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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffColic improves on its own, often by age 3 months. In the meantime, there are few treatment options. Prescription medications, such as simethicone (Mylicon), haven't proved very helpful for colic, and others can have serious side effects.
Some research suggests that treatment with probiotics — substances that help maintain the natural balance of "good" bacteria in the digestive tract — can soothe colic. More research is needed, however, to determine the effects of probiotics on colic.
Talk to your baby's doctor before giving your baby any medication to treat colic.
- Colic. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch051/ch051a.html?qt=bronchitis&alt=sh. Accessed Feb. 13, 2009.
- Roberts, D et al. Infantile colic. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040815/735.html. Accessed Feb. 13, 2009.
- Cohen-Silver J, et al. Management of infantile colic: A review. Clinical Pediatrics. 2009;49:14.
- Savino F, et al. Lactobacillus reuteri (American type culture collection strain 55730) versus simethicone in the treatment of infantile colic: A prospective randomized study. Pediatrics. 2007;119:e124. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/119/1/e124. Accessed Feb. 13, 2009.
- Canivet CA, et al. Infantile colic, maternal smoking and infant feeding at 5 weeks of age. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2008;36:284.
