Gaseous colic is a common disorder in the first weeks of the baby’s life: these are inconsolable crying crises, accompanied by irritability, restlessness and agitation of the newborn, which occur especially in the evening. It is a disorder of which the exact causes are not known.
Some natural or homeopathic products can sometimes help relieve symptoms. The advice is however to never resort to do-it-yourself, but to consult your pediatrician or homeopathic specialist who, having evaluated the overall state of health of the child and the painful symptoms, may eventually suggest the use of the most suitable natural product or homeopathic medicine.
In this article we will talk about the most used natural and homeopathic remedies for gaseous colic of the newborn.
Natural remedies
Natural remedies for gaseous colic are dietary supplements that contain natural substances theoretically able to relieve symptoms.
Especially:
- natural supplements containing probiotics and oleolite of Matricaria Chamomilla L. (to obtain the oleolite the chamomile flowers are left to macerate in olive oil so that the oil is soaked in the substances released by the chamomile), all dissolved in extra virgin olive oil. Probiotics are proposed for an action to strengthen the child’s immune system and chamomile for its antispasmodic and soothing action;
- natural supplements based on anise, lemon balm, mallow and chamomile, substances that promote digestive function, the regularization of gastrointestinal motility and the elimination of gases;
- food supplements based on fennel and lemon balm, favoring digestive functions, gastrointestinal motility and the elimination of abdominal gases, and passionflower, useful for promoting sleep.
Homeopathic remedies
In unicist homeopathy (or classical homeopathy), which still requires a clinical and anamnestic evaluation by a homeopathic doctor, the most used remedies are:
- Cuprum metallicum: it is copper, a medicine indicated for painful spasm that begins and ends abruptly and abdominal colic in the hypertonic newborn (with “rigid”, “hard” muscle tone), with violent pains that can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, violent diarrhea with sudden discharges ; pains aggravate at the slightest contact. A low dilution of 5-7 CH will be used, 3 granules 3 times a day or at the onset of pain;
- Colocynthis: it is the bitter cucumber whose action is expressed on smooth muscles (involuntary) and on the nervous system. The pain of colic that deserves the use of this medicine is violent and sometimes unbearable, with screams, which typically improves with the pressure of the hands on the abdomen and flexing the trunk on the pelvis. It may be associated with watery diarrhea associated with gas emission. Also in this case a low dilution 5-7 CH will be used, 3 granules 3-4 times a day;
- Antimonium crudum: it is a mineral, antimony trisulfide, whose action is expressed at the level of the skin and digestive system. Generally this medicine is indicated in the gaseous colic of the newborn eater, voracious, with a stretched abdomen, globose (swollen and tense) and subject to frequent belching. Characteristic is the tongue with a typical thick whitish patina (not to be confused with thrush or traces of milk). The indicated dilution is 5-7 CH, 3 granules 3 times a day;
- Argentum nitricum: is silver nitrate, which has a general action on the nervous system and mucous membranes of the pharynx and digestive system. It will be indicated in a nervous, agitated, voracious infant, with a relaxed, globose abdomen, which presents aerophagia and sound belching. There may be a tendency to diarrhea with green stools such as spinach. Dilution: 5-7 CH 3 granules, three times a day,
- Nux vomica: the vomica walnut is a vegetable remedy of the solanaceae family, rich in strychnine and brucina, whose general action can be traced back to a spastic tendency and hyperexcitability. The infant who benefits from nux vomica is typically a big eater, irritable, nervous infant who gasps at the slightest noise, with abdominal pain that arises 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after the meal. The abdomen is often meteoric, stretched out of air, sometimes in conjunction with a tendency to constipation. The indicated dilution is 5-7 CH, 3 granules three times a day;
- Matricaria chamomile: it is a medicine of plant origin that is often used even in teething disorders. It has a general action on the digestive and respiratory mucous membranes and on the nervous system. The infant sensitive to Chamomile is capricious irritable, has unbearable pains, marked meteorism and greenish diarrhea. Painful symptoms improve with passive movement (cradled in the arm) and local heat. An average dosage may be used: 9 CH, 3 granules three times a day.
The granules should be dissolved in a little plain water and administered with a non-metal teaspoon or, alternatively, in a bottle.
