Child Vomiting and Diarrhea: What Parents Should Do

Your child is vomiting. Then the diarrhea starts. The practical questions arrive quickly: what should they eat, what should they drink, when should you call the pediatrician, and how do you know when this is becoming more serious?

Most vomiting in children stops without specific medical treatment, and most cases are caused by viruses that improve on their own. But vomiting and diarrhea together can make fluid loss happen faster, so knowing what to watch for matters.

What Vomiting and Diarrhea Usually Mean

Diarrhea is a sudden change to loose, watery, more frequent bowel movements.

In young children, both symptoms commonly occur with viral illnesses. A child with a viral illness may develop fever and vomiting first, followed soon afterward by diarrhea. Most childhood diarrhea is viral, although bacteria, parasites, dietary changes, intestinal problems and some medicines can also cause it. If fever is part of the picture, our guide to fever in children covers the age-based thresholds and the warning signs that apply to the temperature itself.

The important question is not how many symptoms your child has. It is whether they are able to drink, whether they can keep fluids down, whether they are getting better or worse, and whether there are warning signs that need medical attention.

A note about age

The AAP sources used here are weighted toward babies and young children, with the vomiting guidance adapted from Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age Five. The principles are therefore strongest for younger children; older children may need individual advice from their pediatrician.

When Your Child Is Vomiting

Most vomiting stops without specific treatment. The majority of cases are caused by a virus and improve on their own.

One important rule is easy to miss: do not give your child an over-the-counter or prescription remedy for vomiting unless their pediatrician has specifically prescribed it for that child and that particular illness.

The immediate concern with continued vomiting is fluid loss. If your child vomits the fluids you are giving back, notify the pediatrician. And if your child cannot keep any clear liquids down, the AAP advises contacting the pediatrician.

What about food?

The AAP vomiting guidance describes a short period during active vomiting when solid food is held and small amounts of electrolyte solution are encouraged. In most cases, this liquid-only period is about 12 to 24 hours rather than several days.

That does not mean fasting treats diarrhea. The sequence matters: while the child is actively vomiting, fluids take priority. Once vomiting settles, food comes back gradually. Diarrhea on its own is not a reason to keep a child fasting.

When Vomiting and Diarrhea Happen Together

A child who is losing fluid through both vomiting and diarrhea has more reason to be watched closely for dehydration.

The AAP advises asking your pediatrician for guidance when diarrhea accompanies vomiting, particularly about fluids and about when to add solid foods back.

For the actual signs of dehydration by age — what to watch for in babies, young children and older children — see our companion guide to signs of dehydration in children. That article covers recognition separately, so this one does not turn fluid management into a second, competing set of instructions.

What to Do About Diarrhea

The approach depends partly on whether your child is also vomiting.

Mild diarrhea without vomiting

Mild diarrhea often clears within a couple of days. Most children with mild diarrhea do not need a change in diet, and electrolyte solutions are usually unnecessary. Breast milk, formula or cow’s milk can generally continue. If formula or cow’s milk seems to make your child bloated or gassy, ask the child’s doctor whether it should be avoided temporarily.

Mild diarrhea with vomiting

When vomiting is happening too, the usual diet may need to pause temporarily while small amounts of appropriate fluid are given. Once the vomiting lessens, the usual diet can be brought back gradually. Breastfeeding should continue.

Severe diarrhea

The AAP advises calling your child’s doctor for severe diarrhea. One pattern it identifies is a watery bowel movement every one to two hours, or more often, together with signs of dehydration. In that situation a child may need to pause food briefly — a day or less — while focusing on replacing the fluid being lost.

This is also the specific context in which the AAP warns about liquids that are very high in sugar, very high in salt, or very low in salt, including water and tea. That warning belongs to severe diarrhea. It should not be turned into a general rule that a sick child must never drink water.

Fluids: Keep This Part Simple

Preventing dehydration is one of the most important parts of managing vomiting and diarrhea. This article deliberately does not reproduce the age-based fluid rules, quantities, dilution instructions or delivery techniques covered in our dehydration guide.

The AAP recommends commercially available electrolyte solutions when they are appropriate, and specifically advises against making an electrolyte solution at home. Store-brand and name-brand commercial products work the same way.

There is also an important drinks distinction. The AAP’s diarrhea guidance warns that soft drinks, soups, juices, sports drinks and boiled milk can contain inappropriate amounts of sugar and salt and may make diarrhea worse. Its separate vomiting guidance does discuss diluted apple juice or a diluted sports drink for children age one and older — but that is a different, specifically diluted context.

