Regardless of whether your misery traces back to contaminated produce or a garden-variety stomach bug, gastroenterologists and infectious-disease doctors say the same handful of missteps tend to make a bad situation worse—and drag it out longer than necessary. Here's what to avoid if you're stuck making endless trips to the bathroom.
Slowing everything down can keep the offending germ—and the toxins some produce—in your gut longer, rather than helping your body clear it. If you need relief in the first day or two, Desai says a bismuth-based product like Pepto-Bismol or Kaopectate is generally the best choice. “It kind of helps soothe irritation,” he says. “It actually has some antimicrobial properties.” Just know it can turn your stool dark, almost black—a startling but harmless side effect.
2. Trying to tough it out
Most diarrhea resolves on its own within a couple of days. But not every case follows the usual script. "The No. 1 mistake people make is ignoring the red flags," says Dr. Saurabh Sethi, a gastroenterologist in Fremont, Calif., who often posts about gut health on social media. Watch for a fever above 101°F, blood in your stool, dizziness and other signs of dehydration, severe abdominal pain, or diarrhea that lasts beyond two to three days. "That's the time when they should stop self-diagnosing and self-treating," Sethi says.
How you drink matters too: Rather than forcing down a big glass and feeling queasy, take small sips often—Mezoff suggests a tablespoon every five or 10 minutes. “Small amounts frequently is much easier to tolerate than saying, ‘OK, suck down that big glass,’” he says.
4. Raiding the medicine cabinet for old antibiotics
Found some random leftover antibiotics in the medicine cabinet? Don't take them. “There are certain forms of E. coli where, when it gets exposed to antibiotics, it releases all of its toxins, and those toxins can affect the kidneys, cause seizures, and cause bleeding issues,” says Dr. Daniel Egan, an infectious diseases physician at Orlando Health.
Your gut has enough work to do already. Loading it up with heavy, hard-to-digest foods can make recovery even harder. “The diet needs to become bland, low in fat and low in fiber, and it should also be dairy-free,” Sethi says. “Once your intestine is inflamed, we need less of the things that can irritate our gut further.” For a few days, ease off fatty and fried foods, high-fiber choices, and dairy, and stick with bland foods your system can digest more easily. Once you're feeling better, you can gradually work your way back to your normal diet.
6. Not eating anything at all
When you're ready to eat again, keep it simple. Sethi recommends sticking to bland, low-fat, low-fiber foods that are easy on your digestive system, like toast, rice, bananas, applesauce, crackers, and plain pasta. Wait until you're feeling better to gradually reintroduce richer, fattier, and higher fiber foods, he advises.
Even if you do see a doctor, don't assume a stool test automatically checks for everything. “The general stool testing that’s ordered is only for bacterial infections like Shigella, salmonella, and E. coli,” Sethi says. “So if someone is suspecting Cyclospora, they need to request this special test.” The good news is that once it's identified, treatment with an antibiotic is relatively straightforward.
8. Thinking all stomach bugs spread the same way
That means you don't need to isolate yourself at home. But don't skip good hygiene: If you're sick, don't prepare food for other people, and wash your hands thoroughly. “For Cyclospora and norovirus, you're better off just with good old soap and water,” Bulbin says. “Alcohol hand sanitizer does not work very well.”
10. Rushing back to normal the moment you feel better
Feeling human again doesn't mean you’re back to 100%. “You want to go gentle,” Egan says. “To jump right back into your regular diet is a little bit hard on the GI system, so you want to ease into it and gradually reintroduce foods.”
The same goes for exercise. “You need to understand how much trouble this created for your body before you launch back into all your normal stuff,” Egan says. Even if the diarrhea has stopped, you may still be catching up on hydration, so don't assume you're ready for a hard workout—or a return to business as usual. Give yourself a few days to ease back into your normal routine.
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