What is Colic?
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Apr 03, 2012
Most bouts of colic (excessive crying or extreme restlessness by your infant) occur during the evening.
In this article:
What is colic?
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Effect on your life
Treatment
How Chemist Online can help
Advice & Support
What is colic?
Colic (a condition where an infant has repeated bouts of crying, sleeplessness and being demanding) is not an indicator that there may be something physically wrong with your child. You child can be perfectly healthy and still display these behaviours.
Colic usually occurs in new-born babies, but older infants can suffer from colic, too.
The severity of colic in a child can vary from mild to extremely severe.
Understandably, when a baby cries for hours on end this can be very difficult for a parent, guardian or carer to cope with. There is help available for people who find it all too much.
Between bouts of colic, your baby can be calm and placid, and show no signs of restlessness or distress whatsoever.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually disappear when the baby reaches four months.
The symptoms of colic include:
Intense crying for hours on end without there being any apparent cause for upset
Restlessness and sleeplessness
Arching of the back
Drawing up of legs to the tummy
A rumbling sound from the baby’s tummy
Refusal of food at feeding time(s)
Wind
Red complexion
Causes
Despite worldwide medical research, the exact cause of colic is as yet unknown. Some medical professionals suggest that colic may be linked to:
Digestive problems caused by breast milk
Abdominal pain caused by trapped wind
Sensitivity to certain environmental factors (for example, you baby finds it hard to settle at home after leaving hospital)
The sensing of anxiety in the atmosphere (i.e. between parents who are struggling to cope and are at a loss as to know what to do when their baby is excessively crying)
Smoking during pregnancy
Diagnosis
Just about every baby in the world suffers from colic. Most parents accept this and wait for the months to pass, looking forward to when the symptoms finally disappear. However, if you are particularly concerned about your baby, arrange an appointment with your GP or a health visitor. After asking you some questions about diet, sleep, bowel movements and, of course, symptoms, they will examine your baby and then suggest ideas you could try. These may include:
Bathing you baby in warm water to calm them down
Singing softly to your baby
Taking your baby for a short and calming walk in the buggy in your local park
Propping your baby up, holding him/her, and generally giving your baby increased...