Colic is a problem seen in infants between one and four years of age.

Most babies have a "fussy" time during the day, but an infant with colic will draw their legs up on their stomach and cry inconsolably for a short while. It's as if they had a bad stomach ache.

It tends to resolve only to come again the next day.  There is no one problem which causes colic that we know about.  Sometimes it is a formula allergy or problems with other foods.

Sometimes it has to do with the nipple size or shape which may allow the baby to suck a great deal of air with the formula.

And sometimes, in breast fed babies, it has something to do with the food that the mother is eating like spicy food, chocolate, or even milk.

It is not, however, usually associated with vomiting, cough, or other symptoms.  It is only at certain periods of the day, not all day long and it does not produce a fever.

Many people jump to the conclusion that a fussy baby has colic, but that assumptioin is not always appropriate.

Any infant in whom there are other symptoms besides fussiness; or babies under one month or over four months; or who also have a fever, should be seen by their pediatrician prior to making a diagnosis.

A new study has shown that colic may be linked to introducing solid foods before four months of age.

In a study of 843 infants on the Isle of Wight, England, colic affected 135 of them (16%).

They found that a vast majority of these children had developed colic by six weeks of age but had their remission by three months of age. Some had remission up to six months of age.

Colic was noted more often in infants introduced to mixed feeding (cereals or solids) before they were three months old.  The prevalence of colic, however, did not significantly differ between totally breast fed babies and babies fed only formula.

I believe it is a dangerous practice to make assumptions that a crying baby has colic; and infants should be seen in the office by a pediatrician.

There are some common things that we try on infants who have "colic."

• If the infant is on a cows milk formula, a trial of soy type formula (Isomil, Prosobee) is usually given.

  If the mother is drinking a lot of milk herself and breast feeding, most physicians request that she try going off of all milk in her diet for a week.

• Solid foods that have already been introduced should be withdrawn for a period of time.

• Changing the style of infant bottle nipples sometimes helps.  Most babies have their own sucking style and may respond to one nipple better than another.

  It is probably best to use the plastic bag type, collapsible bottle liners that tend to not allow the baby to get as much swallowed air with feedings.

• Burping is the main-stay of treatment.  A child can be burped at any time.  Before feeding, and after each ounce (or five minutes of breast feeding), and after the feeding.  If the baby does not give a good burp he can be propped upright for a few hours after feeding and burped at a later time.

  A baby who has just finished crying has swallowed a lot of air and needs to be burped again.

  In short, burp the baby about every time you see them.

• Keeping the baby upright in an infant seat for two to three hours after feeding sometimes helps.

• Saving the babies warm bath or a ride in the car until his daily fussy time sometimes helps.

• There is some sedative type medicines that your physician can prescribe to calm the baby down if needed.

Many times the above measures help and sedation is not needed.

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