Doctors are seeing more stomach flu cases in the Boston area. Here's what to look out for

BOSTON - In a new feature called At the Clinic with Dr. Mallika, she tells us about some of the trends she's been seeing her urgent care clinic.

This week, Dr. Mallika says she's been seeing a number of patients with the stomach flu. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, belly cramps, fatigue, muscle aches, and fever.

Symptoms usually resolve within a few days, but the biggest risk is dehydration. If you get a stomach bug, the best thing to do is rest your stomach by avoiding all solid foods, caffeine, alcohol, and dairy products, and instead take frequent sips of what we call "clear liquids", that is, liquids you can see through such as sports drinks, rehydration solutions, ginger ale, popsicles, Jello, and clear chicken broth.

Once your nausea has subsided and you're feeling hungry, don't go back to your regular diet. Instead, choose bland foods like crackers, toast, plain pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes for a few days. If you can't keep any fluids down, you're not peeing as much, you have severe belly pain, bleeding, or high fevers, get to an urgent care or emergency room.    

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• Health

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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