Contents:
Definition | Causes | Symptoms | Treatment
Herbs | Suggestions | Bibliography
Definition
Spasm in any hollow or tubular soft organ accompanied by pain. Usually refers to the colon, but can be biliary (associated with gallstones), infantile, intestinal (may occur throughout the abdomen), lead poisoning, menstrual, renal (pain in the kidney region), uterine (menstrual cramps). Here we will deal with the infantile only. Babies between birth and one year of age may be prone to colic.
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Causes
In infants; eating too rapidly, excessive air swallowing, indigestion, improper food, constipation.
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Symptoms
Sudden loud crying spells, pulling knees up on the stomach, red face, distended stomach, clenched fists.
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Treatment
Warm catnip tea given in a bottle, and also a catnip tea enema may be beneficial. Sometimes the colic may be avoided if the crying spells come at regular intervals or it can be predicted (after eating, etc.). A very warm bath given an hour before the colic pains start, may prevent an episode. Training the baby to eat more slowly or not allowing the baby to become too hungry, may help in the long run.
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Herbs
- Angelica
- Anise seed
- Arsesmart
- Asafetida
- Ash, prickly
- Balm
- Balm, leon
- Barberry
- Beautyberry
- Bee-balm
- Bergamot, wild
- Blazing-star, rough
- Blue cohosh
- Buck bean
- Buckthorn bark
- Bunchberry
- Celery seeds
- Capsicum
- Carrot, wild
- Castor bean
- Catnip
- Chamomile, wild
- Colic-root (stargrass)
- Colombo root
- Dill
- Dragon root
- Fennel seeds
- Feverfew
- Flag, sweet
- Fringe tree
- Ginseng
- Gumweed
- Horseredish
- Indigo, cream wild
- Jambul
- Mint, wild
- Mugwort
- Mullein
- Nutmeg
- Onion
- Pennyroyal
- Peppermint
- Pine, longleaf
- Pineapple-weed
- Pleurisy root
- St. Andrew’s cross
- Shepherd’s purse
- Spicebush
- Squaw weed
- Star grass
- Stoneroot
- Thyme
- Valerian, fragrant
- Walnut, black
- Wintergreen
- Yam, wild
Suggestions
One source recommends a mixture for the colic, (not given if for adults or for children and infants).
Camomile, balm, fragrant valerian, and buck bean mixed in equal parts. Steep
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Bibliography
LiveStrong.com: Anise for Colic
Back to Eden
, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994
The Complete Medicinal Herbal
, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993
Earl Mindell’s Herb Bible
, by Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
The Old Herb Doctor
, by Joseph E. Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1984, sixth printing 1994.
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000
Indian Herbalogy of North America
, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973
Planetary Herbology
, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992
The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine
, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.
The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book)
, edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974
The Herb Book
, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: When Baby Arrives
PubMed.gov: Neurotoxicities in infants seen with the consumption of star anise tea.
Polygon – Herbalist’s Primer weaves science and fantasy into something more