy premade packets at most pharmacies, or make one at home using the World Health Organization formula: dissolve half a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar into roughly four and a quarter cups of clean water. The sugar isn’t just for taste. It activates a transport system in your gut lining that pulls sodium and water back into your body, which is why the ratio matters. Sip steadily throughout the day rather than gulping large amounts at once, especially if nausea is an issue.
What to Eat (and What to Skip)
The old advice to stick strictly to bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast has largely fallen out of favor. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases notes that most experts no longer recommend a restricted diet or fasting during acute diarrhea. Once you feel like eating, you can return to your normal meals. Children should continue their usual age-appropriate diet, and infants should keep breastfeeding or taking formula.
That said, certain foods and ingredients genuinely make things worse. Sugars pull extra water into the intestinal lumen through osmosis, loosening stools further. Artificial sweeteners like sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol, found in sugar-free gum, candy, and some medications, are particularly problematic because the gut absorbs them poorly. Dairy can also aggravate symptoms if your ability to digest lactose is temporarily reduced by the infection. Fructose, lactose, and sugar alcohols all belong to a family of poorly digested sugars that ferment in the gut and draw in fluid.
Greasy, fried, or very spicy foods tend to speed up gut motility and aren’t doing you any favors during a bout of diarrhea. Caffeine and alcohol are both dehydrating and can stimulate the intestines. Stick with simple, well-cooked foods for the first day or two: rice, plain chicken, cooked vegetables, broth, crackers. Then expand your diet as your stools firm up.
Probiotics Can Shorten Recovery
Probiotics are live bacteria that help restore normal gut flora, and there’s solid evidence they speed recovery from infectious diarrhea. A large Cochrane review found that probiotics reduced the average duration of diarrhea by about 30 hours and cut the risk of diarrhea still being present at three days by roughly a third. For children with rotavirus, the most common cause of severe childhood diarrhea, the benefit was even more pronounced, with duration dropping by about 38 hours compared to no treatment.
Not all strains are equal. Lactobacillus-based probiotics showed the strongest results in trials, shortening illness by anywhere from 23 to 51 hours depending on the specific strain and combination. Look for products containing Lactobacillus strains (often labeled LGG or L. rhamnosus) or Saccharomyces boulardii, a beneficial yeast commonly sold for digestive support. Start taking them as early as possible once symptoms begin.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Loperamide (sold as Imodium) slows down intestinal contractions, giving your gut more time to absorb water. It works well for adults who need symptom relief, particularly when diarrhea hits at an inconvenient time. The maximum daily dose for adults is 16 mg (eight capsules). Most people start with two capsules after the first loose stool, then one after each subsequent loose stool.
For children, the rules are stricter. Loperamide is not safe for children under two years old due to risks of breathing problems and serious heart effects. Children between two and five should only use the liquid formulation, and dosing is based on weight. For kids six and older, either capsules or liquid can be used, but the total daily dose stays well below the adult limit. If you’re unsure, check with a pharmacist.
Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) is another option that can reduce stool frequency and ease cramping. One important caution: it contains a compound related to aspirin, so it should not be given to children or teenagers who have or are recovering from the flu, chickenpox, or any other viral infection. The combination raises the risk of Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious condition affecting the liver and brain.
Neither medication should be used if you have a high fever or bloody stools. Those signs suggest a bacterial infection where slowing the gut down could do more harm than good.
Helping Babies and Young Children
Children, especially infants, dehydrate much faster than adults. The priority is keeping fluids going in. Breastfed babies should continue nursing frequently. Formula-fed babies should keep their regular formula. Oral rehydration solutions designed for children (like Pedialyte) are better than juice or sports drinks, which contain too much sugar and can worsen loose stools.
Watch for these signs of dehydration in babies: fewer wet diapers than usual, a sunken soft spot (fontanelle) on the top of the head, no tears when crying, and unusual sleepiness or irritability. In older children, look for dry lips, dark urine, and lethargy. Any infant under 12 months with diarrhea, or any child with a fever alongside diarrhea, warrants a call to the doctor. The same goes for a child who refuses to drink for more than a few hours.
How Long Diarrhea Typically Lasts
Acute diarrhea, the kind caused by a virus, contaminated food, or a stomach bug, lasts two days to two weeks. Most viral cases improve within three to five days. If symptoms persist between two and four weeks, that’s classified as persistent diarrhea and usually deserves medical attention to rule out a lingering infection or other cause. Anything beyond four weeks is considered chronic and points toward an underlying condition like irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, or a food intolerance that needs proper evaluation.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most diarrhea passes without complications, but certain symptoms signal something more serious. Contact a doctor promptly if you notice any of the following: stools that are black, tarry, or contain blood or pus; severe abdominal or rectal pain; a high fever; six or more loose stools per day; frequent vomiting that prevents you from keeping fluids down; or signs of dehydration like dizziness, dry mouth, and dark urine. Adults whose diarrhea lasts more than two days without improvement should also seek care.
Some groups face higher risks from diarrhea and should stay in closer contact with their doctor throughout an episode: pregnant women, adults over 65, anyone currently on antibiotics, and people with weakened immune systems. For children, a lower threshold applies. Any fever in an infant, or diarrhea lasting more than one day in a child, is worth a medical conversation.