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Understanding Colic

Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms?

Colic is not a disease but a pattern of persistent, prolonged crying. Doctors consider it colic if an otherwise healthy infant up to four months old exhibits the following behaviors:

• Loud crying lasting three hours or more for three or more days a week, over a period of more than three weeks.
• Prolonged crying between 6 p.m. and midnight in a baby that has been fed.
• While crying, the baby draws his legs to his abdomen and clenches his hands and curls his toes; his face alternately flushes and pales with the effort of crying.
• Episodes of crying that sometimes begin or end with a bowel movement or the passing of gas.

Call Your Doctor If:

• Your baby has not had colic before and you suspect he is colicky; your doctor may want to rule out other causes.
• Bouts of colic are accompanied by fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or constipation -- all signs of illness not associated with simple colic.
• Your baby's crying sounds painful, not fussy -- indicating injury or illness is causing the distress.
• Your baby is older than four months and still acting colicky.
• Your colicky child fails to gain weight and is not hungry, which suggests illness.
• You're exhausted, or you are angry -- and fear stress might lead you to hurt your baby.

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