For that reason, this article does not present juice or sports drinks as a general treatment for diarrhea.

Don’t Turn the Illness Into a Food Battle

There is an old idea that a child with diarrhea should eat a very restricted diet.

The AAP no longer recommends the BRAT diet — bananas, rice, applesauce and toast — as a treatment for diarrhea. It is too limited in fiber, protein and fat to provide the nutrition a recovering child needs, and some pediatricians believe it may actually prolong symptoms.

Fasting is not a treatment for diarrhea either. Instead, think in terms of the stage of the illness:

• Active vomiting → fluids take priority
• Vomiting settling → gradually bring food back
• Diarrhea without vomiting → food does not need to be withheld

As recovery begins, the AAP says children can eat as much or as little of their usual diet as they want, with the goal of returning to a normal, balanced, age-appropriate diet within about 24 hours. That diet can include fruits, vegetables, meat, yogurt and complex carbohydrates.

What About Medicines?

Be cautious about treating the symptoms with medicines on your own.

For vomiting, the AAP says not to use over-the-counter or prescription remedies unless the pediatrician has specifically prescribed them for your child and that particular illness.

For diarrhea, over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicines are not recommended for children younger than 2, and they can also be harmful in older children. Check with your child’s doctor before giving any medicine for diarrhea.

The same caution applies to homemade remedies. The AAP warns that some do not work and some can make things worse.

What about probiotics?

Probiotics may have beneficial effects on diarrhea, but the AAP notes that more research is needed. That makes this a reasonable area to discuss with your child’s pediatrician rather than something to treat as a guaranteed solution.

When to Call the Pediatrician

Do not wait for the illness to become dramatic before asking for help. Call your child’s pediatrician if:

• Your child cannot keep clear liquids down
• Your child vomits the fluids you are trying to replace
• Symptoms are getting worse rather than better
• Your child has signs of dehydration
• Diarrhea is severe
• A fever lasts more than 24 to 48 hours
• There is blood in the stool
• Vomiting lasts more than 12 to 24 hours
• The vomit is green, contains blood, or looks like coffee grounds
• The abdomen looks swollen
• Your child refuses to eat or drink
• Your child has severe abdominal pain
• Your child develops a rash or jaundice

You do not need to wait for several of these to appear together. A single concerning change can be enough to call.

Prevention Matters Too

Not every episode can be prevented, but several habits reduce the risk of diarrhea spreading or recurring. The AAP recommends:

• Frequent handwashing with soap or hand sanitizer
• Keeping children away from others who have vomiting or diarrhea
• Avoiding raw, unpasteurized milk and potentially contaminated food
• Avoiding unnecessary medicines, particularly unnecessary antibiotics
• Breastfeeding
• Limiting juice and sweetened drinks
• Keeping your child’s rotavirus vaccination up to date

The rotavirus vaccine protects against the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting in infants and young children.

A Simple Way to Watch the Illness

• Vomiting. Is your child still vomiting, or is it settling?
• Fluids. Can your child drink? Can they keep the fluid down?
• Food. Once vomiting settles, are they gradually returning to their usual diet?
• Activity. Are they becoming more alert, or looking increasingly unwell?
• Direction. Better, the same, or worse?

That gives you a far more useful picture than trying to assign a severity score at home.

The Bottom Line

Most childhood vomiting stops without specific treatment, and most cases are caused by viruses.

When vomiting is active, fluids take priority and solid food may need to pause briefly. Once vomiting settles, food should come back gradually. Diarrhea itself is not a reason to fast.

Avoid giving vomiting or diarrhea medicines without pediatrician guidance. Do not make homemade electrolyte solutions. And do not assume that every drink is an appropriate replacement for the fluid and salts lost during diarrhea.

Most importantly, know when to stop managing the illness alone. If your child cannot keep liquids down, is getting worse, has severe diarrhea, refuses to drink, has concerning vomit or stool, severe abdominal pain, or shows signs of dehydration, contact the pediatrician. For the dehydration signs themselves and the detailed fluid guidance, continue to our guide to signs of dehydration in children.

Sources

• American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org — Treating Vomiting: What to Do When Your Child is Throwing Up. Updated 24 February 2025.
• American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org — Diarrhea in Children: What Parents Need to Know. Updated 25 May 2021.
• American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition / HealthyChildren.org — Drinks to Prevent Dehydration When Your Child is Vomiting. Updated 7 February 2023.
• American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org — Treating Dehydration with Electrolyte Solution. Updated 6 February 2023.