Natural Remedies for

Crying Teething and Colic

Natural Medicines and Homeopathic Remedies for Crying, Teething and Colicky Babies and Young Children

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Your Own Remedies

Teething Tips

Colic Tips

Homeopathic Remedies: Guidelines

Homeopathic Remedies for crying teething and colic

Natural Remedies for Digestive Problems and Colic

More Information and Support

Finding your own remedies

It can be a shock to discover how difficult it is to cope with a baby that cries a lot. In fact, it is hard to cope with a baby that cries at all - especially if it is your first baby.

Very small babies can only communicate by crying when they are uncomfortable, and in the early days it is not possible to tell what they need by the cry. You can make sensible guesses - for example, if it is soon after a feed, did you wind your baby? If it is more than one or two hours since a feed, try feeding again. Likewise, always check the nappy. After that, you may just be trying various things to see what works. If you are worried, please do consult a doctor.

I recommend all new parents to compile the longest list they can, of ideas to try if baby cries.

Collect ideas from your friends, your parents, midwives, health visitors, go on websites and read books.

Compile your list on a piece of paper you can stick to the door of the fridge. Then, it is there when you need it.
It might begin like this:

Feeding
Changing
Check temperature
Distraction
Carrying
Going out with pram or car
Hand baby to someone else
Let baby go to sleep (some babies tend to cry themselves to sleep)
Play
Music…..

Any group of parents or parents-to be can easily top 20 suggestions, which can be a godsend when you are tired and frustrated.

For more support visit www.cry-sis.org.uk.

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Teething Tips

Teething or dentition refers to the period when babies grow their first ‘milk’ teeth.
This is very variable, but usually starts between 5-12 months and is complete by 3 years.
Symptoms may begin from a couple of months old.

There are 20 teeth; the first to arrive are usually the front incisor teeth. Lower teeth often come first, with the corresponding upper tooth soon following.

Some babies sail through teething with no apparent discomfort – yes, really!

Some babies experience common symptoms such as:

Irritiability, fussiness and sometimes crying or screaming
Red cheeks
Drooling. Drooling may start months before the tooth comes through, and may irritiate the skin around the mouth or chin. Try chamomile or marigold ointment. Buy lots of bibs!
Loss of appetite
Mild fever
Red or sore gums, sometimes with a bluish spot
Desire to chew or bite on something

Some babies appear to be very affected by every new tooth. Homeopathy can provide significant relief for this; I would also consider cranial osteopathy. Baby may experience:

Diarrhoea or tummy upset
Nappy rash
Colds coughs or catarrh
Earache

Other possibilities

Although babies that are cutting teeth sometimes pull at their ears, a combination of ear pulling, cold symptoms, fever and increased fussing at night, could indicate an ear infection.
Prolonged screaming, unusual behaviour, high fever or difficulty feeding, are serious and you should consult a doctor.

Teething Rings and Biting
Some babies like to chew or bite to relieve their gums. On no account allow them to use you for this! If they bite, say a firm NO and offer something more suitable. If breastfeeding, try inserting a finger to remove your nipple as you say NO, and start again.

teething natural medicines

I believe putting teething rings in the freezer is too extreme, and may irritate or damage babies’ delicate mouth and hands. But baby may appreciate cool things such as cold finger food, or a cloth moistened with chamomile tea and kept in the fridge. Never leave your baby alone with food.

Sometimes plastic toys are too hard, and some contain dubious chemicals such as phthalates or bisphenol A; try more resilient natural materials such as a rubber teething ring, a wooden spoon, or a thick cloth.

Treating the Gums
You can buy anaesthetic gels for baby’s gums, they provide short term relief and must not be used too frequently. Baby may not like the numbness, and it may also make breastfeeding difficult. If you prefer something more natural, try cooled chamomile tea or slippery elm paste (see natural remedies).

Painkillers
Please consult a doctor or pharmacist before giving your baby medical pain relief such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen. They also taste disgusting – have you tried them?

Cleaning baby teeth
Always clean, right from the first tooth.

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Tips for Colic

In Europe up to one in five babies experience colic. Despite 40 years of research, no-one yet knows the cause, or causes of colic in babies. There are several theories, and there may be several causes:

An immature digestive tract

An immature nervous system

Feeding problems

Allergies or sensitivities

Common symptoms of colic

Crying or screaming for several hours

Difficult to comfort

Red in face

Draws legs towards tummy

Arches back, clenches fists

Passing wind or explosive poo

Often starts towards evening

Parents may feel

Baby does not like me

I am doing it wrong

I am at my wit’s end

I am tired

Focus on Feeding
Recent research indicates the things you can do that may help:
A. Full feeding

Breast milk consists of the first, foremilk, which is low fat and watery, and the second, hindmilk, which is richer. If baby swaps breast too soon, she will get mainly foremilk. She will be full up, but she will be hungry because it is mostly water: “ Two soup courses and no main course” as one researcher puts it. Extra lactose in the high volume of milk means baby gets more fermentation and wind in the gut, causing pain.

