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Colic

Also indexed as: Abdominal Pain (Infants)

Illustration

Calm your fussy baby’s colic by getting to the root of the cause. According to research or other evidence, the following steps may offer relief for your unhappy baby:

What you need to know

  • Give calming herbs a try
  • During colic episodes, give your baby 1/2 cup (118 ml) of a tea made from chamomile, vervain, liquorice, fennel, and lemon balm
  • Find a new formula
  • Cow’s milk formula may cause colic in some babies; try switching to soya or a hypo-allergenic product
  • Uncover your food allergies
  • If you breast-feed, work with a knowledgeable doctor to see if certain foods you eat may be triggering symptoms of colic in your baby
  • Don’t let your baby “eat” air
  • To prevent babies from swallowing air, feed them in the sitting position and burp them frequently
  • Consider chiropractic care
  • Visit a qualified practitioner for one to five treatments to reduce colic frequency and symptoms

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or chemist. Continue reading the full colic article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.

About colic

Colic is a common problem in babies in which the baby is healthy but has periods of inconsolable crying, apparently caused by abdominal pain. Colic usually develops within a few weeks of birth and disappears by the baby’s fourth month.

Product ratings for colic

Science Ratings Nutritional Supplements Herbs
2Stars

Probiotics (Bifidobacterium lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus)

Chamomile

Chamomile, vervain, liquorice, fennel, lemon balm (in combination)

Fennel (seed oil)
1Star  

Caraway

Cinnamon

Fumitory

Garden angelica

Hyssop

Peppermint

Yarrow
See also:  Homoeopathic Remedies for Colic
3Stars Reliable and relatively consistent scientific data showing a substantial health benefit.
2Stars Contradictory, insufficient, or preliminary studies suggesting a health benefit or minimal health benefit.
1Star For a herb, supported by traditional use but minimal or no scientific evidence. For a supplement, little scientific support and/or minimal health benefit.

What are the symptoms?

Colic may cause babies, typically less than four months old, to cry inconsolably. The attacks usually occur in the late afternoon and evening, sometimes lasting for hours. During a colicky period, babies may bring their knees up, clench their fists, grimace, hold their breath, and generally be more active.

Medical options

Over-the-counter anti-wind medicine containing simethicone (Mylicon) may be used to reduce pain due to excess wind.

Treatment is directed toward providing comfort for the babies until they outgrow this difficult period. Feeding babies while they are sitting up, or burping them more frequently, may help prevent colic if too much air is being swallowed during feedings.

Dietary changes that may be helpful

Allergies may be responsible for colic in some babies.1 2 If the child is fed with formula, the problem may be an intolerance to milk proteins from a cows’ milk-based formula.3 Switching to a soya formula may ease colic in such cases.4 Babies who are sensitive to both milk and soya may be given a hypo-allergenic formula containing extensively hydrolysed proteins. However, some children are sensitive even to these formulas.

A true food protein intolerance in babies may result in persistent distress attributed to irritation of the oesophagus caused by reflux (partial spitting up). These babies may respond to an amino acid-based formula. In a clinical trial, babies who were intolerant of soya and extensively hydrolysed formula, and who had failed to respond to various formula changes, were switched to an amino-acid formula (Neocate).5 After two weeks, all the babies receiving the amino acid-based formula showed less distressed behaviour and fewer symptoms of reflux.

If a baby is breast-fed, certain foods in the mother’s diet may provoke an allergic reaction in the baby. Cows’ milk consumed by a breast-feeding mother has been shown in some,6 but not all,7 studies to trigger colic. Cows’ milk proteins, which may trigger allergic reactions, have been found at higher levels in milk from breast-feeding mothers with colicky babies than in milk from mothers with non-colicky babies.8 Changing to a low-allergenic formula or restricting the mother’s diet to exclude certain allergy-triggering foods significantly reduced colic symptoms in the babies in one double-blind trial. 9 A doctor can help determine which foods eaten by breast-feeding mothers may be contributing to colic.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful

All babies, particularly those with colic, need to be fed on demand and not by a specific clock schedule. Often a baby’s cry is triggered by discomfort caused by low blood sugar. Unlike adults, babies do not have a carefully regulated ability to maintain healthy blood sugar levels in the absence of food. This physiological shortcoming of babies can be solved only by feeding on demand.

In one trial, parents were taught not to let babies cry unnecessarily but rather to attempt feeding right away in response to the baby’s cry.10 If that failed, parents were taught to try to respond to the cry in other ways, such as holding the baby or providing the opportunity to sleep. These parents were also given the solid medical advice that overfeeding is never caused by feeding on demand nor will the baby be “spoiled” by such an approach. As a result of this intervention, colic was dramatically (and statistically significantly) reduced, compared with a group of mothers given different instructions.

Vitamins that may be helpful

In a double-blind study of babies, supplementation of a standard milk-based formula with probiotic organisms (Bifidobacterium lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus) significantly reduced the frequency of colic, compared with the same formula without the probiotics.11

Are there any side effects or interactions?
Refer to the individual supplement for information about any side effects or interactions.

Herbs that may be helpful

Carminatives are a class of herbs commonly used for babies with colic. These herbs tend to relax intestinal spasms.

