Fluids vs. stomach bugs (tmi)

Factual Questions
1

Short version: How do I manage to keep myself hydrated while in the midst of a stomach bug?

So, I woke up at about 3 AM on Saturday morning in seriously bad shape. I’d been fine when I went to bed three hours earlier, didn’t eat anything other than the mass-served cafeteria food in the past 24 hours, so I can rule out food poisoning. I had serious bouts of diarrhea from about 3 to 5 AM, vomited several times, and spent several more hours dry-heaving. At about 8 AM Saturday, I had a few sips of water and managed to keep it down, slept all day, and sometime Saturday evening, had a few more sips of water and nearly lost it again.

Today, less exhaustion, slightly less nausea. I attempted to drink some flat ginger ale (heard it could help) and it didn’t stay down. Since this morning, I’ve drank about 8 ounces of water (estimate). short of sipping water to just before the point of puking, then waiting, how does one stay not-too-dehydrated in a state like this?

Yes, I know, if I’m still in this bad shape tomorrow, I’ll go down to the student health office.

2

I’ve used a mixture of warm water, apple cider vinegar and honey as an anti-ematic. 1/2 cup of water and vinegar and 2 T. of honey, IIRC. Don’t try to heat the vinegar; the fumes will make it undrinkable (at least, that’s what my brother said when he decided to combine cold water, vinegar and then nuke them).

3

What you need is something like Diarolyte, an electrolyte powder. You should be able to buy it for a few dollars (or get a friend to buy it for you) from any pharmacy.

You mix a sachet with the required amount of water, and drink it (try and get a flavoured one). It helps to restore a normal electrolyte balance in your body by replacing the electrolytes lost when you have vomiting and diarrhoea. It’s better for you than plain water or a sports drink.

Failing that, you can make your own:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbs corn syrup
6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
6 cups water

Remember little and often is better than big gulps.

4

Thanks for the suggestions. I am feeling a bit better today and seem to be keeping things down much better.