Quick Remedy Finder
With infant colic, the most useful homeopathic clue is often something a baby can show without words: curling, straightening, demanding movement, a precise time of day, a sour feeding pattern, or the way trapped wind behaves.
- Colocynthis – Violent cramping with the knees pulled tightly to the tummy; bending double and firm abdominal pressure bring the clearest relief. [2]
- Magnesium phosphoricum – Spasmodic colic that must have warmth, with firm pressure and curling up also helping; cold or draughts aggravate. [3]
- Dioscorea villosa – The posture-opposite: the baby wants to straighten, arch backwards or be carried upright; lying or folding forward is worse, while belching/passing wind can relieve. [4]
- Chamomilla – Pain turns the baby furious and almost impossible to please; constant carrying, rocking or walking may be the only reliable comfort. [1]
- Jalapa – Severe night colic with screaming, gurgling and often watery stool or noisy flatus, yet the child can be remarkably cheerful during the day. [5]
- Magnesium carbonicum – Sour, milk-linked colic: green sour/frothy stool, acidity and cramping, often worse in the night and better warmth/pressure. [6]
- Rheum palmatum – Sourness everywhere: sour saliva, sour sweat and sour excoriating stool with griping around the navel. [7]
- Aethusa cynapium – Milk intolerance is dominant: milk comes back in large curds, with distension, colic and green watery/frothy stool. [8]
Secondary gas-dominant differentials: Lycopodium for evening flatulence, Carbo vegetabilis for enormous wind with a desire for moving air/fanning, and China for distension where belching gives relief. These are useful when the gas pattern is more distinctive than the crying itself.
The Colic Geometry Map: watch the baby’s shape
A baby with colic cannot describe whether the pain is cutting, gripping, spasmodic or distending. But the body often does the describing.
- Curls hard, knees to tummy, wants pressure: think first of Colocynthis.
- Curls and wants heat just as strongly: Magnesium phosphoricum.
- Uncurls, straightens, arches or becomes calmer upright: Dioscorea.
- Any position fails unless you keep carrying or rocking: Chamomilla.
This is one of the clearest differentiating findings in the IQ Homeopathy Materia Medica: Dioscorea explicitly contrasts the infant who is soothed upright with Colocynthis, whose knees-to-chest posture relieves, and Chamomilla, whose cross, distressed child wants constant carrying. [4] [2] [1]
Before counting symptoms, therefore, notice the geometry of the episode. It can separate three apparently similar “cramp remedies” in seconds.
What infant colic means medically
Rome IV describes infant colic as recurrent, prolonged crying, fussing or irritability without an obvious cause in an infant younger than 5 months, where caregivers cannot reliably prevent or resolve the episodes and there is no evidence of failure to thrive, fever or illness. [12]
NHS guidance describes a familiar practical picture: a healthy baby who cries for long periods, may be particularly difficult to settle in the afternoon or evening, clenches fists, reddens in the face, pulls the knees towards the tummy or arches the back, and may have a rumbling or windy abdomen. Colic commonly starts in the first weeks and usually improves by around 3 to 4 months. [13]
That definition matters for this article because “colic” is a pattern of otherwise unexplained crying, not proof that every episode is caused by trapped gas. Gas can accompany colic, feeding can influence it, and the bowel can provide useful homeopathic clues, but the diagnosis itself does not tell us a single cause.
Interactive Infant Colic Remedy Finder
The finder starts with what parents can actually observe: the baby’s posture, whether movement is essential, the time pattern, feeding/stool clues and the behaviour of wind.
Every route ends with a remedy or a small differentiated remedy group.
Core Homeopathic Remedy Pictures for Infant Colic
Colocynthis – the baby folds around the pain
Colocynthis is one of the cleanest infant-colic pictures because the baby’s posture does most of the prescribing. The pain appears to force the abdomen into flexion: knees pull up, the body curls and steady pressure seems to quiet the spasm.
The pressure needs to be meaningful. A baby who merely likes being held is not automatically Colocynthis. Look for the combination of cramp + flexion + pressure relief.
