What should you know about caught stomach bug?

It may follow contact with an infected person, contaminated food or water, or a virus such as rotavirus. Symptoms often begin fairly suddenly. The main concern is loss of fluid and salts through vomiting or diarrhoea, especially in babies, older adults, and people who cannot drink.

Gastroenteritis affects the digestive tract. Common features include loose stools, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, reduced appetite, and fever. Symptoms can occur in different combinations, so one person may mainly vomit while another mainly has diarrhoea.

A stomach bug can spread through unwashed hands, shared surfaces, and food prepared by someone who is ill. Washing hands with soap and water, cleaning frequently touched bathroom surfaces, and avoiding food preparation for other people while unwell can reduce transmission.

For more detail, see Gastroenteritis, Diarrhoea, Nausea, Abdominal Pain, Fever, and Loss of Appetite.

Take frequent small sips of water or an oral rehydration drink. If vomiting makes drinking difficult, pause briefly and try again with smaller sips. Oral rehydration solutions can replace fluid and salts more effectively than relying on very sweet drinks alone.

Rest, and eat when you feel able. Start with familiar, simple foods and avoid alcohol. Continue usual medicines only if you can keep them down; ask a pharmacist or clinician about medicines for children, pregnancy, or ongoing conditions.

Use separate towels, wash hands after using the toilet and before eating, and stay home from work, school, or childcare while vomiting or frequent diarrhoea continues. Read about Dehydration and Rotavirus Infection for related information.

Seek urgent medical help if you are confused, unusually drowsy, faint, unable to keep fluids down, passing very little urine, or showing other signs of significant dehydration such as a very dry mouth. Get urgent advice for blood in vomit or stool, severe or worsening abdominal pain, or a high fever with marked illness.

Contact a clinician promptly if the person who is ill is a young child, older adult, pregnant, or living with a condition that increases dehydration risk. Medical advice is also appropriate when symptoms are not settling, keep returning, or you are unsure whether home care is safe.

These warning signs do not depend on how common a stomach bug is; they reflect fluid loss, severe illness, or another possible cause that may need examination.

You could ask: What is the safest way for me to replace fluids? Do I need an oral rehydration solution? Could my medicines be worsening vomiting or diarrhoea? What symptoms should prompt urgent care? When can I return to work, school, or childcare?

Tell the clinician when symptoms began, how often you have vomited or passed loose stool, whether you can drink and urinate normally, what you have eaten recently, and whether anyone else is ill. Mention travel, pregnancy, recent antibiotics, and any long-term medical conditions.