Great treatment for mild cases (Infacol)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	Infacol
Date:	29/05/07 (523 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: soothes colic pain

Disadvantages: doesn't always work

Im a mum of two and am now well accustomed to the various problems small babies can throw at you. Dirty nappies, sleepless nights and endless bottles are the first joys of parenthood everyone thinks about, but any parent who's experienced a baby with colic will say all the other issues are a walk in the park. After I had my little boy I quickly realised there was something up, he was always screaming no matter what we did, food didnt help neither did cuddles, rocking, attempts to wind him.... we tried everything. Eventually, exhausted and desperate, we raided the local chemist for all kinds of colic treatment. Infacol was the first we tried.

WHAT IS COLIC-
Colic is uncontrollable, extended crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy and well-fed. Every baby cries, but babies who cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, may have colic.

About 20% of babies get colic, and it equally affects boys and girls, first-born children and those born later. In general, it appears at around two to four weeks of age and can last for three months, or longer in some cases.

The cause of colic isn't known. In the past it was thought to be related to the digestive system. However, although painful abdominal gas may contribute to colic, there is little evidence to prove it's due to gastrointestinal problems. Another possible cause of colic is a combination of the baby's temperament and an immature nervous system. The baby's temperament may make him or her highly sensitive to the environment, and he or she may react to normal stimulation or changes to the environment by crying. Because the baby's nervous system is immature, he or she is unable to regulate crying once it starts.

The main symptom is continuous crying for long periods of time. Although this crying can occur at any time, it usually worsens in the evening. Although colic is not thought to be due to pain, a baby with colic may look uncomfortable or appear to be in pain. Babies may lift their head, draw their legs up to their tummy, become red in the face and pass wind. Some babies refuse to eat. Difficulty falling and staying asleep is also common.
Normally, colic is not a serious condition. Research shows that babies with colic continue to eat and gain weight normally, despite the crying.

While colic does tend to go as your baby ages it is a very stressfull condition to cope with and treatments such as Infacol help to relief the stress of both parents and babies.



INFACOL-

Infacol colic drops come firstly in a white card box it features the name infacol in red as well as a picture of a contented sleeping baby(what everyone with a colic sufferer hopes to achieve!) The box features various information on use and effects. The 50 ml bottle, also white, features the same writing and information, it has a grey screw top which is a plastic dropper.

Infacol aims to relieve trapped wind, infant colic and griping pain. It is suitable from birth onwards and has an orange like taste.



To use-
Shake the bottle before use, draw up one dropper full of liquid by squeezing the plastic bulb at the top of the dropper(usually about 2 squeezes) and then when you are ready to release the liquid squeeze the dropper again.

One dropper full is approximately 0.5mls of liquid, you are meant to give the drops before each feed. In very bad cases in may be neccesary to give 2 droppers(1ml) the bottle should last for approximately 100 doses.

It is not advisable to add the drops to your babies feed, while it may be tempting as you know he/she will take the drops that way, the orange flavour is likely to make the milk unpleasant for them. The effect of the drops will also be reduced this way.



Ingredients-
Simethicone, sacchirin sodium, hydroxypropyl metylcellulose, orange flavour, methyl parabin, propyl parabin and purified water.

admittedly those ingredients dont make alot of sense to me but its best to check your little one isnt allergic to the ingredients before giving the drops.



Other instructions-
Do not store above 25 degrees C
Keep out of reach of children
There is a use by period of roughly 2 years on each bottle.
Read enclosed leaflet before use, the leaflet features information on how to use the product, whats in it,storage instructions and what to do about missed doses or over doses

Overdoses- Infacol state "it is highly unlikely to do any harm. However, if the person who has taken it looks or feels unwell, medical advice should be sought"



MY EXPERIENCE-
Infacol was the first treatment we tried on my little boy, he had serious colic and we'd not managed to get more than 2 hours consecutive sleep from him in 3 months, as you can imagine we were at our wits end. We would give him a drop of the treatment before every bottle, its a little tricky to administer as you have to squeeze the liquid down the throat, he regularly spit it back out! we immediatly noticed some difference and it was easier to settle him, this only lasted about 4-6 weeks though, it was as if his system had got used to the treatment, either that or his colic had got worse and Infacol wasnt powerful enough anymore. Deciding not to waste any more money on a product that wasnt working we switched treatment.

I definately think Infacol works but perhaps not in the really bad cases. I recommend it for mild cases of trapped wind or colic, but only if you're patient enough to mop up the spillages when your little ones decides he/she doesnt wat to swallow it!


Infacol is widely available from supermarkets, pharmacies and online. Prices for a 50ml bottle are in the range of £3.39

For more information on Infacol visit their website at-
http://www.infacol.co.uk

For more information on colic visit-
http://www.kidshealth.org

or type colic into your search engine. Information on colic will also be available from your gp or health centre.

Summary: A good treatment providing your babys colic is not too severe.