Stomach bug... how long to starve yourself (TMI alert)

[NannyL]

Thanks for anyone who reads 1st.

Currently have a really nasty stomach bug (which im sure i caught when my 4 year old was sick all over me (twice) on Tuesday... and his entire family have had it to, ie where i work)

Woke up on thursday morning feeling sick and (probably rather stupidly) had some cereal for breakfast

Got to work and both my bosses decided I looked ill and needed to go home.

So i went home and didnt eat anything for most of the day.... felt really nauseous all day though. but i did eat a plain packet of crisps and craved some orange juice so i had a glass of that as well

Woke in the early hours of friday morning and was just so sick. It was really nasty and really burnt my oesophagus and back of throat and was just sooo painful. After 5 lots of sickness all night i obviously didnt go in yesturday (friday) and starved myself all day.

My throat was so sore i couldnt eat (or swallow) even if i wanted to. By 5pm it hurt so much i went and got some calpol as no way could i swallow any tablets. in the shop there were some smoothie lollies whose ingrediants were mainly apple juice with banana puree and a tiny bit of strawberry puree so i bought a pack to sooth my throat (having been sucking ice during the afternoon) and was ok.

thinking 'BRAT' banana rice apple toast!

had some more calpol at 9pm and decided to try a small crustless slice of plain white bread (Throat way to sore to even think about toast). Within 10mins i had diorreah (sp?) (can honestly say the last time i suufered with that i was about 10 years old)

luckily i had a good nights sleep but woke up feeling really poorly and nauseas again.... have 'tried' to vomit but my stomach is completely empty.

Any idea how long i should wait to try any form of food again.... right now i dont feel like eating at all.... feel really tired and look as white as a ghost actually, but surely i need to eat something today? ie maybe this evening, not now!

(On the plus side i have lost 5ib, but then i know that doesnt really count.)

I always thought that you had to starve yourself with a stomach bug too, but my doctor has advised me that they now say little and often if you can manage it. Just keep it simple until your stomach settles down. Have you tried something like rich tea biscuits or dry toast? Hope you feel better soon.

if you don't feel like eating, then don't. Stick to fluids - flat lemonade for example - and maybe a few crisps for the salt content.

Sipping fluids, a few sips an hour for example, is better then a lot all at once. Rehydration fluids that you can get from the chemists are also good, but I don't like the taste personally.

Get well soon.

thanks for that

maybe ill try a rich tea biscuit this afternoon.

i also hate the taste of rehydration drinks (i think the taste of them would make me vomit right now) so i'll stick to water i think.

If you can manage it Manuka Honey from a health shop or big supermarket is fabulous for tummy bugs. When I'm feeling gripy I stick to having a teaspoon of it every hour or so and drinking water, sips every 10 minutes. Even when feeling really sick that seems to stay down.

Hope you're feeling better soon, it's lousy isn't it?

thank you very much!

have just eaten half a rich tea biscuit to see what happens.

Unfortunately I have no honey in the house and no energy to go and get any either at the moment

NannyL i hope that you managed to keep the rich tea biscuit down, I will feel sooooo guilty if you don't!!!! And apologies for suggesting a dry piece of toast when quite clearly your throat hurts too much!!!

from nhs direct:

Don?t eat any food while you are feeling sick or vomiting. Rest your stomach for one hour after being sick - then try small sips of water. You should only try eating again once you have been free of vomiting for several hours. Eat small amounts of plain foods that are easy on the stomach, such as bread or toast, biscuits or crackers, rice, potatoes or low-sugar cereals. Avoid greasy or spicy foods.

hi nannyl, you gave me advice on fri for sending my dd to pre-school when i'd been so ill! she went, was fine and currently still is!................i've actually managed a small piece of toast today and bread for lunch but tried tea and now feel icky again! i really feel for you, hope you start feeling better soon. i'll keep watching your thread to see what else people suggest!

thanks everyone

my rich tea biscuit was fine

have since ooked myself some rice... had a few mouthfuls and decided i didnt want rice...
so had some plain bread.... but ate about 1/4 of a slice and decided i didnt really want bread either....
so tried some banana and decided i didnt really want banana either...

so had anoeehr rich tea biscuit which i almost enjoyed!

Hoping im (finally) getting a bit better. Still exhausted though and despite being in bed all day for 3 days in a row im gonna have another early night in a min

PHEW!!!

cross posted elanors mum

really hope you feel better too... this is definitley the nastiest sick bug i have ever had! (normally avoid them!)

My daddyboss (a GP) has been poorly since tuesday, and only started feeling better today... he really has been very very poorly as well which is just SO unlike him!

Seems to be a really long lasting nasty bug thing

PS glad your daughter is fine fingers crossed it remains that way!