Homeopathy and Colic
Yesterday I visited a young woman with two young children, a babe of two months and a toddler. Her tired eyes had dark, almost purple, rings beneath them. I had notbeen called to see her though, but the little one who was keeping everyone awake with nightly colic. This condition in babies can start soon after birth and continue on for some months. The most common symptoms of colic include: occasional or regular episodes of inconsolable crying, abdominal distention with windy noises and eruptions, vomiting, copious loose stools and a tendency to stiffen the back and arch backwards or to draw the legs up to the stomach spasmodically. Primarily colic is due to a temporary inability of the intestines to deal with large amounts of lactose (sugar of milk) due to gut overloading or immaturity. (1) In breastfed babies this can be addressed by making some adjustments in the daily food that the Mum eats.
In this article I will go through some of most commonly used remedies and mention some other options and changes that can quite easily be made to help alleviate the problem.
Homoeopathy hassome wonderful remedies for the colic, starting with Colocynthis. The baby is experiencing quite sharp pains in the abdomen, and possibly also in the calves, which cause them to raise the legs up, in effect bending the abdomen double. Parents will find that to hold the babe closely against the shoulder can relieve the pain, which is often accompanied by very loose stools and maybe some positing. If the babe is breastfed the normal yellow stools can be jelly like. Give Colocynthis 6c, popa couple of the tiny granules babies mouth or put it in teaspoons of water.
Chamomilla is a tried and true remedy for colic when the child is also restless and irritable, one cheek may be red suggesting that some teething is happening, but these colicky babes are too young for that. The griping pains are clearly seen and the stools will have a greenish tinge,perhaps somewhat slimy. This is a very upset babe, nothing seems to help except being carried around. Chamomilla in a 6c or 30c, given regularly throughout the day will reduce theseverity of the gut pain attacks and calm the mood.
When Aethusa is called for the babe is clearly intolerant of milk, and this is more often seen in bottle fed babies. About anhour after a feed, the baby vomits all the milk and will cry from pain in the abdomen, feeling sweaty and cool. Then they will have a sleep, as though exhausted. Stools can also have that green tinge.
The Podophyllum child will be experiencing less painful colic but will have profuse diarrhea on one day and be a bit constipated on the alternate day. These babies love to lie on their stomachs, respond to having their abdomen gently massaged and will seem to be full of wind, as the stool will explode out of the rectum so that the whole nappy - and beyond - is filled!
Dioscorea babies experience the kind of abdominal pain that makes the baby want to throw the body backwards to find relief. Thus bending forward actually makes things worse.
Magnesium Phosphoricum babies are easy to spot. These children are at their happiest lying face down across your knee, passing wind in both directions. The tummy feels bloated so that the nappy cannot be tied too tightly without causing more discomfort.
Natrum Carb and Magnesium Carb are both indicated when the baby has clearly over-eaten. Nat Carb has stools that resemble orange pulp, and Mag Carb has frothy ‘frogs spawn' stools.
A colleague of mine here in Australia recently wrote a great book for her fellow Homoeopaths about all matters related to lactation and gut issues in the new born. Patricia Hatherly is a senior practitioner in Brisbane and has developed over the years a deep understanding of what causes colic and how a change in the Mum's diet can alleviate many of the symptoms. If you are breastfeeding and your baby has colic, or you are about to have a baby and want to get your own diet in to optimum shape for breatfeeding, please see her web page www.patriciahatherly.com.
Sometimes coliccan be caused or exacerbated by over-feeding and Patricia immediately recommends a change of feeding position. Instead of laying the baby in the arms for feeding, try the sitting-up position. Position a firm pillow beside you on the right side and holding baby facing you, tuck the body under your arm with head held facing the nipple, so that baby is in effect sitting up to drink. All kinds of benefits ensue from this simple change. The child is more relaxed and has more control over the start and stopping of their meal. If you can imagine laying down yourself and having a gushing supply of milk coming non-stop into your mouth - this is what the new baby's tender little stomach has to cope with!
A strict schedule of feeding can be very helpful, as can just giving one breast if you are breastfeeding. Sometimes a pacifier can really help. But Mum's diet can be key. An adequate intake of fat can help to settle colic as breastmilk, which is high in fat, tends to travel more slowely through the digestive system. This is due to the fact that babies digest fat in the stomach rather than the duodenum. As the fat in breastmilk is found in larger amounts in the hindmilk it can help colic if the Mum goes back to the same breast again, maximizing the fat intake - say within a three hour feed period.
Mum's own fat intake should contain plenty of oily fish such as herrings, sardines, tuna and salmon. To balance them, the othersource would be the fats from grains, nuts and seeds, avocadoes and olives. Protein is so important, as are complex carbohydrates, whilst minimizing the simple carbs. Research has shown that this approach results in a lower lactose level in the breastmilk which helps the babies digestive system.(2) pg 256
Your Homoeopath will be able to advise you further and supply those much needed remedies. Within a few days your colicky baby can be settled and feeding well again.
(1) TheHomoeopathic Physicians Guide to Lactation P. Hatherly pg 255
Pg 257