Abstract:

Background and Aim: Infantile colic is a self-limiting condition that is frequently seen in babies ranging from 3 weeks to 4 months of age. Its treatment can not be clearly understood as its etiopathogenesis is still controversial. In this study, the risk factors for infantile colic and the effectiveness of current treatment options were evaluated.Materials and methods: Infants with 6 to 9 months of age, who admitted to the peadiatric outpatient services, were recruited to the study. Infants who met Wessel criteria were determined as infantile colic. Babies’ gender, birth weight, type of delivery, feeding style, accompaning structural diseases, daily caretaker, smoking exposure, food allergies, physician contact rate, mothers’age, the proposed treatment and treatment responses were evaluated.Results: 170 infants were evaluated during the study period. 75% of the infants had a history of infantile colic. Infants were grouped according to the presence of infantile colic. Birth weight, gender, type of delivery, accompanying diseases, maternal care in first 3 months, food supplementation in first 3 months, food allergy, smoking exposure, mothers’age were not significantly different between both groups. The most common treatments recommended by physicians were zinc natural, simetikon drops, nurse-harveys vegetable oil, fennel tea, apple oil extract in order of frequency. The preferred treatments without resorting to the physicians by parents were fennel tea, zinc natural, simetikon drops, apple oil extract, nurse harvey vegetable oil in order of frequency. There was no significant difference in recovery time between treated and untreated infantile colic patients.Conclusion: Current treatments of infantile do not have a positive effect on reducing symptoms and duration of the condition. Parents’ education by physicians is more important than pharmacological treatment, because of possible side-effects. The main point of the treatment would be to make sleepless and restless parents feel more comfortable about this temporary situation

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