SALT LAKE CITY — The holidays are a time of celebration — which often means large meals, sweet treats, and occasional stomach aches.

Most stomach upsets can be blamed on indigestion. Our stomach cells excrete acid to digest the food we eat. But when the amount of food exceeds the digestion limits, some of the food stuff is left behind undigested. This leftover food causes infection, which leads to stomach upset.

Upset stomachs can be very disabling, especially during the holidays. Unfortunately, stomach viruses are also common at this time of the year.

Prevention

One of the best ways to prevent an upset stomach is be careful of what you eat and avoid overeating. If you've had your gall bladder removed, you will want to be extra careful when eating foods high in fat content. These foods will make you have symptoms of gall bladder disease and give you diarrhea without warning.

Ask Nurse Suzy

Do you have a question for Nurse Suzy, or maybe a topic you'd like her opinion on? Email her at <a href="mailto:nursesuzyksl@gmail.com">nursesuzyksl@gmail.com</a>.

People with a milk allergy or intolerance — which also cause upset stomach and diarrhea — need to be very careful of anything that is baked with dairy or includes dairy products in the ingredients. Milk allergies will also cause head congestion that mimics a cold.

If you have celiac disease, you will need to know every ingredient in what you eat. The substances that create symptoms for you are common ingredients in most holiday cooking. Just a small ingestion of wheat product will make you very ill.

Finding relief

Despite all precaution, many people will experience an upset stomach over the holidays. If you do, here are some ways to help relieve your pain and discomfort:

1. To relive high acidity in your stomach, mix half a teaspoon of baking soda with a glass of water and drink it. Make sure you only do this one or two times a day because overuse of baking soda will cause more severe problems. Tums is a great alternative, and you can take up to 8 tablets a day if you are a person who is otherwise healthy.
2. To relieve nausea, wet a cloth in cold water and sponge your stomach with it. This helps by distracting your mind from the discomfort you're feeling. You can also massage your feet, which will do the same thing.
3. Drinking a mixture of buttermilk and 2 teaspoons of amla powder will also help alleviate nausea.
4. Make a tea with chamomile, ginger, mint and pepper or boil crushed mint leaves in a glass of water. Drinking either will help alleviate upset stomach.
5. To help with diarrhea, boil raw banana with a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric and a ¼ teaspoon of salt, and drink the mixture. Also consider over-the-counter Imodium: 1 pill after each loose stool, up to four a day.
6. Take 1 teaspoon of chopped dates and honey three times a day to help reduce diarrhea.
7. Mix ¼ teaspoon each of cumin powder and pepper with buttermilk, and drink it three times a day to help alleviate diarrhea.
8. To keep from getting dehydrated, drink small amounts of clear fluid several times an hour if you are experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Dehydration will make your symptoms far worse, and you will have to seek medical help. Make sure you use Pedialyte or Gatorade for fluid replacement and to help replace important electrolytes.
9. When you start eating solid food again, especially for children, start with bland foods like plain rice, bananas and plain yogurt. These foods are easier for the stomach to digest.

Remember also that overindulgence of alcohol will cause an upset stomach that will take time to get better from. There is really no remedy for this because you have to wait for the alcohol to leave you system before you improve.

Suzanne Carlile, "Nurse Suzy," has been a nurse since 1982. Her main focus is critical care and nursing education. She holds a master's degree in nursing, is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and a member of NNSDO Intermountain West Chapter.

Related topics