Differentiate: Magnesium phosphoricum also likes pressure and bending, but warmth is more imperative. Dioscorea is almost the mirror image: flexion aggravates and the baby wants to straighten or arch. Chamomilla may pull up the knees, but the striking feature is angry oversensitivity and the need to be carried.
Explore the full Colocynthis Materia Medica →
Magnesium phosphoricum – cramp that melts with heat
Magnesium phosphoricum is a highly practical differential because its modalities are unusually coherent. The abdomen cramps, but what stands out is how strongly warmth changes the episode. Warm hands, a comfortably warm bath or other safe gentle warmth may settle the child more than movement does.
The Materia Medica describes a broader nerve-and-spasm pattern: sudden cramping pains aggravated by cold and pacified by heat, firm pressure and flexion.
Differentiate: Colocynthis is more defined by hard pressure and doubled-over posture. If warmth is the decisive switch, Magnesium phosphoricum moves ahead. Dioscorea goes the opposite direction and dislikes bending forward.
Explore the full Magnesium phosphoricum Materia Medica →
Dioscorea villosa – the baby who wants to straighten out
Dioscorea is one of the best less-obvious findings from the whole Materia Medica search because its posture is so useful in a non-verbal baby. Instead of pulling into a ball, the infant protests when laid down or folded and quietens when held upright, allowed to straighten or gently extend.
Wind is often part of the picture. The abdomen can be distended and the pain may seem to move; belching or passing flatus gives relief.
Differentiate: Colocynthis curls. Magnesium phosphoricum curls and wants heat. Dioscorea straightens. Chamomilla wants carrying too, but because continuous movement soothes an angry, oversensitive state rather than because extension itself is the keynote.
Explore the full Dioscorea villosa Materia Medica →
Chamomilla – when colic makes the baby furious
Chamomilla is not selected simply because a baby cries loudly. The character is stronger: the child behaves as though the pain is unbearable and every attempt at comfort is wrong. They may settle only while the parent is actually walking, rocking or carrying them, then restart the moment movement stops.
The emotional display is therefore more useful than “gas”. This is the baby whose whole nervous system looks offended by the pain.
Differentiate: Colocynthis quietens mainly from pressure and curling. Dioscorea quietens upright and extended. Jalapa can scream terribly at night but is recognisable by the striking day/night contrast and noisy bowel pattern.
Explore the full Chamomilla Materia Medica →
Jalapa – awful nights, cheerful days
Jalapa is another remedy that only emerges if the whole Materia Medica is searched rather than recycling the same famous colic remedies. Its key is the clock. From evening into the night, the bowel becomes noisy and the child can scream inconsolably; by daylight, the same baby may be pleasant and comparatively normal.
Gurgling, gas-rush, watery stool and relief after passing flatus or stool strengthen the pattern. Warmth and pressure also help.
Differentiate: Chamomilla is angry and carried-better at any relevant time, even though nights may be bad. Magnesium carbonicum has a stronger sour/milk connection. Jalapa is the “night storm, day sunshine” remedy.
Explore the full Jalapa Materia Medica →
Magnesium carbonicum – sour colic after milk
Magnesium carbonicum moves the case away from “generic gas” and towards a recognisable feeding–stool pattern. Milk disagrees, sour eructations or curdled material may appear, and the stool becomes green, sour and frothy. The child is typically chilly and wants heat and pressure.
Differentiate: Rheum has sourness in almost everything rather than a milk-centred pattern. Aethusa is more dramatic for vomiting milk in curds. Magnesium phosphoricum may share heat/pressure relief but has no need for the sour milk signature.
Feeding and Stool Differentials
Rheum palmatum – the “sour everything” baby
Rheum becomes distinctive when the whole baby seems sour: saliva, scalp sweat and stool can all carry the same sour odour, with umbilical griping and irritating stool. Warmth and pressure soothe, but relief after stool may be short-lived. [7]
Closest comparison: Magnesium carbonicum is more specifically milk-triggered; Rheum is more globally sour.
