Most stomach aches resolve on their own within a few hours, but you can speed things along with the right combination of dietary changes, over-the-counter options, and simple home remedies. The best approach depends on what’s causing the pain: acid, gas, cramping, or something you ate.
Start With What You Eat and Drink
When your stomach hurts, what you put into it matters more than anything else. If you’re dealing with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, stick to bland, easy-to-digest foods for the first day or two. Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (the classic BRAT diet) are fine short-term options, but you don’t need to limit yourself to just those four. Brothy soups, oatmeal, boiled potatoes, crackers, and unsweetened dry cereals are equally gentle on your stomach.
Once things settle, add back more nutritious foods: cooked squash, carrots, sweet potatoes without skin, avocado, skinless chicken, fish, and eggs. These are still bland enough to avoid irritation but provide the protein and nutrients your body needs to recover. Harvard Health notes there are no studies showing the strict BRAT diet works better than a broader bland diet, so don’t force yourself to eat only four foods if you’re tolerating others well.
While your stomach is upset, temporarily avoid foods that are harder to break down. Onions, garlic, beans, lentils, and many wheat products are common culprits. Dairy can be a trigger if your body struggles with lactose. Apples, watermelon, stone fruits, and ripe bananas are higher in fermentable sugars that can worsen bloating and cramping. Processed meats and anything with artificial sweeteners (sugar alcohols) can also make things worse.
Stay Hydrated the Right Way
Dehydration makes stomach aches worse and is a real risk if you’re vomiting or have diarrhea. Sip water slowly rather than gulping it down, which can trigger more nausea. If you’ve lost significant fluids, an oral rehydration solution is more effective than plain water because it replaces both the fluid and the electrolytes your body has lost. You can buy pre-made solutions at any pharmacy, or make your own with water, a small amount of sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, and caffeine while your stomach is recovering. All three can increase acid production or irritate an already inflamed stomach lining.
Home Remedies That Actually Help
Ginger is one of the most studied natural remedies for stomach discomfort, particularly nausea. Clinical trials have used doses ranging from 170 mg to 1 g taken three to four times daily. You can get this from ginger tea, ginger chews, or capsules. In one controlled trial, 500 mg per day significantly reduced the frequency of nausea compared to a placebo. Start with a smaller amount and see how you respond, since ginger can occasionally cause mild heartburn or mouth irritation in some people.
Peppermint oil is another well-supported option, especially for cramping and bloating. It works by relaxing the smooth muscle in your digestive tract. Enteric-coated capsules (available over the counter) are the best form because they dissolve in the intestines rather than the stomach, which prevents the peppermint from causing heartburn. The typical dose for adults is 0.2 to 0.4 mL of oil three times daily.
Heat can also help. A warm compress or heating pad placed on your abdomen for 15 to 20 minutes relaxes tense muscles and can ease cramping. Lying on your left side may help relieve gas pressure, since it aligns your stomach in a way that makes it easier for trapped air to move through.
Choosing the Right Over-the-Counter Option
Different types of stomach pain call for different products, and picking the wrong one means waiting longer for relief.
For acid-related pain (burning, heartburn, sour taste): Antacids work the fastest by neutralizing stomach acid on contact. H2 blockers take one to three hours to kick in but reduce acid production for about eight hours. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the strongest option and suppress acid for 15 to 21 hours a day, but they can take up to four days to reach full effect. If you need quick relief right now, reach for an antacid. If you’re dealing with recurring heartburn, an H2 blocker or PPI makes more sense.
For gas and bloating: Two products dominate here, and they work differently. Simethicone (found in Gas-X) is an anti-foaming agent that breaks up trapped gas bubbles so they’re easier to pass. It works on gas that’s already formed. Alpha-galactosidase (found in Beano) is a digestive enzyme that helps break down hard-to-digest foods before they produce gas in the first place. Take it before or with a meal that includes beans, vegetables, or other known triggers.
For cramping and diarrhea: Anti-diarrheal medications can slow things down, but only use them if you don’t have a fever or bloody stools, which could indicate an infection that your body needs to clear.
Build Better Habits to Prevent Recurrence
If stomach aches are a regular problem, your daily habits are likely part of the equation. Eating too fast forces you to swallow air and dumps large amounts of food into your stomach before it’s ready. Smaller, more frequent meals are easier to process than two or three large ones.
Eating close to bedtime is one of the most common triggers for acid-related stomach pain. Give yourself at least two to three hours between your last meal and lying down. If nighttime discomfort is a pattern, elevating the head of your bed by a few inches can keep acid from traveling upward.
Stress is a less obvious but powerful trigger. Your gut and brain communicate constantly, and anxiety or chronic stress can increase stomach acid, slow digestion, and heighten your sensitivity to pain. Regular physical activity, even a daily 20-minute walk, helps keep your digestive system moving and reduces stress-related gut symptoms.
Probiotics may also help if you deal with recurring abdominal pain. A randomized trial of the probiotic strain L. reuteri found that children taking it for 12 weeks had significantly more pain-free days, with a mean difference of about 26 additional days without pain compared to those on a placebo. While this study focused on children, probiotics are generally well-tolerated across ages, and several strains have shown benefits for digestive comfort.
Signs That Need Immediate Attention
Most stomach aches are harmless, but certain patterns signal something more serious. The American College of Emergency Physicians recommends seeking emergency care if pain is sudden, severe, or doesn’t ease within 30 minutes. Continuous severe pain accompanied by nonstop vomiting can indicate a life-threatening condition like a perforated ulcer or pancreatitis.
Pain in the lower right abdomen, especially with loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or fever, may point to appendicitis. Severe abdominal pain with vaginal bleeding can be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy. Pancreatitis typically causes pain in the middle upper abdomen that worsens after eating and may come with fever and a rapid pulse. Any of these combinations warrant a trip to the emergency room, not a wait-and-see approach.