Infantile colic is an ailment that usually affects infants up
to the age of 4 months and it begins 3 to 6 weeks after their birth. It usually
manifests with incessant crying and fussiness. Infants with infantile colic cry
at least 3 hours a day and at least for 3 days a week. These children cry
loudly during moments of colic but otherwise will be completely fine with good
feeding in the time in between. The illness usually lasts for about three
weeks.
The cause of
infantile colic is not exactly well explained or known but it is hypothesized
to be caused due to accumulation of gas in the intestine leading to
intermittent contractions of muscles important for digestive motility.
How can it be treated?
Infantile colic can be quite frustrating and worrying for
the parents and physicians because the infants can be very difficult to console.
However, it will eventually resolve on its own up to age of 6 months.
- Parents need to understand that this is a self-limiting disorder that does not cause anything serious besides the momentary discomfort. In addition, it does not have any specific treatment and will resolve with time.
- Parents should frequently help their infants burp by holding them up and patting their gently on their backs so that they remove some of the air they have in their stomach.
And these techniques can help for calming them down when they're
crying.
- Patting their back after holding them up for burping
- Changing the room they were in initially or changing their environment
- Gently and softly massaging their abdomen
- Giving then a hot bath
- Gently swaying them from side to side
The parents may experience a lot of anxiety and frustration
during these periods which could lead to postpartum depression and other
psychological problems. So they need to support each other, take a break from
their infant and know that their child will be okay eventually.
Prevention methods from future colic episodes
- Help your infant burp after feeding
- Make sure your child doesn't feed too fast or won't take in too much air whilst feeding
- Make sure you are not giving your infant too much or too little fluids. Adequate fluid intake is for infants less than 6 months old 150 ml×Weight per day and for those between 7 and 12 months 120× weight per day.
During periods of colic stopping breast feeding or changing
formula milk does not prove to be beneficial.
References:
- Infantile Colic: Recognition and Treatment AFP https://www.aafp.org/afp/2015/1001/p577.html#:~:text=Infantile%20colic%20is%20a%20benign,for%20longer%20than%20three%20weeks.
- Infantile colic - NCBI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6091773/
- Baby Colic Signs and Symptoms - WebMD https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/927760-overview