On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 11:26:51 +0000, June Hughes
> wrote:

>In message >, MC_Emily
> writes
>>Years ago, when I was on holiday at Butlins Minehead with my kids and then
>>husband, I had what I now know to be a severe case of food poisoning.
>>Without putting too fine a point on it, toilet and sink were in simultaneous
>>use. I had to crawl on the floor, as I was too weak to stand. My husband
>>went to see someone to try to get a doctor and ended up speaking to a nurse
>>on site. She told him that I should drink flat Coke and have nothing else
>>for 24 hours. He came back with some Coke and I did as instructed. To be
>>honest, I was furious with him because I really wanted some professional
>>attention but was too weak to do anything about it. He was just too damned
>>useless to take care of me properly, hence the 'then husband'!!! Anyway, I
>>drank flat Coke for the next 2 days, spending my time between the bathroom
>>and bed and it seemed to work, taking away the queasy feeling and obviously
>>starving the bacteria that I'd got. Since then, if I ever have a mild upset
>>(which is rare) I have flat Coke and, believe it or not, it works. I've
>>recommended it to others before and they've said it worked, too. I would
>>definitely *not* recommend it for a severe case but for a mild case it
>>certainly helps settle the stomach. Perhaps the thinking behind it is that
>>it provides sugar for energy and calories but doesn't provide anything for
>>bacteria to live on. Or is there some other 'magic' ingredient? I don't
>>know but it's worth a try )
>>
>Interesting you should say that. Many years ago, when daughter was
>around 5 years old, she had a sickness and runs attack and I took her to
>the doctors. He suggested Coke and it seemed to help. He didn't
>mention anything about it being flat though.

Same here when my son was young. A locum suggested the Coke. Our usual
doctor was mystified. OTTOMH I'd have thought that the sugar in the
Coke would feed the bacteria like any other food - and be no better
than any other sugary drink. It's hard to think of anything in Coke
that can't be found elsewhere. Perhaps some doctors had a contract
with the company. Hmmm... or perhaps we misunderstood what they meant
by "coke"...
--
Phil C.