Colic

Along with hunger and teething, colic is one of the most common causes of crying in a baby. An infant suffering from colic will cry immediately after a feed. This may be due to one of the following; over-feeding, a large amount of air being introduced to the stomach, or Lactose intolerance.

Babies swallow air for one of two reasons. The bottle teat hole is too small or too large. When it is too small, the baby sucks with considerable effort for little return and manages to gobble air from around the teat. If it is too large, the baby can be somewhat overwhelmed by the flow of milk and so stops sucking and just lets it flow back along with large amounts of air. The air fills the child before the feed is complete and so causes the baby great discomfort.

In breast fed babies colic may arise due to a reaction by the baby to something the mother has eaten – e.g. dairy products or wheat.

Milk and infant formulas contain a sugar called lactose. Babies often suffer from a temporary lactose intolerance, i.e. they can’t break down and digest the lactose in the milk, and this is a frequent cause of colic by causing bloating, cramps and wind.

Identifying Colic:

Infant Colic Symptoms checklist:

• Persistent forceful crying
• Flatulence (wind)
• Abdominal distension
• Unsettled and irritable after feeding.

Remember a crying child may be suffering more than colic.

If you “burp” the baby after a feed, this acts as a good first step to removing wind if it is caused by the introduction of air at the time of feeding. If the screaming tends to stop when you pick up your baby, the problem is probably not colic, but may be loneliness, cold, or a wet nappy. With colic, the crying will not stop. Investigate other symptoms such as teething, nappy rash, and hunger. Diarrhoea present also may indicate that there is too much sugar in the feed. If the child has other symptoms such as fever or rash call into your local pharmacist or your GP.

Treatment:

Changing the size of the hole in the teat, larger or smaller, may eliminate colic. When feeding does the child suck with effort? If so, then the teat may be too small. Or does the baby tend to give up in the middle of a feed and just swallow? If so, the teat may be too large.

In the case where the baby has a lactose intolerance, COLIEF is a safe, natural product, which contains lactase enzyme as its active ingredient. When added to the baby’s formula Colief helps to avoid or prevent the symptoms of lactose intolerance as it breaks down the lactose into glucose and galactose which can be absorbed by the body.

COLIEF may be used from birth onwards. When feeding a baby with infant formula – make up the baby’s bottle as normal. Let the bottle cool to body temperature (warm not hot). Add 2 drops of COLIEF, shake the bottle gently and refrigerate for approx. 4 hours, to allow the lactase enzyme to act on the milk before it is fed to the baby. Reheat the bottle and use as normal.

DENTINOX COLIC DROPS are another useful remedy and may be given from birth.