Children & Infants
Colic in Infants
Repeated bouts of painful intestinal gas in infants — beginning around week 3 and clearing by week 12 — almost always caused by food allergies in mother's diet or formula ingredients, resolved by catnip tea and dietary correction.
Also known as: infant colic, baby colic, three-month colic, infantile colic
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Food allergies — in the nursing mother's diet (onions, cabbage, garlic, wheat, yeast, broccoli, brussels sprouts are common offenders) or in formula ingredients (especially cow's milk protein, soy, or wheat).; Fried foods, junk foods, and refined foods in the mother's diet.; Iron-fortified formula (iron-fortified foods tend to cause colic)..
First thing to try: Give the infant 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
- Food allergies — in the nursing mother's diet (onions, cabbage, garlic, wheat, yeast, broccoli, brussels sprouts are common offenders) or in formula ingredients (especially cow's milk protein, soy, or wheat).
- Fried foods, junk foods, and refined foods in the mother's diet.
- Iron-fortified formula (iron-fortified foods tend to cause colic).
- Smoking parents.
- Drugs given to the mother during labor.
Change what you can
- Give the infant warm catnip teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → in a bottle.
- A very warm bath given an hour before an expected attack may prevent it.
- A caregiver may try a lukewarm (body-temperature, tested on the inside of your wrist — never 'hot') footbath or a warm cloth over the baby's belly for a minute or two, staying with the baby the whole time; babies burn far more easily than adults, so never use water or a cloth that feels more than comfortably warm to you.
- Keep booties on the baby 24 hours a day — cold feet can cause colic.
- Give warm anise, peppermint, chamomile, thyme, or catnip teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → (1 cup made, give 1 Tbsp. at a time).
- Add a little powdered activated charcoal to water in the bottle to relieve gas (too much can constipate).
- For nursing mothers: eliminate likely offenders one by one — wheat, dairy, onions, garlic, cabbage, broccoli are most common.
- Feed in an upright position; burp frequently during feedings.
- Never feed while lying down.
- Keep the baby awake during early evening to help nighttime sleep.
- For formula-fed babies: switch to vitaminA natural substance your body needs in small amounts to stay healthy, like vitamin C or D. More →-enriched goat's milk if possible, or try having the mother restart breastfeeding.
🩺 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 infants — 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
Colic is stomach or intestinal pain in infants caused by abnormal amounts of gas passing through the digestive tract. It begins around the 3rd–4th week and typically clears up by the 12th week. It affects 1 in 10 babies. Colic is rare in countries where natural, wholesome food is eaten and medicinal drugs are not used. Mothers given drugs during labor are more likely to have colicky babies. The root cause is almost always diet — either the nursing mother's diet or the formula.
Colic is frequent, prolonged crying in an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby, often in the late afternoon or evening, typically beginning in the first weeks of life and easing by around three to four months. The baby may draw up the legs, clench the fists, and seem in discomfort. Its cause is not fully understood, and importantly, it is not the parents' fault and does not mean anything is seriously wrong.
Gentle soothing and patience help most: holding and rocking, gentle motion, a warm bath, tummy or back rubbing, white noise, swaddling, and checking feeding technique (winding well, and an upright position during and after feeds). For breastfed or formula-fed babies, a health professional can advise if a feeding adjustment might help. Crucially, parents need support too, as constant crying is exhausting — it is okay to put the baby down safely and take a break. Any fever, poor feeding, vomiting, or a baby who seems unwell beyond colic warrants prompt medical review.
Common signs
- Abdominal pain, abdominal distension (bloating), extreme fretfulness, insomnia, hysteria in the infant.
- The child cries out, pulls the knees up to the stomach.
- May be red in the face.
- Symptoms worsen at night.
⭐ Community-ranked natural supports
Vote ▲ on everything that helped you, and ▼ on anything you tried that didn't — the ranking updates live. Tap 💬 to share what worked, so others can find it faster.
Lay a warm (not hot) cloth on the baby's tummy, or hold them tummy-down along your arm, to ease colicky discomfort.900
A warm bath can calm a colicky, fussy baby (fever, vomiting, or poor feeding is not colic — see a doctor; never shake a baby — set them down safely and take a break).850
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
For nursing mother: eliminate fried foods, junk foods, and refined foods. Eat excellent nutrition. For formula-fed baby: eliminate wheat and dairy from formula first. Do not introduce grains until 5–6 months of age — infants lack the digestive enzymes for grains until then; do not give yeast bread until 1 year old.
⚖️ Good to know
- Introduce only one new food at a time after weaning.
- Never prop up a feeding bottle.
- Iron-fortified formula and iron supplements for nursing mothers tend to worsen colic — use blackstrap molasses instead for iron.
⚕️ 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 is harmless and self-limited; care reassures parents and rules out other causes.
Commonly offered
- Soothing (holding, motion, white noise, swaddling)–
- Checking feeding technique; trial changes for milk sensitivity–
- Support for exhausted caregivers–
- Reassurance — it resolves by 3–4 months–
Worth knowing
- Fever, vomiting, poor feeding, or blood in stool is NOT colic — see a doctor.
- Never shake a baby — put the baby down safely and take a break.
- Most colic resolves with time.
👍/👎 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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