Most upset stomachs resolve on their own within a few hours, and the right combination of simple strategies can speed that process along considerably. What works best depends on your specific symptoms: nausea, bloating, cramps, and acid-related discomfort each respond to slightly different approaches. Here’s what actually helps.
Start With What You Drink
Sipping fluids is the single most important thing you can do when your stomach is off. Dehydration makes nausea worse and slows digestion, especially if you’ve been vomiting or dealing with diarrhea. Small, frequent sips of water or an electrolyte drink work better than gulping a full glass, which can trigger more nausea. Room temperature or slightly warm liquids are generally easier on an irritated stomach than ice-cold ones.
Chamomile tea is a particularly good choice. It relaxes the digestive muscles and can ease gas, indigestion, nausea, and even vomiting. One study found that chamomile extract significantly reduced nausea and vomiting frequency compared to a control group, and while the tea is less concentrated than an extract, it still offers real relief. Peppermint tea works through a different pathway: menthol relaxes the smooth muscle in your bowel, which helps with cramping and bloating. If your main complaint is sharp, crampy pain, peppermint is the better pick. If it’s more generalized queasiness, go with chamomile.
Clear broth is another solid option. It replaces sodium and fluids simultaneously, and the warmth itself can be soothing. Avoid caffeinated drinks, alcohol, and anything carbonated until your stomach settles.
Apply Heat to Your Abdomen
A heating pad or hot water bottle placed on your belly does more than just feel comforting. Heat dilates blood vessels in the area, increasing circulation and boosting local metabolism. When applied to the upper abdomen, this stimulates digestion in the stomach and small intestine, improving food absorption and reducing bloating and indigestion. For lower abdominal cramps, heat relaxes and stretches the abdominal muscles, directly counteracting the spasms causing your pain.
Keep the temperature warm but not hot enough to redden your skin. Twenty minutes on, then a break, works well. A warm (not hot) bath accomplishes something similar if you don’t have a heating pad handy.
Eat the Right Foods at the Right Time
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s fine for a day or two if you’re dealing with a stomach bug, food poisoning, or traveler’s diarrhea. But there’s no clinical evidence that restricting yourself to only those four foods is better than a broader bland diet, according to Harvard Health. Brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereal are equally easy to digest and give you more to work with.
The more important principle is timing. Don’t force food when you’re actively nauseous. Wait until your stomach feels ready, then start small. A few bites of plain crackers or a quarter of a banana is enough for a first attempt. If that stays down comfortably for 30 to 60 minutes, eat a little more.
Once your stomach has settled, transition to foods that are still gentle but more nutritious: cooked squash, carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, and eggs. These provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover without overwhelming your digestive system. Avoid fatty, spicy, or heavily seasoned foods until you’ve been feeling normal for at least a full day.
Adjust Your Position
How you sit or lie down matters more than most people realize. If acid reflux or heartburn is part of your discomfort, lying flat makes it worse by letting stomach acid flow back up into your esophagus. Elevating your upper body with a wedge pillow or propping yourself up with several pillows helps gravity keep acid where it belongs.
If you’re lying down, your left side is the best position. A study monitoring 57 people with chronic heartburn found that while acid reflux episodes happened at similar rates regardless of position, acid cleared from the esophagus significantly faster when participants were on their left side compared to their back or right side. This means less burn time per episode, which translates to less discomfort. Even if heartburn isn’t your main issue, the left side position can help with general nausea because of how the stomach is anatomically positioned.
Avoid bending over or doing anything that compresses your abdomen. Loose clothing helps too, especially if bloating is involved. Tight waistbands put direct pressure on your stomach and can worsen both nausea and reflux.
Over-the-Counter Options by Symptom
Different pharmacy products target different problems, so matching your symptom to the right one matters.
- Heartburn or acid indigestion: Antacids like Tums or Maalox neutralize stomach acid and work within minutes. They’re best for occasional, short-term relief. If you get heartburn frequently, acid reducers like famotidine (sold as Pepcid AC) cut down acid production and last longer.
- Gas and bloating: Look for products containing simethicone, which breaks up gas bubbles. Some antacids include simethicone as a combination ingredient.
- General nausea and diarrhea: Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) coats the stomach lining and can help with both. It also works for the sour, unsettled feeling that doesn’t quite fit into one category.
One thing that probably won’t help in the short term: probiotics. A large, double-blinded trial of nearly 1,000 patients found that the widely recommended probiotic strain L. rhamnosus GG did not result in faster symptom improvement or less diarrhea compared to placebo in acute stomach illness. After 14 days, outcomes were essentially identical between groups. Probiotics may have benefits for long-term gut health, but they’re not a reliable fix for the stomach upset you’re dealing with right now.
What to Avoid While Your Stomach Recovers
Some common habits actively slow recovery. Dairy products are hard to digest when your gut is irritated, even if you normally tolerate them fine. Fried and fatty foods require more bile and digestive effort, which can ramp up nausea. Citrus fruits and juices are acidic enough to worsen an already inflamed stomach lining.
Smoking and alcohol both irritate the stomach directly. NSAIDs like ibuprofen and aspirin can also aggravate stomach upset, so if you need pain relief for something else while your stomach is off, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the gentler choice.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most stomach upset passes within 24 to 48 hours. But certain patterns point to something more serious. Seek emergency care if you’re vomiting and completely unable to keep liquids down, if you have severe abdominal pain after a previous abdominal surgery, or if your pain is noticeably different from stomach trouble you’ve had before.
Pain that starts near your belly button and migrates to your lower right abdomen over 12 to 24 hours, especially with fever and loss of appetite, suggests appendicitis. A sudden, intense cramp in the lower abdomen that hits maximum intensity almost immediately can indicate kidney stones. Upper abdominal pain that worsens when you eat and comes with nausea, fever, and a rapid pulse may point to pancreatitis. Any of these warrant a trip to the emergency room rather than waiting it out at home.