DH has been having some tummy distress the last couple of days and looks pretty rough this morning, his boss sent him home. Now DSS (who was at our house all weekend through Monday morning) has started throwing up at school, has moved from actually throwing up anything to dry heaving, DH is going to go get him and bring him to our house. Is there anything I can take to try to head off a stomach bug or am I doomed? I know you can take vitamin C to try to head off a cold, but never heard of anything for tummy ickiness...

ETA - can't fix the typo in the thread title.. oops...

Shannon - first - ugh! Sorry you're dealing with this (and sorry your family members are feeling it!) Invoke the obsessive hand washing (obvious), and here's the best I can offer:

Get a big ole healthy hunk of ginger root, and peel about 4" of it. Shave it with the peeler or just slice it thin, and throw it in a saucepan with 4-6 cups of water and simmer it for 7-10 minutes. Strain and add honey/lemon. Great for queasiness, and for the chills that come with the bug. And for DH - try to find a beer called HupaLupaLicious, or one called HopSlam. Both of these are ridiculously high in hops - and even if you don't care for the taste, the hops have an incredible capability to settle the stomach.

Acidophilus - and multi-bug yogurt. Build up the good bacteria in your gut - I think that helps.

And finally - the technique I learned in MX and have never had fail (4 for 4) is the shot of tequila at the FIRST inkling of trouble. Maybe it sterilizes the stomach - I dunno.

Good luck ... I hope you dodge the bullet!!!

Great suggestions!!

Those are great suggestions ICU! Thanks! I have a ginger & lemon herbal tea I got a few weeks ago, would that help too? I eat yogurt every day, I'll bump that up a little.

I do have some tequila. Might have to give that a try as well. If nothing else, I won't care so much if I get sick.