Encourage baby to feed all she wants on the first breast, until she comes off herself and seems satisfied. Wind her, and offer the second breast only if she still wants it.

B. Get baby to latch on well

good latch on helps colic

1. Check positioning and teat size in bottle-fed babies
2. A good ‘latch’ or feeding position is critical for breastfed babies. This means the baby has a big mouthful of breast, and not just nipple. The areola, the dark area around the nipple, will be invisible.
3. Make sure baby’s head and body face straight towards you, so her neck is not twisted.
4. Make sure she can relax: her chin should not be tucked in, nor too far back – you could not drink like that!
5. Hold baby comfortably for you and securely for her.
6. Try the NCT Breastfeeding Helpline or other helplines for more advice, see Links.

C. Check possible food intolerance
This may come through in breast milk, but is an infrequent cause of colic. Monitor your food intake and check against baby’s behaviour; don’t just eliminate everything. Check:

Caffeine – coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, energy drinks

Cow’s milk products – milk, cheese, yogourt; milk derivatives like whey are common ingredients.

Cabbage family veg – cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, kale

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Homeopathic Remedies: Guidelines

Remedies work best if not taken at the same time as food or drink. 15 minutes either way is enough. If this is not possible, don’t worry – give it anyway.

Babies who cannot suck the little pills can be given powders or liquids. Sometimes, breastfeeding babies are best treated via the mother’s milk: see a homeopath or contact me. Older children can chew or suck the tablets.

Powders: one or two remedies are available over the counter as powders, eg. Nelsons Teetha (chamomilla). Otherwise, place the pill in a clean paper fold and crush with the back of a spoon. Tip into the mouth – it does not matter if it does not all go in.

Liquids: Either ask you homeopath for a prescription in liquid form, or dissolve your tablets. Use a small glass well rinsed of any detergent. Place one pill/crushed pill in a little water (ideally bottled water). Eventually it will dissolve. It does not matter if it does not dissolve completely. Use one teaspoon as a dose, cover, and stir between doses. Make fresh every 48 hours.

Homeopathic remedies are quite safe in pregnancy and childbirth, and for babies, if used according to instructions. Most over-the-counter tablets are lactose based. If your baby is lactose-intolerant please contact me for advice.

Always monitor the effect carefully, write down what you use and what happens, or ask someone else to do this. If your remedy helps, but symptoms return later, repeat what you used. If your remedy does not help, look for a different one, or consult a qualified homeopath.

READ MORE AT How to Take Homeopathic Remedies

For a more personal prescription, use Natural Health Answers REPORT or contact me for an appointment.

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Homeopathic Remedies for

Crying, Teething or Colicky Babies

Chamomilla
chamomile

Chamomilla is a homeopathic potency made from the Chamomile plant. For HERBAL uses of Chamomile, please read Natural Remedies for Colic.

Chamomilla babies are some of the hardest to please.

A Chamomilla baby screams, shouts, is totally dissatisfied. They sound angry and frustrated, and make you feel angry or even violent, too. Whatever you do for them, you cannot pacify them. If they are old enough, they may throw things at you, or hit you.

They are impatient, they want everything right now. They are often worse during teething, and get diarrhoea or colds, or other ailments, every time they cut a tooth. They also get colic.

GIVE Chamomilla low potency such as 3X or 6C, every 10 minutes if the baby’s state is acute or extreme. If more general grumpiness, 3 x day for 2 days. Higher potencies only if advised by a homeopath. Available from any homeopathic pharmacy (Links), and many health shops and chemists. Some are sucrose and some are lactose. Ask for Chamomilla by name, or look for Nelson's Teetha granules. Chamomilla is worth trying for any teething problem even if your baby is not this bad, but there are other teething remedies.

Lycopodium
These babies are more irritable than screaming. They are grumpy when they wake up, and they may grizzle and cry all day.

They seem a bit serious. They have trouble with the digestion, colicky with a lot of wind especially in the evening. Sometimes they are snotty and snuffly.

GIVE one dose Lyc. 30C and wait one week. if there is improvement, you may repeat - only as often as the condition returns.

Pulsatilla
Many children need this remedy at some time, for it corresponds with a common state.

cuddling

A Pulsatilla baby/child is clingy, whining and wants attention all the time. They are gentle, not violent, but persistently clingy. They want to be carried, cuddled; they hate to be separated from you. They grizzle and weep, and you feel sorry for them, although you may also feel irritated. This picture can occur with any physical ailment.