Explore the full Rheum palmatum Materia Medica →
Aethusa cynapium – milk intolerance with curd vomiting
Aethusa is not a routine colic remedy. It belongs here because its infant digestive picture is very specific: milk is taken but cannot be managed, is vomited in substantial curds, and may be followed by green watery/frothy stool, abdominal distension and marked sleepiness or exhaustion after the digestive episode. [8]
Closest comparison: Magnesium carbonicum has sour, milk-aggravated colic too, but vomiting does not dominate the picture in the same way.
When gas and distension dominate more than cramping
Not every windy baby has colic, and not every colicky baby is crying because of gas. But when visible distension is the strongest repeating feature, these narrower Materia Medica patterns become useful.
Lycopodium clavatum – the 4–8pm gas pattern
Lycopodium is a secondary differential for abdominal flatulence that predictably worsens in the late afternoon or early evening, classically around 4–8pm. Tight clothing aggravates and passing flatus may give relief. [9]
Compare: Dioscorea has a much clearer upright/backward-stretching law; Jalapa continues into the night with the cheerful-by-day contrast.
Explore the full Lycopodium clavatum Materia Medica →
Carbo vegetabilis – enormous wind and a need for moving air
Carbo vegetabilis appears in the infantile-colic differential where there is a great deal of wind and distension, with the broader Carbo tendency to want fresh moving air or fanning. [10]
This is a narrower remedy, not the first choice for an ordinary baby who simply passes wind. Its value is in the combination of extreme flatulence + air/fanning preference.
Explore the full Carbo vegetabilis Materia Medica →
China – distension relieved by belching
China is another secondary gas differential: the abdomen is distended, upward gas is relatively easy to release and belching helps. The Materia Medica particularly distinguishes it when bloating accompanies weakness after loss of fluids. [11]
Compare: Dioscorea adds its unmistakable posture law; Lycopodium adds 4–8pm timing; Carbo vegetabilis adds the need for moving air/fanning.
The Colic Clock: when does the difficult window begin?
NHS guidance notes that colic often clusters in the afternoon and evening, and ordinary infant crying also commonly peaks later in the day. [13] [15]
Homeopathically, timing becomes useful only when it is unusually repeatable:
- After sunset / through the night, then cheerful by day: Jalapa.
- About 2–3am with sour milk-linked stool: Magnesium carbonicum.
- Late afternoon / 4–8pm with flatulence: Lycopodium.
- Night worse because every spasm demands warmth: Magnesium phosphoricum.
- Night worse but the defining behaviour is rage and carrying: Chamomilla.
A simple three-day note of feed time → crying start → posture → stool/wind → what actually helped is often more valuable than writing “bad colic again”.
The Feeding Map: reduce swallowed air before changing the milk
NHS advice for a colicky baby includes holding the baby upright during feeding and winding after feeds. Bottle-feeding guidance also recommends burping during and after feeds, keeping the bottle angled so the teat stays full of milk rather than air, and avoiding routine formula changes unless advised by a health professional. [13] [14]
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ HealthyChildren guidance makes a similar practical point: a very hungry, frantic feeder may swallow more air; burping before, during and after a feed, keeping the baby upright afterwards and considering an anti-colic bottle may reduce excess swallowed air. [17]
For homeopathic observation, feeding behaviour also gives useful differentiation:
- Milk → green sour/frothy stool and cramp: Magnesium carbonicum.
- Milk → substantial curd vomiting: Aethusa.
- Any feeding → wind, then upright/arching brings obvious relief: consider Dioscorea.
- Feeding is not the main trigger; the child simply becomes furious with pain: Chamomilla may fit better.
A practical 15-minute colic reset
There is no single soothing method that works for every baby. NHS and AAP guidance support using simple, repeatable comfort measures rather than constantly introducing new products. [13] [16]
- Start upright: hold the baby against your chest and give them time to burp.
- Watch the posture: do they actively curl into pressure, or keep trying to straighten and arch?
- Use calm rhythmic movement: slow rocking, walking or swaying can help some babies.
- Lower stimulation: dim lights and try gentle, steady background sound or white noise.
