Infantile colic. Panic away!

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Article prepared by:

Vasily Babkinsky

Doctor of the highest category

Every parent is familiar with restless days and nights, the causes of which are colic in infants. This manifestation occurs in almost every newborn up to six months. Colic is not a pathological development in the body, however, sometimes there are cases of diseases of the digestive organs and anomalies that cause colic. Painful colic can be caused by: unbalanced nutrition, swallowing air, incorrect feeding technique and insufficient development of the newborn’s digestive function. Many parents and specialists prefer folk recipes, and chamomile is especially recognized as the most harmless and miraculous herb. Chamomile helps newborns with colic, rinsing and bathing, to relieve tension, and for viral ailments.

Children in the first year of life often experience stomach problems.

Properties of a herbaceous flower and its description

Chamomile is a herbaceous wild annual. A plant that, due to the abundance of beneficial natural compounds, has a wide range of uses for medical purposes and in the field of cosmetology.

The composition of flower baskets of medicinal herbs includes:

• industrial bioflavonoids;
• polysaccharides;
• phytosterols;
• coumarins;
• vitamins;
• organic acids;
• carotene;
• mucous substances;
• tannins and proteins;
• gum;
• bitterness.

It is in chamomile inflorescences that there is a maximum number of elements that provide the medicinal qualities of the herb. The rest of the plant has less beneficial healing properties.

Dried flowers contain up to approximately 0.8% chamomile oil extract. This oil is multicomponent and one of the valuable components is azulene chamazulene. It has anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, sedative and bacteriostatic effects, improves blood circulation in the blood vessels of the brain and speeds up breathing.

Products based on chamomile flowers can help

Carotene improves immunity and stops the production of free radicals. Phytosterol and gum normalize cholesterol levels, and gum also improves digestion. Bioflavonoids have a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect, prevent spasms, suppress the proliferation of cancer cells and regenerate the damaged genetic chain in ribonucleic acid molecules. Coumarins have antispasmodic and cytotoxic effects. Polysaccharides are the basis of cellular energy.

The table below shows the chemical composition and nutritional value of chamomile.

It is believed that chamomile should always be in a home first aid kit. After all, the properties of this miracle herb are used for various ailments and contribute to the conditions of a lasting effect even without the use of medications. Chamomile has the following several healing properties:

• antibacterial;

Chamomile will also help with toothaches

• choleretic;
• anticonvulsant;
• pain reliever;
• anti-inflammatory;
• hemostatic (stopping bleeding);
• antihistamine;
• soothing;
• astringent.

Chamomile decoction is drunk for insomnia and toothache. After treating wounds with chamomile, they do not fester and heal faster. It is also used in the treatment of diseases of the female reproductive system.

Beneficial properties of chamomile for the gastrointestinal tract

Chamomile herb seems to be a reliable assistant for the gastroenterologist. Chamomile medicine with the addition of mint herb is good for relieving stomach and intestinal painful spasms. Herbal drinks help heal internal erosive injuries and wounds; accordingly, they are often used for the inflammatory process occurring in the digestive tract and ulcerative defects.

Chamomile has a beneficial effect on the child's digestive system

Chamomile also helps get rid of fermentation, eliminates pain and intestinal colic, normalizes digestive function and prevents the consequences of increased flatulence, relieves inflammation, and removes toxins.

Chamomile is used for such diseases of the gastrointestinal tract as: pancreatitis, gastritis, ulcers, chronic constipation, liver disease, diarrhea, obstruction of the bile ducts.

A decoction of chamomile helps with colic in infants when their tummy hurts and bloating occurs. Chamomile mucus envelops the walls of the diseased organ and restores the affected protective tissue. After drinking freshly brewed chamomile tea, food is processed faster, the stomach is washed, removing particles of processed food, cell regeneration and enzyme production are accelerated.

Colic in a newborn: what to do

Colic does not require any special treatment because it is not a disease. Popular medicinal and natural carminatives like dill water or simethicone are considered safe, but their direct effect on the cause of colic has not been proven.

One thing is certain - a comfortable and kind atmosphere in the family helps to cope with colic. The baby is having a hard time right now, so it’s better to show him closeness with a gentle voice, smiles and gentle hugs.

Several techniques will help you figure out how to deal with colic in newborns:

• Give the baby a massage. You can stroke not only the tummy, but also the arms and legs. If the baby reacts to touch with even louder crying, then it is better to postpone this method.
• Take it in your arms. Carrying your baby, in your arms or in a sling, doesn’t matter how. The main thing is that he feels the warmth of a loved one. At the same time, you can hum a quiet song or whisper kind words.
• Carry in a column. This will help the baby burp after feeding and reduce the amount of gas.
• To bathe. A warm bath and dim lighting will help alleviate the baby’s condition. By the way, water perfectly cheers up not only the little family members - mother can also take a warm, relaxing bath when the child calms down and falls asleep sweetly.

The condition of loved ones is also very important for the baby. Therefore, you can ask for help from friends or family members to make it easier for your baby to get through this stage of development.

Chamomile recipes for newborns

Until a child is one year old, the functioning mechanism is poorly developed; hormone-like and enzymatic substances for digesting food are not sufficiently produced. The nature of the contractile activity of digestion in infants is very weak and at about the age of one week the child’s life, problems with the tummy arise. Colic is accompanied by bloating, increased gas production, and painful intestinal spasms. The consequence of negative factors is frequent crying of the newborn, which more often occurs at night.

You can buy ready-made chamomile tea in bags at the pharmacy.

