Friday Parenting Myth #4

Last week, we had a great response to our colic post so I thought this week's parenting myth should address this issue- Enjoy!- Daniel Weissbluth

Myth: You can buy a cure for "colic"

Historically, colic has been attributed to: allergies, lactose intolerance, intestinal cramping, and maternal anxiety. The actual cause is unknown but Wessel's commonly accepted definition of colic is "crying for more than 3 hours/day, for more than 3 days/week, and for more than 3 weeks." It is a very common complaint in the pediatric office because colic affects about 20% of infants. Because, the parents often times are frustrated with conventional approaches, they start to look for alternative therapies for colic. There are infant "gas" drops (aka simethicone or mylicon), gripe water, probiotic supplements, sucrose solutions for the baby, different formulas marketed specifically for colic, herbal teas for breastfeeding mothers, and chiropractic manipulation for babies. Unfortunately, none of these interventions has been proven to work. There simply is not enough evidence to support these marketing claims.

To prove these treatments are effective, investigators look at studies to see if the children being treated with one of these interventions do significantly better than the "control" group who have often received no treatment or a placebo. This type of study is called a RCT: Randomized (and double blind and placebo controlled) Clinical Trial and this study is considered the gold standard by many doctors when looking at treatments.

In practice, many pediatricians would not forbid parents from trying these alternative treatments because, for the most part, they are not harmful to the baby. However, for every parent that swears that one of these treatments "cured" their baby's colic, there is another parent who thought the treatment was a waste of time and money.

References:

Garrison M, Christakis D. A systematic review of treatment for infant colic. Pediatrics. 2000;106 (1pt 2): 184-190

Perry R, Hunt K, Ernst E. Nutritional supplements and other complementary medicines for infantile colic: A systematic review. Pediatrics. 2011; 127: 720-733

Filed under: Common Myths