Colic , Reflux : symptoms, causes and remedies

When your baby is crying, all of your energy is focused on finding a way to calm her. You might try  walking with her over your shoulder. If that doesn’t work, you might feed her or change her. On and on you go until she is calm again. But what if you cannot calm her? 😩What if the crying escalates into shrieking and her little body is stiff and her fists are clenched? You might start to feel tense and upset, even so confused, why is she so upset?

Actually I have faced the same situation some years before, But that time I am not aware of this colic and re-flux.😣

What Is Colic?

The term colic applies to any healthy, well-fed infant who cries more than 2 to 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for more than 3 weeks. Here’s what we know about it:

• It is the most common cause of unexplained crying in infants between 2 to 12 weeks of age. The spells of crying occur everyday at the same time in the evening or late night hours in a clockwise regularity.
• The infant cries loudly, pulls up his legs over abdomen( gurgling sounds may felt by placing the hand over abdomen) the child may pass wind to get temporary relief.
• Excessive crying lead to further swallowing of air thus initiating a vicious cycle of colic-crying-colic. The repeated spells of crying may last for 2-3 hours until baby is tired and falls asleep.
• Colic is likely to start around age 2 weeks if your infant is full-term (or later if premature).
• It almost always goes away on its own by 3 or 4 months.
• Your baby’s sex and birth order, and whether you breast- or bottle-feed, don’t affect it.
• Kids who had colic as babies are no different from those who didn’t.

 Causes of colic

In infants indigestion is not the only  reason  for stomach pain. The main reason behind the pain is food, tonics and medecins given by parents unnecessary . Some infants breastfeed very slowly, some feed fastly and some take excessive milk and because of this pressure creates on stomach. And these two are the main reasons which annoy infants.

Re-flux

Just After feeding the baby, if mother make her baby lying on the bed, milk comes out in the form of reflux. Generally till the child doesn’t started sitting, some milk comes out or baby feels like vomiting. In this type of reflux milk comes in the form of curd. 5 times in a day this reflux is normal if wait is not reducing. If wait is reducing consult your ped and give medicines for this.

What to do?

• Infant with colic may get temporary relief by rhythmic rocking, placing them prone on the thighs( which facilitates expulsion of wind), gentle massage of abdomen. continuous musical sound or by taking for a drive in a car.
• A small pinch of hing (asafoetida) mixed with plain water made into a paste can be applied around the navel of the baby (NOT on the navel) in the clockwise direction.
• After applying hing take a  small cotton wash cloth rubbed on a slight heated tawa can be pressed around the baby’s navel (Please check for heat by pressing on your palm first before applying on baby).
• Giving a decoction of ajwain(carom seed) and sonf(anethi seeds) may provide relief.
•  Gripe water mixture should not be used due to high alcohol content.
• Anti-colic drops may be administered half an hour before the anticipation time of crying spells on the advice of a doctor.
• Their is no need to change the type and mode of feeding but attempts should be made to reduce environmental tension and decrease stimulation of the child.🙂

Hope this will provide  little relief to your baby. Share your experience mom what remedies you all are using to handle colic. Feel free to comment if you have any doubt related to the article.

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ref: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/what-is-colic

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/71/2/268?