After throwing up, the most important things are to rest your stomach, protect your teeth, and start replacing lost fluids slowly. Most vomiting episodes resolve on their own within a day or two, but how you handle the first few hours makes a real difference in how quickly you bounce back.
Rinse Your Mouth, but Don’t Brush
Your first instinct after vomiting might be to grab your toothbrush. Resist that urge. Stomach acid coats your teeth during vomiting, and brushing while that acid is still present grinds it into your enamel, causing real damage over time. Wait at least an hour before brushing.
Instead, rinse your mouth right away with plain water or, even better, a fluoride mouthwash. If you have baking soda on hand, a small amount dissolved in water helps neutralize the acid faster. Spit it out and you’ll feel fresher without putting your teeth at risk.
Give Your Stomach a Break
Don’t eat or drink anything right away. Your stomach needs a grace period of a couple of hours to settle. Lying down can help, but position matters. If you’re feeling weak or drowsy, rest on your side rather than your back. This keeps your airway clear and prevents choking if you vomit again. Angle your face slightly downward, bend your top knee forward to stabilize yourself, and tuck a hand under your cheek for support.
If you’re alert and sitting up, that works fine too. Just avoid lying flat on your back, especially if another wave of nausea feels possible.
Start Fluids Slowly
Once a couple of hours have passed without vomiting, start with ice chips or very small sips of water, about every 15 minutes. The key word is small. Gulping down a full glass is likely to trigger more vomiting. Think of it as testing your stomach’s willingness to cooperate.
If plain water stays down for an hour or so, you can move to something with electrolytes. Oral rehydration solutions (sold at most pharmacies) are the best option because they contain a higher concentration of sodium and a lower concentration of sugar compared to sports drinks. Sports drinks have roughly three times less sodium and nearly double the sugar, which makes them less efficient at actual rehydration. They’re better than nothing, but if you have access to an oral rehydration solution, choose that instead.
For children, the goal is at least 1 ounce (about 30 ml) of fluid per hour. A teaspoon or tablespoon at a time works well for younger kids who tend to gulp. Infants should continue breastfeeding or formula feeding as soon as they can keep it down.
Easing Back Into Food
You’ve probably heard of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) as the go-to after vomiting. Most experts no longer recommend a restricted diet like this. The current guidance is simpler: when you feel hungry again, eat your normal diet. Your body is generally good at signaling when it’s ready.
That said, common sense still applies. Start with bland, easy foods if the thought of a full meal turns your stomach. Crackers, plain rice, broth, or a piece of toast are gentle starting points. Avoid greasy, spicy, or heavily seasoned foods for the first meal or two. Dairy can also be irritating for some people right after vomiting. If your first small portion stays down, gradually increase the size of your next meal.
Children should return to their usual age-appropriate diet as soon as they’re willing to eat. There’s no benefit to restricting them to specific bland foods longer than necessary.
Over-the-Counter Nausea Relief
If nausea lingers and you want something to take the edge off, bismuth subsalicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol) can help. The standard adult dose is two tablets or two tablespoons of liquid, repeated every 30 minutes to an hour as needed, up to 16 tablets or 16 tablespoons of regular-strength liquid in 24 hours.
This medication is not safe for children under 12. It also should not be given to children or teenagers who have the flu or chickenpox, because it contains a salicylate (the same family as aspirin), which carries a risk of Reye’s syndrome in those situations. Adults with gout, kidney disease, bleeding disorders, or stomach ulcers should also avoid it.
What to Watch For
Most vomiting passes without complications, but certain signs mean you need medical attention. Watch for dehydration: excessive thirst, dry mouth, dark urine, urinating much less than usual, dizziness when you stand up, or feeling weak. These signal that you’re losing fluids faster than you’re replacing them.
The color and content of your vomit also matters. Vomit that contains blood, looks like coffee grounds, or is bright green warrants prompt medical care. The same goes for vomiting accompanied by severe abdominal pain, chest pain, a high fever with a stiff neck, confusion, or blurred vision.
In terms of duration, adults should see a doctor if vomiting lasts more than two days. For children under 2, the threshold is 24 hours. For infants, it’s 12 hours. If you’ve been dealing with recurring bouts of nausea and vomiting for longer than a month, or you’ve noticed unexplained weight loss alongside it, that also deserves a medical evaluation.