Infant colic

Infantile colic is a benign condition where there are paroxysms of uncontrollable crying for more than three hours of per day, in more than three days a week and for more than three weeks in an otherwise healthy infant less than 3 months of age (1).

• the condition usually peaks at around 6 weeks of age
• is associated with significant parental guilt and frustration and multiple physician visits
  • up to one in six families with symptomatic children consult a healthcare professionals

Infantile colic affects around 10%-40% of the infants throughout the world.

• equal incidence between males and females

It is associated with postpartum depression and shaken baby syndrome. A relationship with type of feeding (breast vs. bottle), gestational age (full term vs. preterm), socioeconomic status, or season of the year has not been reported (1,2).

Reference:

• (1) Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. Management of infantile colic. BMJ. 2013;347:f4102
• (2) Johnson JD, Cocker K, Chang E. Infantile Colic: Recognition and Treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2015;92(7):577-82