Speedy Recovery from Tummy Bugs

Here are some clues that tell you that you might have stomach flu:

Diarrhea (loose bowel movement)
Nausea (that weird feeling you get when you’re about to vomit)
Vomiting
Stomach cramps or tummy ache
Loss of appetite
Low grade fever
Muscle aches
Chills
Fatigue (tiredness)

Here are some tips you can try to recover faster from the stomach flu:

Rest your stomach and intestine. This is one of two important things you can do about the stomach flu (the other being prevention of dehydration) . Don’t eat anything, but you can have clear liquids; small sips of clear liquids. As long as possible, let your digestive system rest. Your stomach and intestine have been through a lot. You don’t want to shock the system, hence my emphasis on small sips.

Note: We do not recommend the home remedy of giving flat coke, lemonade or another soft drink to your children or yourself for that matter. Sugary drinks are not the best for rehydration. Follow with the B.R.A.T. diet. B.R.A.T. stands for banana, rice (white), applesauce (homemade without added sugar is best), and toast (dry). As long as the vomiting has stopped and you can keep the liquids we mentioned above down, you can begin to eat anything from the B.R.A.T. diet. these foods are known as binding foods. They slow down the movements of your over-agitated bowels. Like the recommendation on clear liquids, eat very small portions at first.

Probiotic supplement. You lose a lot of liquids when you have loose bowel movements. What you may not know is that you can also lose a lot of the beneficial microorganisms that reside in your intestinal tract. You should help to replace them by taking a probiotic supplement.

A probiotic supplement restores the normal population of microorganisms in your gastrointestinal tract. Wait until fluids are staying down before introducing the probiotic supplement. Avoid this list of foods. When recovering from the stomach flu its best to avoid these foods. Eat them only when you feel back to normal again.

Prevent the stomach flu with these reminders:

1. Wash your hands. This can tremendously minimise the transmission of stomach flu among family members.
2. Eat plenty of plain yoghurt with live culture to support your colonies of good bacteria.
3. Take a probiotic daily to promote a healthy balance of good bacteria to keep intruders out.
4. Use coconut oil for cooking. Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties, take advantage of them.
5. Add kimchi, sauerkraut and other fermented foods to your diet. Fermented foods are good for your beneficial microorganisms.

Watch out for:

1. Excessive or bloody diarrhoea. Diarrhea can dehydrate you really fast. If you’re too weak to drink sips of water or you feel light headed, you may need to go to the emergency room of the nearest hospital. Diarrhoea lasting for more than 3 days is also a sign to see a doctor. When it comes to children, take them to the doctor right away if they have severe or bloody diarrhea.
2. Vomiting for more than a day (or more than a few hours for children) is also dangerous because of the dehydration it causes.
3. Fever above 40 C (or 38.9 C or above for children)