Sometimes treatment includes prescription medicine to prevent nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Nonprescription medication is available for the treatment of diarrhea and is very effective. If you use it, make sure you use the dose recommended on the package. If you have been vomiting for more than a day or have had diarrhea for over 3 days, call your health care provider. You may need to have a physical exam to rule out more serious problems and to check for dehydration.
Dehydration is a potentially serious complication of stomach flu.
It can occur if your body loses too much fluid because you keep vomiting or having diarrhea. Stomach flu rarely lasts longer than 1 to 3 days. However, it may be 1 to 2 weeks before your bowel habits return completely to normal. You develop symptoms that are not usually caused by stomach flu, such as vomiting blood or bloody diarrhea. The single, most helpful way to prevent the spread of stomach flu is frequent, thorough handwashing.