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Infantile Colic
Published in Charles Theisler, Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Gripe Water: A product called “Gripe Water,” which may include any of a variety of herbs and herbal oils, such as cardamom, chamomile, cinnamon, clove, dill, fennel, ginger, lemon balm, licorice, peppermint, and yarrow, is available online and in health food stores. This product is touted to provide relief from flatulence and indigestion.6
Colic and reflux in the breastfed baby
Published in Amy Brown, Wendy Jones, A Guide to Supporting Breastfeeding for the Medical Profession, 2019
Gripe water has different ingredients depending on the brand, but the UK’s most sold brand contains dill oil which claims to ‘warm and relax the tummy, breaking down trapped air bubbles’ and sodium hydrogen carbonate which they claim ‘neutralises acid in the baby’s tummy’. These are non-evidenced claims: 5 mL of drinkable liquid does not contain enough to change the temperature or pH of the stomach substantially. Additionally, sodium bicarbonate works on the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, forming a combination of sodium chloride, carbon dioxide and water – so gripe water will actually cause the formation of gas in the stomach.
Crying and colic
Published in Quentin Spender, Judith Barnsley, Alison Davies, Jenny Murphy, Primary Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2019
Quentin Spender, Judith Barnsley, Alison Davies, Jenny Murphy
Many parents attempt to use medicines to soothe crying babies. The most commonly used is gripe water, although there is no good research-based evidence to show that it works. In the past, dicyclomine (Merbentyl – an antispasmodic) was the most effective medication for colic. It is no longer recommended for babies under six months because of concern about rare respiratory and neurological side effects. Infacol contains dimeticone, which is an antifoaming agent claimed to relieve flatulence, although its value is uncertain. If a crying baby is thought to be suffering from reflux, there may be some value in trying to thicken feeds or use antacid preparations. In general, there is no clear research-based evidence that any of the currently available medicines are effective in crying babies.
Factors associated with prelacteal feeding practices in a rural northern Nigerian setting
Published in South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018
AO Jimoh, SE Adaji, HA Adelaiye, AA Olorukooba, C Garba, AL Mfuh, U Bawa, S Idris, OS Shittu
A small proportion of women in the study used gripe water as a prelacteal feed. Gripe water, a liquid prepared from sodium bicarbonate and herbs like ginger, fennel, licorice, cinnamon and clove, has been used by many women in the belief that it treats abdominal colic in children; although there has been no strong scientific evidence to validate these claims.20 Hence, use of gripe water may just be driven by strong marketing strategies rather than evidence of effectiveness.