Children & Infants
Colic in Children
Gas-driven intestinal cramping in children — usually from improper food or constipation — relieved with catnip tea, herbal antispasmodics, comfortably warm bran fomentations, and dietary correction.
Also known as: childhood colic, intestinal colic in children, abdominal colic
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Gas moving upward or downward through the digestive tract causing pain.; Most commonly: improper food or constipation.; Indigestion is the most frequent cause..
First thing to try: Give warm catnip teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → in a bottle.
See a doctor if: See a doctor if symptoms are severe, persistent, or worsening, or if you are unsure — natural supports are meant to complement, not replace, professional care.
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Gas moving upward or downward through the digestive tract causing pain.
- Most commonly: improper food or constipation.
- Indigestion is the most frequent cause.
Change what you can
- Give warm catnip teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → in a bottle.
- Herbal antispasmodics: wild yam, cramp bark, nervines, and antispasmodic tinctures to relieve cramping.
- A caregiver can warm bran in a cloth bag and apply it comfortably warm (not hot) over the child's belly for comfort, testing the temperature on your own skin first and checking the child's skin often.
- For gas colic: decoctionA stronger tea made by simmering tough roots or bark. How to make a decoction → of dandelion root, fennel seeds, marshmallow root, and sweet flag root, with cayenne and ginger as carriers.
- For bilious colic: decoctionA stronger tea made by simmering tough roots or bark. How to make a decoction → in equal parts of agrimony, barberry bark, centaury, and dandelion root — or an infusionA tea made by steeping soft leaves or flowers in hot water. How to make an infusion → of a handful of fresh parsley.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- See a doctor if symptoms are severe, persistent, or worsening, or if you are unsure — natural supports are meant to complement, not replace, professional care.
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your colic in children — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Gas-driven intestinal cramping in children — usually from improper food or constipation — relieved with catnip teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, herbal antispasmodics, comfortably warm bran fomentations, and dietary correction.
Colicky tummy pain in children is cramping abdominal discomfort that often comes in waves, frequently linked to trapped gas, constipation, something that disagreed with them, or a passing digestive upset. The child may complain of a sore tummy, draw up their legs, or seem unsettled, and most episodes are short-lived and harmless.
Gentle measures usually help: a warm pack or warm bath, gentle tummy or back rubbing, encouraging the child to pass gas or have a bowel movement, plenty of water, and a calm, reassuring approach, along with looking at whether constipation or particular foods are playing a part. Most tummy aches settle. However, certain features need prompt medical attention: severe or persistent pain, pain low on the right side, a hard or very tender tummy, repeated vomiting (especially if green), blood in the stool, fever, or a child who is lethargic or unwell — as these can signal something needing urgent care.
Common signs
- The child cries out, pulls the knees up to the stomach, has a distended abdomen.
- Stomach and/or intestinal pain.
⭐ Community-ranked natural supports
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🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Identify and eliminate offending foods. Avoid indigestible foods, junk foods, fried foods, and spicy foods. Ensure regular, healthy, whole-food mealtimes.
⚖️ Good to know
- Colic in children that is severe, persistent, or accompanied by fever, blood in stool, or vomiting may indicate appendicitis, intussusception, or other serious condition requiring immediate medical evaluation.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Colic-type abdominal pain in children is evaluated and managed by the cause.
Commonly offered
- Checking for causes (constipation, infection, food intolerance)–
- Treating constipation and dietary triggers–
- Comfort measures and reassurance for benign cases–
- Evaluation for recurrent or severe pain–
Worth knowing
- Severe pain, vomiting (especially green), fever, or blood in stool needs prompt care.
- Pain with a tender, swollen belly is an emergency.
- Recurrent pain affecting daily life deserves evaluation.
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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