Colic
Colic has been defined as a long period of vigorous crying that persists
despite all efforts at consolation. The term itself comes from the Greek word
for the large intestine, reflecting the belief that the source of the discomfort
is a digestive problem.
Most babies go through periods when they seem to be abnormally fussy or to
cry for no apparent reason. Colic is most common during the first three to four
months of an infant's life. It can begin within the first three weeks after birth, and
usually stops around the age of three months. It is rarely experienced by a baby
older than six months.
During the first six months of life, infants grow at an amazing rate. In that time,
a newborn doubles his birth weight. Because of the amount of food they must
take in to support this growth spurt, babies often suffer from
indigestion and gas.
Also, a baby may swallow air either when feeding or during a prolonged crying
spell. Swallowing air increases gas pain. When an infant experiences a gas pain,
it may be the worst pain his small body has ever felt.
The thing that differentiates colic from other problems is that no matter what
you do, the crying doesn't stop. Certain body postures that occur with a gas attack
may also occur with colic. For example, your baby may have a tense, distended
tummy, with knees pulled up to the chest, clenched fists, and flailing arms and
legs, or an arched back.
Suspect true colic if your baby has sudden, severe bouts of loud crying that last
for several hours at a time; if the crying occurs at the same time each day, often
in the evening or at night; if crying episodes happen over and over, beginning
suddenly and ending abruptly; if your baby seems inconsolable and nothing you
do brings comfort; if your infant seems angry and struggles when held; and if
there doesn't seem to be any explanation for these outbreaks of crying.
If your baby has colic, the months of crying and seemingly unrelenting distress
your child is experiencing can leave you feeling frustrated, anxious, confused,
exhausted, guilty, and inadequate. One of the key concerns in dealing with a
colicky baby, in addition to finding ways to comfort your child, is being confident
of your ability to maintain and build a loving relationship with your newborn.
Supplements and herbs
- Chamomile tea is a well-known soother and relaxant. A breastfed baby's
mother should drink 1 cup, twice a day. Give a bottle-fed infant 1 teaspoon of tea,
three times daily, in formula or water, for three to four days. Then reduce the
dosage to twice daily.
- Fennel can also be helpful in relieving colic. The nursing mother can drink 1
cup of fennel tea, three times a day. Or dilute 1 cup of fennel tea in 2 cups of water,
and give your baby 1 teaspoon of the diluted tea, four times a day.
- A nursing mother can drink 1 cup of ginger tea, three times a day, to help
relieve her baby's colic.
- Peppermint tea helps to speed the emptying time of the stomach, enhances
digestion, and acts as an antiflatulent. Give your child 1 teaspoon of peppermint
tea, four to five times a day.
Note: If you are giving your child peppermint tea as well as a homeopathic
preparation, allow one hour between the two. Otherwise, the strong smell of the
mint may interfere with the action of the homeopathic remedy.
- Try giving your baby a combination herbal tea. Israeli researchers gave a
daily dose of about 1/2 cup of a tea made from chamomile,
licorice, fennel, and balm-mint
to babies who were experiencing episodes of colic, and found that symptoms were
eased in more than half the children studied.
Homeopathy
Remedies can be given to infants by putting one or several pellets in a
glass of spring water, and administering it using a teaspoon or
dropper or just rubbing the liquid on the lips. Alternately, one pellet can be put
in the mouth. The 30th potency works well; give as often as needed
according to symptoms. The correct remedy should not only stop an acute
colic attack, but soon put an end to the whole syndrome.
- Belladonna
Distended, burning hot, throbbing abdomen, with protruding lumps.
Face red hot, dry. Fever, dilated pupils. Sensitive to noise, light, jarring.
Violent sharp pains appear & leave suddenly. Furious, screaming, striking.
Worse: touch (even of bed-clothes), pressure, company, lying on tummy.
Better: bending backward, rest, dark room. Thirst for sips, desires
lemons.
- Chamomilla
Colicky, cutting pains with flatus, diarrhea; undigested grassy or
yellow green, smells like bad eggs. Hot and thirsty, hot
sweats, one cheek red.
Terrible temper, demanding, fretful, moaning. Refuses what is asked for.
Sleepless with pain. Wants to be carried, worse touch or being spoken to.
Worse: evening, before midnight, during teething, warm food, during a
cold, if breastfeeding mother drinks coffee. Better: if carried, cold compress.
- Cina
Twisting pains; bloated, hard abdomen, white pieces of mucus in stools.
Stiffens out. Grinding of teeth or gums.
Itching anus, nose.
Parasites.
Always hungry, but diarrhea or
vomiting after.
Bedwetting. Cold sweats.
Dissatisfied, irritable; worse if looked at. Better if carried.
Twitchings.
Worse: touch, night, during sleep. Better: lying on abdomen, motion.
- Colocynthis
Intense cramping pains; writhing in pain, pulls legs up to abdomen.
Sudden cries and jerking. Frothy, watery, shreddy, sour, yellow diarrhea.
Very irritable, restless, enraged, throws things. Colic or diarrhea after anger.
Worse: at night, lying on abdomen, cheese. Better: heat, bending double,
hard pressure or massage of stomach, after releasing stool or gas.
- Rheum
Colic before diarrhea, and urging afterwards. child smells sour, even after
washing. Sour stool, vomits, sweat. Brown, green, slimy, fermented stool.
Impatient, irritable. Desires many things, dislikes favorite things or
wants particular objects. Screaming and crying, sleepless. Teething kids.
Worse: uncovering any part, eating. Better: bending double, warmth.
- Senna
Extreme pain from trapped gas; full of wind. Restless, shrieking in agony.
Cold in the abdomen with emptiness and uneasiness in the stomach.
Rumbling and fermentation with foul gas. Repeated sneezing, heat in
the palms of hands. Exhausted, especially after meals, but sleepless.
Constipation of hard, dark stools. Griping, urging, yellow-green diarrheas.
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