Peach syrup for stomach flu? We asked an expert if the viral home remedy really works.

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9. Severe vomiting &nbsp; &nbsp; Vomiting and diarrhea from the flu are more common in children than adults. Severe and persistent vomiting is an emergency warning sign, according to the CDC. Your body may lose a lot of liquid combating a flu infection and become extremely dehydrated, which requires medical attention. But keep in mind that the ER is for very sick patients, who can be in real danger if they catch the flu from you, Hes said. "Go there if you're experiencing bad shortness of breath and can't walk." Urgent care centers will suffice in most other cases, she added.

A virus commonly referred to as the "stomach flu" has been hitting people hard this holiday season. 

But spreading just as quickly is a viral home remedy that claims that the heavy syrup found in canned peaches and other fruit is the way to combat fits of vomiting.

On Dec. 23, a Facebook user shared the anecdotal advice, saying that a tablespoon of the liquid found in canned fruit taken every 15 minutes to an hour will stop vomiting caused by both illness and pregnancy. In just five days, that advice has been shared more than 696,000 times and counting.

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But missing from the post is an explanation about why fruit syrup would make a difference. So IndyStar spoke with Dr. Nikki Stuckwisch, medical director of IU Health Urgent Care, to discuss.

Peach syrup for vomiting

It might be all the rage on social media, but Stuckwisch said that fruit syrup is not on her list of suggested treatments for nausea.

"I had to look it up because it was something I had not heard before," she said. "As a medical professional it's easy for me to say don't do it. But when I'm Mom it's a lot different. I'm going to do whatever I can, and if I see something that might anecdotally help, it's not necessarily a bad idea."

But Stuckwisch said that the issue with fruit juice is that the high fructose can actually make diarrhea worse.

"If you're having watery diarrhea, it's probably not a good idea for you to drink straight fruit juice. It's better to do 50/50 water to juice," she said. "The other thing I tell people is that if you're actively vomiting, it doesn't matter if it's fruit juice or flat Coca-Cola or ginger ale, if you're drinking fluids on a stomach that's upset it's not a good idea."

Instead, Stuckwisch recommends that patients wait an hour or two after the last vomit before slowly taking in fluids. 

"The worst thing you can do is give yourself or your child a full glass of 50-50 fruit juice when they had just been vomiting two hours before and let them guzzle it down because there is no way that is going to stay down," Stuckwisch said.

Stuckwisch said once a patient starts to take in fluids slowly, gradually increase the amount each hour until the patient can keep down four to eight ounces of whatever it is they are drinking. At that point, you can reintroduce food.

"The other important thing to remember is that with diarrhea, a lot of time there is some shedding of the intestinal lining, and the best way to get that better is to increase the nutrition level so that lining can reaccumulate," she said. "The more nutrition you can get in someone the better. That's going to help with diarrhea more than anything over the counter."

Why the "stomach flu" isn't the flu

Many people call those sick spells "stomach flu," but it actually has nothing to do with influenza. 

"Usually when you're talking about gastrointestinal viruses, you're looking more at norovirus and rotavirus," Stuckwisch said. Those are the two big ones."

But no matter what you call it, Stuckwisch said it cases of it are on the rise right now. 

"We're seeing a ton of it. We're seeing a lot of patients coming in with vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fevers, all that kind of stuff, " she said. "It's definitely here, it's definitely hitting and it's hitting pretty hard."

Stuckwisch said she is seeing more cases in adolescents and young adults than in other age groups. 

"It's hard to say why. Probably the biggest issue is that people are coming together right now," she said. "People are getting together with family, they're getting together in small areas, they're shopping more, they're out and about more, so it's just spreading more than what it usually does.

"Wash your hands when you're out and about and wipe your shopping cart off with those wipes they give you when you're out."

Things to avoid

For many, nausea and pink liquid go hand and hand.

But Stuckwisch said parents with children under the age of 18 should steer clear of Pepto-Bismol because it contains components also found in aspirin, and associated with Reye's Syndrome.

Reye's syndrome is a rare but potentially fatal condition often found in children and teens recovering from a viral infection that can be fatal.

"We always tell people with kiddos not to use Pepto-Bismol," she said. "Kaopectate is probably OK, but honestly the best thing to do is just stay hydrated and let the illness run its course."


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