Parents often do not know how to help their baby with sudden colic attacks that occur periodically during or after feeding. The EMC pediatrician, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Maria Shilko, tells how to alleviate the condition of crumbs.
What is colic in infants?
Colic is intestinal cramps caused, as a rule, by a violation of its motor function and increased gas formation. To characterize this condition in toddlers, pediatricians use the "rule of three": colic lasts a total of about 3 hours a day, occurs at the 3rd week of life and lasts about 3 months. Parents should understand that colic in infants is not a disease, it is a temporary condition that passes by the age of four months.
The exact cause of infantile colic has not yet been established. Experts associate the phenomena of digestive discomfort in newborns with immaturity and reduced activity of enzymes that help digest and digest food.
How do I know if a child has colic?
The baby cries and screams violently, moves his legs restlessly, pulls them up to his stomach, during an attack the baby's face turns red, the stomach may be swollen due to increased gas formation. Crying occurs most often in the evening, but it can occur at any time of the day. The child is calm between attacks.
How can I help my baby?
If mom is breastfeeding:
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Limit milk and dairy products in your diet. It is enough not to use them for 8-10 days so that the mother notices an improvement in the child's condition.
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Try to avoid foods that cause flatulence and increase fermentation in the intestines: beans, peas, cabbage, radishes, grapes.
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Do not overuse caffeinated drinks (tea, coffee, Coca-Cola).
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Make sure that you are properly applying the baby to the breast. Make sure that the baby captures the entire areola of the nipple and does not swallow air.
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Let the baby empty one breast completely. If the mother changes her breast too often during feeding, the baby gets a lot of "front" milk with low fat content and rich in milk sugar – lactose. Relatively low-fat milk quickly leaves the baby's stomach and a large amount of lactose, entering the intestines, causes increased gas formation, bloating and abdominal pain.
If the child is on artificial feeding:
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Consult a pediatrician. He can choose a mixture that is easier to digest and does not cause discomfort after feeding.
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Use special bottles and anti-colic nipples that allow you to regulate the flow rate of the milk mixture, the baby will not "choke" and swallow air.
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Try to feed the baby in a calm environment.
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When diluting milk mixtures, carefully observe the dosage.
After feeding, be sure to hold the baby in an upright position so that the "excess air" comes out.
If the baby starts to scream, take him in your arms, hold his tummy to you, stroke his back. From the changed position and the increasing intra-abdominal pressure, the baby's gases will go away, and the pain will go away.
A clockwise abdominal massage with light pressure, warmth (a freshly ironed diaper on the stomach), and a gas outlet tube will help relieve colic.
A walk in a wheelchair in the fresh air and quiet pleasant music will have a calming effect.
Prevention of colic in a newborn
For the prevention of colic, special children's teas are traditionally used, containing medicinal herbs (fennel, chamomile), plant-based drug Plantex, which have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, improve digestion, and prevent the accumulation of gases.
It is important for parents to remember that functional intestinal colic is not a disease and occurs in 20% of healthy children. However, it is possible to talk about intestinal colic only if the baby is otherwise healthy, develops correctly and gains weight well.
Consult with a pediatrician. The doctor will examine the child, determine the exact cause of the baby's anxiety and give the necessary recommendations.
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Questions and answers
Dermoid cyst and pregnancy
An ultrasound revealed a mass in my left ovary during the first pregnancy. I was told that it is a dermoid cyst. Five years have passed since then. I gave birth to a second child. An ultrasound was performed annually. There were differences in size, but not significant. Since I’m going to have the 3rd child, another
ultrasound was done today. The doctor said that the cyst had increased. I am concerned about it. Don't know where to start. What tests are needed? Thank you.
...more Surgical treatment is strictly indicated in your case given the long history of the mass in the ovary and its rapid growth in recent times. In our clinic, we perform such an intervention laparoscopically through 3 small punctures. Patients go home next morning after the surgery and may return to work after 3 days.
This surgery must be as delicate to preserve healthy ovarian tissue (considering your reproductive plans) as radical at the same time to remove the mass together with the capsule. At the preoperative stage an expert level ultrasound with Doppler is required, as well as blood tests for Ca-125 and НЕ-4 tumor markers. The decision concerning the necessity of FEGDS and colonoscopy is taken based on the results of these tests.
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Total knee replacement
My mom suffers from gonarthrosis for the past three years. Despite treatment by injections the pain is still present. MRI revealed a meniscal tear in the posterior horn, the presence of small bony osteophytes on the patella, a small amount of fluid in the joint cavity (signs of exudative synovitis were detected)
joint space is asymmetrically narrowed in the medial segment. The pain is ongoing but the knee remains flexible. Tell me, please, whether the surgery is contraindicated for meniscal tear in case of arthrosis? Is it possible to do an arthroscopic surgery on the meniscus in our case or it should be «major» surgery? And what would you advice concerning knee replacement for the patient in the age of 57? What is the life time of the artificial joint?
...more It is necessary to make an X-ray of the knee in direct projection in standing position. If it turns out that there is no medial cartilage in the medial area, then the knee replacement is the only solution. The age of 57 is normal for the prosthetics. Modern artificial knee joint (when properly placed of course) will
serve for a lifetime. You can make an appointment via phone +7 (495) 933-66-44.
...more 
Kardanov Andrey
07 September 2016
Pain
I am 19 years old, professionally engaged in weightlifting. I did an arthroscopy of both knee joint a year ago, now feel pain in them and it prevents me from training at full capacity. I visited a traumatologist, and «osteoarthritis of 1 degree» was diagnosed. Could you advise me some medicines or anything else to
relief the pain? Thank you very much for the answer!
...more
First of all you should undergo an MRI and find out what was done at arthroscopy; if it’s really an arthrosis of 1 degree, hyaluronic acid injections are possible and physiotherapy is not required. Anyway, you are always welcome to consultation for thorough examination.
Question to Dr. Yakobashvili
Tell me, please, at which age child's hearing should be checked-up if we were informed at the hospital before discharge that one ear does not hear. At the moment the child’s age is 1.5 months. Thank you.
These tests done in the hospital are often false negative. Hearing can be tested now, it is necessary to make an appointment to the audiologist.
Cought
A child of 11 years old, suffers from cough for more than six months. The cough is dry, sometimes attack-like, mainly begins during the day, and often occurs before sleep. There is no cough at night. CBC is normal, glucose is 4.16, total IgE 111.80, Toxocara, Ascaride are negative, Cytomegalovirus, Mycoplasma are
negative, PPD test is negative as well. A chest x-ray is normal. We have already consulted with a therapist, otolaryngologist, pulmonologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist... the cough is still present. What should we do?
...more First of all, there are no results of whooping cough testing among the results provided above. The disease cannot be ruled out, even if your child was vaccinated. The blood test for antibodies against the whooping cough germ is required (blood test for class M and G antibodies against Bordetella pertussis). Second,
even a slight increase in class E antibodies is a reason to visit an allergist and to perform an evaluation of respiratory function with bronchodilator. This method will detect a latent bronchial spasm in your child. Even if the results of the test will be normal, allergologist mast rule out the allergic nature of the cough even if it's not obstructive syndrome. Third, this cough can be due to gastroesophageal reflux. It is difficult to draw any conclusions having no data of gastroenterologist’s consultation. 24-hour acidity monitoring of the stomach and esophagus is carried out to confirm or exclude the presence of reflux. Fourth, you didn’t mention whether x-ray of nasopharynx and paranasal sinuses was done. Perhaps, after all, the pathology is associated with ENT organs.
...more 
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