Colic Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

What Is Colic ?

It is a mysterious condition characterized by expected episodes of great distress in a baby that is healthy and well-fed. Babies with the condition usually cry for three hours every day, three days every week, and for three or even more weeks. The condition can be very frustrating, as nothing can help your baby to ease and relax during the periods.

Being a mother, the condition can give you tough time, watching your baby distressed and uncomfortable, though it is rather short-lived and ends within weeks or months!

What Are The Symptoms Of Colic ?

Crying is considered normal in babies. Babies cry when they feel pain, are hungry or so. But when well-fed, healthy babies continuously cry for no clear reasons, they are believed to have colic. Symptoms are:

• Expected episodes of crying: babies with colic tend to cry at the same time each day, more often in the evening. The period of crying persists from several minutes to three or more hours a day.While the episode is about to end, the baby can pass gas, or stool.
• Posture changes: during the episode, the baby may curl up the legs and tighten up the fists. In addition, his abdominal muscles may become stiffed.
• Inconsolable or extreme crying: such a baby would cry out loudly and intensely. His or her face can flush. During the episode, you will find every effort fail to console and relax your baby.
• Crying for no clear reason: As mentioned earlier, normally babies cry due to an apparent reason, for example due to pain or hunger, but crying linked with colic tends to have no apparent cause.

The condition is common. Often, it begins soon after some weeks of birth, and gets better by reaching the age of four months.

What Causes Colic ?

The precise cause of colic is yet to be known, though, research has discovered several possibilities. Few of which are:

• Lactose intolerance.
• Allergies.
• Anxious parents.
• Underdeveloped digestive system.
• Changes in bacteria present in digestive system.
• Difference in the manner a baby is comforted or fed.

Despite the number of possibilities, none is yet proved to cause colic. Researchers are working hard to identify the cause as to why some babies have colic, whereas others do not.

How Is Colic Diagnosis ?

Naturally, when you will fail to realize why your baby is crying, you will consult a doctor. The doctor will perform a physical examination to determine what causing the distress, for example the possibility of blockage in his or her intestine. If the doctor finds your baby completely healthy, he will conclude with the diagnosis of colic.

There is rarely a need for conducting X-rays or lab tests, though, for the unclear cases, these tests and procedures help in revealing the underlying causes of distress.

How Is Colic Treatment ?

As mentioned earlier, the condition improves by reaching the age of 4 months on its own. No particular treatment has proved to help all babies with colic.

By : Natural Health News