Pulsatilla babies tend to feel better out in the fresh air.

Older children often naturally regress to a Pulsatilla state when they are poorly with earaches or fevers. My daughter (10 now) gets like this when she is overtired, and a dose of Pulsatilla sorts out her headache and sends her to sleep.

GIVE one dose of Puls. 6 or 30C as needed. Take advice if you need to repeat it frequently.

Calcarea Phosphorica
Calc Phos babies suffer from not absorbing their food properly. They may not grow well, their teething takes forever, and they are generally miserable and sluggish.

GIVE Calc Phos 6C one per day for up to 2 weeks as this is really a chronic state. Alternatively Calc Phos tissue salts (biochemics) according to instructions for up to 1 month. Consult a homeopath or doctor if things do not progress.

also read Homeopathy for Babies and Children.

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More homeopathic remedies.
There are many, many other homeopathic remedies to suit babies who do not fit one of these pictures.

For example:

• Babies who cry every time you put them down
• Very fearful babies, or babies with phobias about specific things
• Very colicky babies
• Babies with particular physical illnesses
• Babies who don’t want to play
• Babies who are very jumpy.

For more personal information, please use the Natural Health Answers REPORT, or arrange for a personal Homeopathic Consultation. Constitutional homeopathic treatment can give more permanent ease to babies who are very affected by teething.

Contact me.

BACK TO Pregnancy and Childbirth Intro page and full list

Natural Remedies for

Children's Digestive Problems and Colic

Chamomile (HERBAL)

Chamomile soothes the nervous and digestive systems, and is a well known colic remedy. It can also help with irritable digestion, and crampy pain of stomach or intestines. Incidentally, it also helps combat Candida!

Make chamomile tea from teabags or dried flowers, sweeten to taste, and give a few spoonsful. Use these remedies only as needed: do not continue to give them if the child is better!

There are several other homeopathic remedies that can help colic. I recommend the Natural Health Answers REPORT for a more detailed and personal prescription. For homeopathic Chamomile see above Homeopathic Remedies.

Fennel

Useful for colic, wind, and calming for the digestive system.
Fennel is 'carminative' which means it helps the wind to come up. Or down.

Traditionally used for ‘fussy babies’.

Sweet aniseedy taste.

Vogel and Weleda both produce tincture (drops), and fennel syrup is sometimes available.
Or you can make tea from fennel seeds or teabags. One teaspoon is enough for a small baby.

Slippery Elm
Another old fashioned remedy! A powdered bark that soothes the whole digestion and helps heal any damage. Slippery elm is nourishing and cleansing, helping to eliminate mucus and soothe inflammation. Slippery Elm's slippery quality (mucilage) is a natural anti-inflammatory.

Traditionally used for convalescence, I recommend it after bouts of diarrhoea, food poisoning, or antibiotics that have upset the digestion. Cream a quarter teaspoon of powder together with a little water, then top up with warm water or milk/vegan milk; sweeten to taste. Not a strong taste, but not everyone likes it.

A little slippery elm paste can be rubbed into baby's gums if teething is painful.

Buy pure slippery elm from a herbalist, or mailorder (see Links); the commercially available ‘Slippery Elm Food’ contains very little of the herb!

Glutamine
GLUTAMINE FOR CONVALESCENCE

This modern remedy is an amino acid, naturaly made in our bodies. Glutamine helps heal the digestive tract: recommended after a tummy upset. It is a lovely thing to use during convalescence while the appetite comes back. Vervain is also useful for convalescence, see Natural Remedies for Children's Illnesses 3 section on Nerves.

Glutamine helps us manage stress, boosts the immune response, and increases mental alertness by nourishing the brain, so may be helpful during difficult times at school.

Use a powder such as the one made by Viridian; it tastes slightly sweet, and can be added to any cold drink. Do not take with protein meals.

Meadowsweet and Kawakawa Compound
Produced by a friend of mine in New Zealand, a fine herbalist. This is a combination of the traditional digestive herbs Meadowsweet and Aniseed, and New Zealand natives Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) and Hoheria (NZ Lacebark). Hoheria is the NZ equivalent to Slippery Elm, and makes this formula is particularly soothing to the digestive tract. Kawakawa has traditionally been used as a 'digestive balancer', naturally aiding normal digestive processes.
This compound is a fast acting tonic for digestion, especially beneficial during periods of overindulgence. It is suitable for all ages. From Kiwiherb, or Xynergy in the UK, see Links.

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READ MORE AT

Natural Remedies for Children's Illnesses 3
includes fevers and nervous/sleepless children.

Homeopathy for Babies and Children

Children's Dosages of Natural Remedies

BACK TO Pregnancy and Childbirth Intro page and full list

More Information and Support.

This page lists some natural remedies - there are many others.

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