Colic in Babies

If your baby cries uncontrollably, especially around the evening, and you can’t do anything to stop it, it may be a sign of colic. It’s a common problem that arises in about one in ten babies. Affected infants will cry for about four hours every day, which can easily become highly irritating.

The first thing you need to do if you want to treat the colic, is to consider with your doctor if it’s caused by smoething medical. Those cases are rare, but they can be treated easily. The important points to consider are these:

• Does the baby have a hernia, or another medical problem?
• Does it go to the toilet to poop too often, or too rarely? Are there any suspicious substances in its “product”?
• Does the child eat too much or too little?
• Is the baby’s stool coloured strangely (appearing with clay-like colours, or perhaps green or black)
• Does it gain less weight than normal?

If you answered any of these with “yes”, then you may have a problem on your hands, and need to consult your doctor for appropriate information. The second thing you need to do (in case none of the above situations apply to your baby), is to minimize the symptoms. There is very little evidence to support the theory that breastfed babies have different rates of colics than formula-fed ones, and whether foods eaten by the mother can add to the colic. There is also little evidence that any treatment can cure the symptoms.

There are some things you can do with your diet to alleviate the risk of problems, though:

• If you’re breastfeeding, minimize the amount of cabbage you eat, as well as milk, onion, chocolate and caffeine. A study exists which suggests that these foods contribute to colics severely. If it works, the mother should start adding the foods back to her diet one at a time, until she finds the one which causes the problems.
• If you’re formula-feeding, consult your baby’s doctor about changing to a formula with no dairy. It’s known to help from time to time.
• Move the baby around. Rock it, place it in a body carrier, take it out for a car ride – anything to get it moving, this usually helps a lot.
• Give the baby a pacifier if you’re breastfeeding it.
• Lay it down on your lap, and rub its back gently
• Burp it often, especially after he’s been sucking on a pacifier, and after eating. The baby may have swallowed air which causes gas.
• Stimulation in the environment can be harmful as well, try to minimize it
• Increase the feeding at nighttime
• There are also some medications. Only one is known to have effects, and that’s dicyclomine, which has about 5% risk of side effects. Simethicone may also help, but other medications are known to very rarely work, if at all.

These are just some simple suggestions on how you can treat the baby. The problem is a tricky one, and treating it should not pose harm for the baby. You should consult the baby’s doctor for the best advice on how to proceed with treatment in the most efficient manner possible. Remember that he is the person who’ll be most involved if any complications arise.

Colic in Babies

If your baby cries uncontrollably, especially around the evening, and you can’t...