Vomiting - Measures for Self-Care

Measures for Self-Care

• Don't eat solid foods; don't drink milk.
• Drink only clear liquids (such as clear soups or coconut water). Take small sips; i.e., drink only one to two ounces at a time. Suck on ice chips if nothing else will stay down.
• After you stop vomiting, continue with clear liquids. Gradually return to regular diet, but wait about 8 hours from the last time you vomited to eat solid foods. Start with foods that are easy to digest.
• Don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, and don't take aspirin.

Call Your Doctor for

• Very severe stomach pain, which lasts for more than two hours.
• Yellow looking skin or if the whites or the eyes appear yellow.
• Vomiting which lasts for more than 12 hours (two to six hours for a small child) without subsiding.

Get Immediate Care for

• Vomiting caused by a serious head injury.
• Vomiting accompanied a stiff neck, fever, headache, and lethargy.
• Vomiting which is black or bloody.
• Dehydration (symptoms: very little or no urine, extreme thirst; and lightheadedness; dry skin that doesn't spring back after being pinched; sunken eyes; and confusion). Vomiting occurring after a mild blow or injury to the head.