Food
Rice Water
The starchy water left from cooking or soaking rice - a simple traditional drink for settling loose stools and a soothing rinse for irritated skin.
📊 How it ranks (our editor score)
👶 Safe for children?
This remedy carries age-related cautions. Please read them before giving it to a child, and check with your pediatrician or pharmacist first.
- Rice water helps firm stools but does not replace proper rehydration - for diarrhea, especially in children, use oral rehydration solution and seek care for dehydration.
🥄 How to use it
Save the cloudy water from cooking or rinsing rice; sip it (lightly salted) to settle the stomach, or use it cooled as a gentle skin rinse.
How much: Sip about 1/2 to 1 cup of strained rice water (with a small pinch of salt) several times a day to help settle loose stools, alongside proper fluids; for skin, pat cooled rice water on with a cloth.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Rice water is exactly what it sounds like - the mild, starchy liquid left after cooking rice, or from soaking and rinsing it. For generations and across many cultures it has been a first, gentle answer to an upset, loose stomach, because the soft starch helps bind and firm the stools while the liquid replaces some lost fluid.
The same gentle starch makes it a traditional skin comfort. Cooled rice water, patted onto irritated, itchy skin or used as a final rinse, can feel calming on eczema flares and simple rashes, leaving a soft, soothed surface.
The one thing to remember is what rice water is not: it is not a substitute for real rehydration. With diarrhea - above all in children - the priority is replacing fluids and salts properly, and seeking care if signs of dehydration appear. As a soothing helper within that, rice water is simple, kind, and almost free.
Ways to prepare it
⚖️ Cautions
- Rice water helps firm stools but does not replace proper rehydration - for diarrhea, especially in children, use oral rehydration solution and seek care for dehydration.
- Use rice from a trusted source and vary grains over time, since rice can carry traces of arsenic.
- Make it fresh and keep it refrigerated, as starchy water spoils quickly.
📚 Why we trust it
- A traditional remedy for loose stools across many cultures
- Used as a gentle skin rinse in folk skincare
🔎 Learn more
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🕊️ A word of encouragement
Sometimes the humblest things bring the most comfort. May you be gentle with yourself today, trusting that small, steady care adds up.
💬 Ask Remy about Rice Water
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
Source endorsement totals come from books and studies (+7 per book, +5 per article). In this preview your vote is saved on your device only.
💬 Comments & experiences
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