Chamomile is a carminative with long history of use as a calming herb and may be used to ease intestinal cramping in colicky babies. A soothing tea made from chamomile, vervain, liquorice, fennel, and lemon balm has been shown to relieve colic more effectively than placebo.12 In this study, approximately 1/2 cup (150 ml) of tea was given during each colic episode up to a maximum of three times per day.

In a double-blind study of babies with colic, supplementation with an emulsion of fennel seed oil relieved colic in 65% of cases, compared with 24% of babies receiving a placebo, a statistically significant difference.13 The amount used was 1 to 4 teaspoons, up to four times per day, of a water emulsion of 0.1% fennel seed oil.

Hyssop has mild sedative properties and may also be helpful in relieving colic, but research is lacking. Though no definitive information on hyssop supplementation is available, 1 teaspoon of hyssop herb steeped in 1 cup of just-boiled water in a closed container for 15 to 20 minutes, then given in sips from a bottle over a period of 2 to 3 hours may help calm colic.

Caraway, like chamomile and fennel, relieves intestinal cramping and, in this way, may ease symptoms of colic. One tablespoon (15 grams) of caraway seed is mixed with 8 oz (240 ml) of just-boiled water and steeped in a closed container for at least 10 minutes. Three ounces of vegetable glycerin is added, and the resulting mixture is stored in a bottle in the refrigerator. Up to 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) of the liquid may be given every 30 minutes to a colicky baby or given 15 minutes before feeding.14

A few other wind-relieving herbs used in traditional medicine for colic are approved in Germany for intestinal spasms.15 These include yarrow, garden angelica (Angelica archangelica),peppermint, cinnamon, and fumitory (Fumaria officinalis). These herbs are generally given by healthcare professionals as teas or decoctions to the baby. Peppermint tea should be used with caution in babies and young children, as they may choke in reaction to the strong menthol.

Are there any side effects or interactions?
Refer to the individual herb for information about any side effects or interactions.

Integrated approaches that may be helpful

The symptoms of colic may be linked to mild biomechanical disturbances of the spinal joints and may respond to manipulation. A large, preliminary study of babies treated by chiropractic manipulation for colic reported marked improvement, often after one treatment.16 This echoed an earlier study in which questionnaires sent to parents of 132 babies under chiropractic care revealed that 91% of the respondents observed improvement in their babies’ symptoms after two to three manipulations.17 In a controlled trial, babies were treated daily for two weeks either with a placebo medication or with a series of three to five treatments using gentle “fingertip” spinal manipulations.18 Those treated with manipulation experienced a 67% reduction in daily hours of colic, compared with only a 38% reduction in babies on medication.

References

1. Sampson HA. Infantile colic and food allergy: fact or fiction? J Pediatr 1989;115:583–4.

2. Hill DJ, Hosking CS, Heine RG. Clinical spectrum of food allergy in children in Australia and South-East Asia: identification and targets for treatment. Ann Med 1999;31:272–81.

3. Lothe L, Lindberg T. Cow’s milk whey protein elicits symptoms of infantile colic in colicky formula-fed infants: a double-blind crossover study. Pediatr 1989;83(2):262–6.

4. Lothe L, Lindberg T, Jakobsson I. Cow’s milk formula as a cause of infantile colic: a double-blind study. Pediatr 1982;70(1):7–10.

5. Hill DJ, Heine RG, Cameron DJ, et al. Role of food protein intolerance in infants with persistent distress attributed to reflux esophagitis. J Pediatr 2000;136:641–7.

6. Jakobsson I, Lindberg T. Cow’s milk proteins cause infantile colic in breast-fed infants: a double-blind crossover study. Pediatr 1983;71(2):268–71.

7. Evans RW, Fergusson DM, Allardyce RA, et al. Maternal diet and infantile colic in breast-fed infants. Lancet 1981;49:1340–2.

8. Clyne PS, Kulczycki A. Human breast milk contains bovine IgG. Relationship to infant colic? Pediatr 1991;87:439–44.

9. Hill DJ, Hudson IL, Sheffield LJ, et al. A low allergen diet is a significant intervention in infantile colic: results of a community-based study. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1995;96:886–92.

10. Taubman B. Clinical trial of the treatment of colic by modification of parent-infant interaction. Pediatr 1984;74:998–1003.

11. Saavedra JM, Abi-Hanna A, Moore N, Yolken RH. Long-term consumption of infant formulas containing live probiotic bacteria: tolerance and safety. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:261–7.

12. Weizman Z, Alkrinawi S, Goldfarb D, et al. Efficacy of herbal tea preparation in infantile colic. J Pediatr 1993;122:650–2.

13. Alexandrovich I, Rakovitskaya O, Kolmo E, et al. The effect of fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) seed oil emulsion in infantile colic: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Altern Ther Health Med 2003;9:58–61.

14. Bove M. An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, 1996:106.

15. Schilcher H. Phytotherapy in Paediatrics. Stuttgart: Medpharm Scientific Publishers, 1997, 80.

16. Klugart N, Nilsson N, Jacobsen J. Infantile colic treated by chiropractors: a prospective study of 316 cases. J Manip Physiol Ther 1989;12:281–8.

17. Nilsson N. Infant colic and chiropractic. Eur J Chir 1985;33:264–5.

18. Wiberg JM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The short term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: a randomized controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer. J Manip Physiol Ther 1999;22:517–22.