Why Am I Unable To Have Food While Recovering From Stomach Virus?

Posted on Mon, 16 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 Answered on

Sat, 4 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am just recovering from a pretty bad stomach virus. I am no longer vomiting, but I still haven't been able to eat much more than a few crackers and I am very weak. My fingertips are tingly and It is a little difficult for me to type this. I've never had this symptom before with a virus, but it is making me a bit nervous.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Need treatment for acidity Detailed Answer: Hello Thanks for using health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. Stomach virus initially causes symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache etc. However after getting cured the damaged mucosa of the stomach gets rebuild and this causes a vague uneasiness for 1-2 weeks. There is also an excess acid content in the stomach which also adds to uneasiness. The tingling numbness may be related to your dehydration of deficiency of trace elements like zinc, magnesium, calcium which might have occurred during stomach infection. There is no need to panic. Just take plenty of water and try to eat as much food as you can. Take some OTC ant acids like ranitidine for reducing the acid in stomach. This should take a week more but you should be doing fine. Hope that helps Wish you good health, Regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar