Natural Remedies for the stomach bug

Here’s a list of my top six natural remedies for the stomach bug. Be prepared for when the stomach bug strikes unexpectedly in the middle of the night!

Recently my daughter and I were hit by a stomach bug. She contracted it first and I caught it soon after. What’s really strange is that we had eaten at Mc Donald’s on the Saturday night and by Sunday she woke up vomiting. I instantly assumed it was some kind of food poisoning from the Mc Donald’s.

We almost NEVER eat fast food but that Saturday night for some reason she begged me to go there and I caved in. Come Sunday I was kicking myself  when my poor baby was hurled over.

As a mom it’s an absolute torture to see your babies in pain. I treated my little girl and myself with natural remedies for the stomach bug and bedrest and in 48hrs we were on the mend.

TOP 6 Natural Remedies for the stomach bug

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug #1 – Drink Coconut Water

Coconut water is full of electrolytes and high in potassium all of which are lost during diarrhea and vomiting. Instead of keeping a bottle of Pedialyte in your pantry which is full of food coloring and artificial flavors why not keep a brown coconut. Then if the stomach bug strikes you don’t need to go hunting for one.

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug #2 – Harness the power of essential oils

Essential oils penetrate the skin and quickly circulate throughout the body. Combine the essential oils of ginger, peppermint and patchouli with a carrier oil and massage it into the soles of your feet, your stomach or behind the ears.

I would recommend diffusing these essential oils as well in order to reap the full benefits. For children the EO blend Tummy All Better by Plant Therapy is an excellent remedy. It’s pre-diluted with coconut oil which makes it safe to apply directly to your child’s tummy.

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug #3 – Drink bone broth

I always keep homemade bone broth in my freezer. A bit of bone broth is just about the only food we could stomach in the early stages. All I had to do was to defrost a few cubes and warm it up. Bone broth is full of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and gelatin to help to repair the gut. You can find my post on how to make bone broth and all it’s benefits here.

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug #4 – Take a probiotic

On day 3 when we still did not feel like eating solid food I whipped up my Orange Ginger smoothie replacing the milk with kefir. The ginger in the smoothie is great for nausea and kefir is a probiotic. The friendly bacteria Lactobacillus genus found in kefir produces natural disinfectants and is believed to help protect against infections. Read more about the health benefits of kefir here.

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug # 5 – Stick to the BRAT diet for a couple days

When we were finally ready to handle solid food we stuck with the BRAT diet. Banana, Rice, Apples and Toast.

Natural Remedies for the stomach bug #6 – Take an Epsom salts bath

Epsom salts baths not only help to relieve sore muscles they are an excellent way to detoxify. Magnesium is absorbed through the skin and the compound draws out toxins. I would recommend a nice long soak after diarrhea has subsided, for obvious reasons. :)

Later I found out that a few other kids from my daughter’s school had been ill so it seems it wasn’t food poisoning from Mc Donald’s after all. I still lead her to believe that eating there did play some part in our illness in hope that she won’t ask me to go back. Am I awful?

I’d love to know what natural remedies you keep in your parent arsenal for when the tummy bug strikes.

Please note :  If your symptoms persists for more than 48 hours, causes unbearable pain or other major problems please consult your doctor, as it may be a sign of a more serious illness.

Please share this post to give your family and friends a chance to be prepared too.