Colic Treatment – Surviving Baby Colic
Even the most even tempered and “low maintenance” of babies can go through a fussy stage. But if the crying episode lasts longer than 3 hours and is not caused any known medical problem like a cold or infection, than your child may have colic.
While colic is considered to be a harmless medical condition, this phenomenon occurs in almost a half of all babies. If you think that your child is suffering with colic then read this article and learn more about safe and effective treatments for colic.
What is Colic and what Treatments are Available?
There are lots of different theories being tossed around but what everyone agrees on it that the excessive crying can make parents and other family members frustrated, irritable, discouraged, and depressed.
Currently there are no tests for diagnosing the colic. This is mainly because the true cause behind colic is still unknown. Can colic be caused by a baby’s immature digestive system? Is it caused by plain old belly gas? Or is the baby simply adjusting to life outside its mother’s womb?
Just as the theories on what causes colic varies widely, so do the many different kinds of colic treatments. But basically there are basically types of treatments for colic: natural, homeopathic or medical.
Natural Colic Treatments
Natural colic treatments are what most people would say developed from “old wife’s tales”. But since the most experienced child caregivers i.e. “mothers” are also “old wives” this may be a good source for help. Most home-made or natural colic treatments are made from herbal ingredients or food items readily available in a grocery store or market.
There are lots of place on the Web where you can do some basic research to locate the best natural colic treatments and recipes for things like gripe water. But make sure that these colic remedies and recipes are from trusted sources.
Homeopathic Colic Treatments
The next type of colic treatment is based on homeopathic medicine. Homeopathic medicine basically uses highly diluted drugs and tonics, under the principle that “like cures like”. Kind of like you getting a flu shot to prevent you getting a full blown version of the disease.
A homeopathic colic treatment not only takes into account an infant’s physical condition but also examines their psychological and emotional states as well as other factors when prescribing remedies.
For example, chamomile is recommended as a colic treatment for a baby that had a distended or bloated stomach while dioscorea is recommended for babies with lots of gassy upsets and stomach rumbles.
Medical Colic Treatments
The last but not least are traditional medicine treatments for colic. This is normally the use of things such as Simethicone drops (which is an anti-gas drug). If the problems are severe some doctors will prescribe a stronger colic treatment such an especially formulated Zantac for infants.
And of course all medicines and natural colic treatments should only be given to your baby under the supervision of a trained medical professional.
