by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Many things people do or take for diarrhea and vomiting at home just make things worse. And since these are common complaints in my office, I expect they’ll be in disasters. In fact, the dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea is a major cause of death in Third World countries where getting to a doctor may be next to impossible. Children are especially vulnerable.

At the clinic where I work, we usually treat at least a couple of diarrhea/vomiting cases a week with IV fluids. But what if they’re not available? What can you take or do at home that actually will help?

Perhaps just as important, what should you not do to make things worse?

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