How Do Tummy Rot?

**Truculent Sheep** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 9:42am

A journalist once remarked that children were like open sewers. This weekend I found out the hard way. While visiting my nephew, he gave me a simply foul stomach bug that's had me punishing the porcelain with some vigour. Projectile vomiting is the least of my woes, and I've been off solids as a result. It also hurts like a bastard and I feel like I've been chain-whipped by Big Geordie The Pig Fucker (a noted biker) as a result. I've also lost 4lbs in the last 12 hours, which is alarming.

So my strategy is to just doss around, drink fluids and try to get Vitamin C, and not eat for a while, but I'd like to know if there are any hints and tips you lot might have. It's not too severe (but by Christ it feels like it), or at least not severe enough to bother my GP about, so I'm able to function. But is there anything else I should be doing?

**Yohan** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 10:00am

I recommend eating white rice and applesauce (and nothing else).

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 10:32am

Welcome to the club brother. Kids give you some nasty **** sometimes, specially stomach flu viruses and crap.

- Drink lots of gatorade, or better yet, make a 2/3 mix of water and orange juice, with a half a teaspoon of salt per half-gallon. Then drink it all day.

- Avoid anything overly acid or alkaline (like strong coffee, lemonades or spicy food).

- Try eating small amounts of cooked oatmeal (make sure it's not too dry), mixed with lots of non-sugar-added yogurt (you need to replenish your gut bacteria.)

- Avoid excessively starchy or sugary food. You don't want Lt. Uhura telling Kirk that their systems have identified you as a "dangerous gaseous anomaly".

- Try eating bananas (good for pooping) and papaya (for digestion) - avoid pineapple (too much sugar, too acid)

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 10:32am

Originally Posted by Yohan

I recommend eating white rice and applesauce (and nothing else).

I'd avoid the white rice (doesn't work for me), but the applesauce is a good suggestion.

**Snake Plissken** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 10:47am

BRAT diet, as is recommended for the children:

banana
rice
applesauce
toast.

I would avoid the OJ and/or gatorade and stick with just room-temp H2O in small sips until you can hold that down. But that is just my personal sensativity moreso then anything.

If you can hold it down, all the better for you.

The basic concepts is like TEM suggested to put solid binding foods in there, but not everything works for everyone. I can't eat the bananas and the applesauce is too acidic for me when sick so I stick with the rice and dried toast.

When I am able to hold a little more down, I move to unsalted cracker and slightly chilled 7-Up that is stirred to conteract the carbonation.

Other people I know do the same with straight Coke....again stirred to offset carbonation.

One thing to keep an eye on:

excessive fluid loss that can lead to vascular collapse. If you have this MORE then 2 or 3 days, go to a doctor.

Even though they probably can't give you anything, they can make sure it isn't the Rotavirus, as my nephew was within hours of serious injury from lack of proper hydration.

And carry handgel and take something like Emergen-C when being around the filthy little buggers.

**Neildo** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 10:52am

Originally Posted by Snake Plissken

When I am able to hold a little more down, I move to unsalted cracker and slightly chilled 7-Up that is stirred to conteract the carbonation.

have you tried ginger ale instead of 7-up? ginger is good.

***jnp*** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 11:07am

In addition to fluids, easily digestible foods and emergen-C, I take acidophilous and bifidus supplements when I have alimentary problems.

What say you smart men of Bullshido? Good idea or bad?

**Snake Plissken** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 11:31am

Originally Posted by jnp

In addition to fluids, easily digestible foods and emergen-C, I take acidophilous and bifidus supplements when I have alimentary problems.

What say you smart men of Bullshido? Good idea or bad?

I have always heard that acidophilus was a good idea and have actually heard yogurt to be a good idea, but the one time I tried it, the dairy in the yogurt just made me more sick.

I tried acidophilus tablets daily, but don't do well with pills, which is why I take things like the Emergen-C, as I can just drink the damn stuff.....so I eat 2 or 3 "probiotic" yogurts a day to try and get the same benefit.

But if you can handles it, then hell yeah, I wish I could.

Originally Posted by Neildo

have you tried ginger ale instead of 7-up? ginger is good.

being of a delicate constitution, sometimes the ginger has more 'bite' to it then I can handle.......I am a weak softie.

I got an upset stomach when my wife was pregnant and she was chewing whole ginger root to offset the nausia.

that just about killed me.

**Truculent Sheep** · Posted On: 10/20/2008 5:43pm

A quick update - I've taken El Macho's advice. Yogurt 'n porridge have helped a great deal as have the banana and orange juice/water/salt combo. I've also dug up an old cure for cholera-induced dehydration in Nepal: drink a pint of water with a teaspoon of salt and sugar. It works wonders. Still feel like cack, mind you, but am feeling much better than before. Entrails aren't churning it out at both ends anymore either, but it looks like I'm going to be restricting what I eat until at least Thursday.

However, the raging shits have now swept through my house, so the other hints and tips (like BRAT) will be duly spread to the other victims. My girlfriend is at death's door, so she definitely needs some applesauce...