To think it's common knowledge not to eat when you have a stomach bug

[ThisIsMyNewestName]

YABU - I keep on eating even if I'm sick
YANBU - who does that?! Plain toast only after 12hrs .

I really thought not eating for a long time after you were sick was the normal thing to do! I'll leave it at least 12hrs and then have some toast. But recently I was around my SIL when she caught the stomach bug that we'd all had in turn - she was shocked when I told her it wasn't a good idea to eat the takeaway we'd ordered and that she'd be better off having some toast!

DH also didn't realise that not eating is a thing and he wondered why when he came down with the stomach bug it lasted much longer for him than for me - errrr cause you were eating curry and an ice cream a couple of hours after you'd been sick!

Also the boy in a&e who was asking his grandma whether he should perhaps stop drinking fizzy drinks while his stomach was sore and she was saying she didn't know and he should ask the Dr.

So am I being unreasonable to think it's common knowledge to not eat when you've been sick?

YABU - eat what you like
YANBU - you need to rest your stomach

I think kids are better at this than adults. They eat when they feel hungry after a bug and not before.

flat full fat coke, sipped, is great after a bug.

I can’t believe you didn’t know that OP 😃

I do stick to bland/gentle foods and small amounts but I don't eat dry toast (or drink rice water WTF) or stick to any specific time scale I just go by what I feel is sensible.

While still being sick I don't want to eat but once that's stopped then some toast or quavers are usually ok. I can't imagine eating a curry and I know my kids can never tolerate dairy immediately after a bug so we stick plainer foods. I don't wait 12 hrs though, never head of that as a rule.

Just listen to your body and eat what you feel like having.

oh the thought of drinking rice water made me feel sick! I don't generally eat because i don't feel up to it, but the children still ask for food, bananas seem to be favourite and stay down quite well. I haven't given much thought about whether you should or shouldn't eat to be honest.

Current advice is to eat. Not eating is very outdated advice.

But. We don't eat for 24 hours with a sickness bug. Our household is currently working its way through a sickness bug. Our experience is that it goes much faster this way. DC3 was sick three times, DC2 twice, DC1 still working their way through it but hadn't been sick since yesterday afternoon so fingers crossed no more but she was sick 4 times. DH was sick twice. We've tried the eating thing before and it's always lasted much longer with many many many more and worse episodes of vomiting.

I recall when my sister was little the doctor telling my mum to give her food. She was sick for 2 weeks until my mum got her to fast for 24 hours and then it was gone.

Toast, ginger nut biscuits, ice lollies, jelly and flat lemonade in this house.

But that is largely because that's what my mum did when I was little so not surprised it's out of date advice. Not sure I feel up to eating much else when sick anyway though.

I always start with crisps, so you can nibble them slowly and they help replace any lost salts, which along with fluids, can make you feel better.

You just listen to your body, I think. Noon'e going to eat a big curry if they still feel v delicate. My experience of stomach bugs is that I recover very quickly and after a few hours I'm done. I have a full fat coke when I feel like it and stick to very plain food - toast, crackers. I've never had a bug that lasted more than a day but maybe I've been lucky. My kids are the same and it seems over and done with very quickly without any relapse.

I was surprised when DM ate fruit 2 days into a bag stomach bug .. yes it made it worse!

It's old fashioned advice to 'starve the bug', that's what my parents did when I was little. The advice has now changed to keep eating, because you can't actually starve a bug, and not eating isn't very good for you! Most people can't stomach much when they feel sick so plain food like toast or biscuits makes sense.

Don’t eat dairy, high fat or spicy.
Anything else is ok.

If you feel able to eat, eat.

I'd rather not have low blood sugar, dizziness and nausea for an entire day after puking, thanks.

So I'll eat as soon as I can. Something salty and not high in claggyness.

Definitely have fizzy drinks, but should be sugar versions. My go-tos are Coke and Lucozade

I think it's a bit odd that you feel entitled to dictate what other people can and can't do when they're ill.
I find generally my body will guide me. So at the height of the bug I couldn't touch a thing then as I start to recover I crave comforting, easy to digest foods.
Everybody's different op.

I just would eat what I felt capable of eating. Which is usually toast after sickness for me, but if it’s chicken korma for someone else I wouldn’t judge.

When I was a child the advice was to fast, but that has not been the case for many years.

I agree 100% OP.
I felt like eating once. Had a small amount of dessert. Ended up in A&E with the pain. That's all it was. Eating too soon after D&V ☺️🤢

I was always taught to starve a sickness bug for 24 hours, DH continuously tries to eat when he gets a stomach bug, says it’s important to keep your strength up which is a very valid viewpoint. A couple of months ago our toddler brought home a sickness bug so me and DH caught it at exactly the same time. I starved it for almost 24 hours (at which point I became suddenly very hungry so I tentatively ate some basic pasta) DH insisted on eating throughout. I was back to normal within 24 hours but DH had trouble on/off for about 4 days. This is consistent with what has happened in the past with us. Might be a coincidence of course. He is always trying to get me to eat but I prefer my method!

Eat what you fancy is best for me.

What's best for me is often bacon and eggs with a coke. Used to give my Mum huge worries, but she learnt that worked best for me.

Bread in any form will make me throw up again. Vomiting up rice (having done it in pregnancy) is not pleasant either. You can feel all the grains coming back up.

Not eating for a day was always what my mum and granny did. NHS advice has changed to say eat what you fancy, but I still think starting your stomach is the quickest and most surefire way to get better. Plus, less vomit to deal with.

I think eating if you are able is a good idea to put something back in your body. The worst d and v I had I lost half a stone in half a week. I had just arrived on honeymoon:( I ate the salty stuff from the mini bar and alternated the water and carbonated drinks. I kept losing a lot of it but imagine that I would have felt a lot weaker and worse if I wasn't doing that.

I have had dreadful upset stomach for 4 days - but its my Birthday night out tonight - argggghhh - feeling sorry for myself but am heading out come what may. Immodium will have to be necked.

Ha, off topic, but fully agree with this!

Bacteria and viruses rarely have a nationality. Though I’m sure if it truly is a foreign one, then speaking to it very slowly and loudly would also help it understand you want it to go away 😂