For all children, this period passes differently, on average - about three months. It is impossible to completely get rid of this manifestation, but it is possible to alleviate the temporary adverse event and significantly reduce painful hyperthyroidism in the intestines. After consulting with a doctor, they are treated with probiotics, medications that suppress muscle spasms, light massage and approved herbs.

Pharmaceutical chamomile can be purchased in ready-made filter bags (tea bags), herbal collection of selected varieties, or collected yourself in a natural ecological zone, away from roads and dust.

Once the wound on the navel has healed, you are allowed to bathe the baby in a very weak, diluted decoction. You should constantly monitor the reaction of the skin, as well as the well-being of the child, monitoring the possible occurrence of allergic manifestations. And if this occurs, you need to immediately stop using chamomile. To exclude an allergy to chamomile grass, you need to conduct a test: moisten a cotton pad in chamomile decoction and apply it to a small area of ​​the skin, and if after half an hour a negative manifestation is not detected, then you can bathe the child in a diluted chamomile decoction.

You can brew tea from dried flowers yourself.

To brew medicinal chamomile, no special skills are required. When preparing the infusion, you need to add one and a half cups of boiling water to 50 grams of inflorescences and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes. The finished herbal medicine can be used both for drinking and bathing.

For a number of colds, chamomile infusion helps eliminate inflammation in the throat, calms breathing, and effectively helps with coughs. Used for the treatment and treatment of eye diseases in newborns. A cotton pad or swab is soaked in fresh chamomile decoction and applied to the baby's eyelid. Thermal balance must be maintained; hot or too cold decoction is not allowed.

The temperature of the water when bathing in a chamomile bath should be strictly observed; it should be 36-37 degrees Celsius and the duration of the procedure should last no more than ten minutes. Herbal chamomile baths are an effective remedy for treatment and preventive measures for diathesis, diaper rash, redness and itching on the surface of the baby’s skin. After bathing in a chamomile bath, the child is not rinsed with clean water.

At first, it is recommended to boil chamomile and use a low concentration decoction. Because infants can react acutely to the herbal component. Pour 300 milliliters of hot water into an iron bowl and add 2 tablespoons of chamomile inflorescences, leave to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Then cool the broth and filter.

The infusion can be given to infants

Internal use of chamomile

Herbal sachets are very easy to use. This bag is poured with 200 milliliters of boiling water and covered with a lid to infuse for five to ten minutes. Ready infused tea is also diluted with water. This herbal tea is considered a good sedative and safe sleeping pill.

Medicinal chamomile tea for babies under one year of age should be diluted with water.

For infants, chamomile inflorescences for soothing purposes should be infused for about ten minutes and be sure to be diluted with water. To relieve antispasmodic syndrome and colic in newborns, they are given an infused chamomile decoction; in this case, there is no need to dilute it; a concentrated infusion is required. Sing the baby three times a day just before feeding, one tablespoon at a time. It takes not ten minutes to brew, as in the previous method, but twenty minutes.

If negative symptoms occur due to the use of chamomile, the child must be immediately taken to the pediatrician.

From this video you will learn about the healing properties of chamomile:

How to tell if your baby has colic

If the baby is mom and dad's first, crying due to colic can be very frightening. Sometimes it seems that the problem is not the colic of the newborn, but the symptoms of other diseases. Nevertheless, there are several signs by which you can determine that they are tormenting a child:

• the age of the baby at the time of the onset and end of symptoms is less than five months;
• regular and prolonged periods of crying, fussiness or irritability that occur for no apparent reason (caregivers are unable to prevent them);
• absence of malnutrition, growth and development disorders, fever and other manifestations of disease.

Chamomile for mother during lactation

The use of chamomile is recommended for various diseases. Herbal chamomile tea is often a topic of discussion among scientists about the benefits and harms of lactation. But definitely, with consultation from a specialist, chamomile helps mothers cope with some common ailments during breastfeeding:

• for colds and during lactation, most medications are prohibited and in this situation, preference is given to herbal medicine, especially chamomile;
• with increased nervous excitability and sleep disturbances, nursing mothers are advised to drink chamomile decoction before going to bed;
• When breastfeeding, mothers develop cracked nipples. A strong chamomile decoction helps speed up their healing and prevents wounds from rotting;
• if mommy has problems with the digestive tract and genitourinary system, it is also appropriate to use chamomile;
• When breastfeeding, chamomile tea affects the function of milk production. But excessive consumption of chamomile tea suppresses the mammary gland's production of breast milk. Therefore, you should adhere to the measure, it is forbidden to drink more than two cups of tea from chamomile flowers per day. Also, taking chamomile herbal tea should not exceed two weeks and the extension of the cycle should be agreed upon with the supervising doctor.

If you have problems with digestion, chamomile decoction is also useful for nursing mothers.
You should start using chamomile with a small portion, monitoring the well-being of your baby. If the baby shows the slightest reaction, then the mother should stop taking chamomile.

What is colic in a baby?

Infant colic is a common behavioral syndrome of regular and prolonged periods of crying, fussiness or irritability that occurs for no apparent reason. When asked when colic begins in a newborn baby, experts answer that it can begin as early as two weeks. How long does colic last in newborns? From half an hour to several hours.

Most often they appear in the evening: at this time the baby cries, presses his legs to his swollen and tense tummy. About 80–90% of children suffer from colic. They cry a lot, and parents worry when the newborn's colic will go away. Symptoms go away on their own without any treatment by the fourth month of life.