Natural Ways to Relieve Colic in Infants: Learn Effective Ways to Treat Colic Naturally
Infant Colic
Colic causes serious discomfort in babies. Colic is usually associated with frequent crying (several times daily or weekly), usually after food intake, or at approximately the same time every day.
If you think a baby is experiencing colic you should seek the advice of a naturophatic doctor. Following are some of the suggestions that he/she may make to help relieve infant colic.
Herbal Teas to Relieve Infant Colic
Herbal teas have been used for many years as an aid to infant colic. Of course you should ask a doctor about the safety of any herbal tea you are going to give to a child. But, many herbs are safe and have been used extensively. What’s more, some herbal teas have been researched scientifically for their safety and use in relieving colic. In a study titled: “Efficacy of Herbal Tea Preparation in Infantile Colic,” Weizman and colleagues found that a tea made of chamomile, fennel, vervain, licorice and balm-mint “significantly improved” the symptoms associated with colic. There are a variety of teas you can find in health food stores specifically made to relieve colic but you cannot go wrong with a chamomile or a fennel tea.
Acidophilus to Relieve Infant Colic
A study by Savino et al (2005) found that imbalances in intestinal microbiological species are related to infant colic. If this is true (and I believe so) then correcting the imbalance may bring relief to colic sufferers. Lactobacillus acidophilus is considered a “good” bacterium for intestinal health, so an acidophilus supplement treatment can help to correct the imbalance and hence the infant colic. Here, you will have to ask a naturophatic doctor for a good acidophilus supplement for infants. Natural Factors is a reputable brand.
Gripe Water
Gripe water, a popular and old English colic formula made of dill, caraway, clove, and other herbs, may be what an infant needs to relieve his (or her) colic. In 2000, Blumenthal, an English doctor, wrote an article about gripe water in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. He believes that the soothing effect of gripe water comes from the high concentration of sugar in the formula. You can read and download the article here.
Is There a Cure for Infant Colic?
Infant colic is a prevalent condition in many babies. There is only one drug approved to treat infant colic. I am not going to name it because it has known side effects.
There are many effective and natural ways to relieve infant colic. I have discussed three of them here and there are many others. Some of them work better than others. Only qualified health care practitioners can give you the appropriate information for relief of infant colic but be aware that there are many natural ways to relieve it.
Sources:
Blumenthal, I. (2000). The Gripe Water Story. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Savino et al (2005). Bacterial counts of intestinal Lactobacillus species in infants with colic. Pediatric Allergy Immunol. 2005 Feb;16(1):72-5
Weizman and colleagues. Efficacy of herbal tea preparation in infantile colic. J Pediatr. 1993 Apr;122(4):650-2.
This post is part of the series: Natural Cures, Remedies & Solutions
Learn about natural ways to relieve, cure, and treat different common ailments
