In most cases, people with viral gastroenteritis get better on their own without medical treatment. You can treat viral gastroenteritis by replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. In some cases, over-the-counter medicines may help relieve your symptoms.

Research shows that following a restricted diet does not help treat viral gastroenteritis. When you have viral gastroenteritis, you may vomit after you eat or lose your appetite for a short time. When your appetite returns, you can most often go back to eating your normal diet, even if you still have diarrhea. Find tips on what to eat when you have viral gastroenteritis.

If your child has symptoms of viral gastroenteritis, such as vomiting or diarrhea, don’t hesitate to call a doctor for advice.

1. Replace lost fluids and electrolytes
When you have viral gastroenteritis, you need to replace lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration or treat mild dehydration. You should drink plenty of liquids. If vomiting is a problem, try sipping small amounts of clear liquids.

Most adults with viral gastroenteritis can replace fluids and electrolytes with liquids such as:

water
fruit juices
sports drinks
broths

Eating saltine crackers can also help replace electrolytes.

If your child has viral gastroenteritis, you should give your child an oral rehydration solution-such as Pedialyte, Naturalyte, Infalyte, and CeraLyte-as directed to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Oral rehydration solutions are liquids that contain glucose and electrolytes. Talk with a doctor about giving these solutions to your infant. Infants should drink breast milk or formula as usual.

Older adults, adults with a weakened immune system, and adults with severe diarrhea or symptoms of dehydration should also drink oral rehydration solutions.

2. Over-the-counter medicines
In some cases, adults can take over-the-counter medicines such as loperamide (Imodium) and bismuth subsalicylate  (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate) to treat diarrhea caused by viral gastroenteritis.

These medicines can be unsafe for infants and children. Talk with a doctor before giving your child an over-the-counter medicine.

If you have bloody diarrhea or fever-signs of infections with bacteria or parasites-don’t use over-the-counter medicines to treat diarrhea. See a doctor for treatment.