- Try a warm bath: useful both as comfort and as an observation — a strongly heat-responsive cramp pattern is diagnostically useful for Magnesium phosphoricum.
- Reassess rather than escalating: if nothing has changed, note what definitely did not help. That negative information can be as useful as a positive modality.
NHS bottle-feeding guidance also includes a warm bath and gentle circular tummy massage as soothing options. [14] HealthyChildren suggests walking, rocking, white noise, a pacifier and — while the baby is awake and supervised — resting tummy-down across the caregiver’s knees with a gentle back rub. [16]
Massage can soothe, but “more treatment” is not automatically better
Gentle tummy massage is reasonable as a comfort measure, and a 2024 umbrella review of paediatric massage found evidence of reduced fussing among infants, although the included reviews covered different infant populations and outcomes rather than proving a specific cure for colic. [23]
Evidence becomes more uncertain when massage is grouped with manipulative therapies. A 2023 systematic review found some favourable signals for massage, chiropractic and other manual approaches, but concluded that the evidence was limited by low study quality and heterogeneity. [26]
That distinction matters because NHS colic guidance specifically advises against spinal manipulation or cranial osteopathy for a colicky baby, noting little evidence of benefit and potential for harm. [13]
In practice, a parent’s warm hand, gentle circular stroke or supervised tummy-down hold is a very different intervention from manipulating an infant’s spine or skull.
Probiotics for colic: the evidence has moved, but it is still specific
General NHS colic advice still says probiotic supplements are not recommended for colic because evidence is not sufficient for routine use. [13] However, the research on one specific strain — Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 — has become more substantial than the blanket phrase “probiotics for colic” suggests.
A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis included 11 randomised placebo-controlled colic trials with 555 infants. L. reuteri DSM 17938 increased the probability of a treatment response (defined as at least a 50% reduction in crying) and reduced daily crying time, although the authors still called for further well-designed trials. [18]
An earlier individual-participant-data meta-analysis of four double-blind trials involving 345 infants found less crying/fussing and a higher response rate with L. reuteri DSM 17938. The effect was much clearer in breastfed infants; there were insufficient data to draw the same conclusion for formula-fed infants. [19]
A broader 2024 meta-analysis of probiotic and synbiotic RCTs likewise evaluated several strains and combinations, underlining an important point: probiotic evidence is strain-specific, not a licence to treat every bottle labelled “baby probiotic” as equivalent. [20]
So the useful question is not “Do probiotics work?” but “Which strain, in which infant population, studied in which way?” For a very young baby, that is a sensible discussion to have with the child’s clinician rather than buying a random multi-strain product based on the word “colic”.
Should a breastfeeding parent cut out dairy or change their whole diet?
Routine elimination is not supported simply because a baby has colic. NHS guidance says breastfeeding parents do not need to change their diet just because the baby is colicky. [13]
The Cochrane review of dietary modifications included 15 randomised trials involving 1,121 infants. Some small studies suggested benefit from particular low-allergen or hydrolysed-formula approaches, but the evidence was judged very low quality and inconsistent; the review could not recommend any of the assessed dietary modifications as a general colic treatment. [21]
That does not mean food allergy never matters. It means broad “remove dairy, gluten, eggs, soy and everything else” advice is a poor starting point for an otherwise healthy colicky baby. If feeding symptoms suggest a separate allergy or intolerance question, investigate that question specifically rather than treating every colic case as a hidden food problem.
What about lactase drops?
A 2024 systematic review found five randomised controlled trials involving 391 infants. Individual studies were mixed: some reported less crying, but the pooled analysis of two trials found no clear difference in crying or fussing during one week of lactase treatment compared with placebo. [22]
That makes lactase another example of a plausible-sounding intervention that should not automatically be layered onto every colic routine. A specific feeding pattern matters more than the word “colic”.
Side-lying or tummy-down can be a soothing position — but not a sleep position
Some babies are calmer tummy-down across an adult’s knees or forearm while awake and closely supervised, and HealthyChildren includes this among possible soothing strategies. If the baby falls asleep, the guidance is to move them to their crib on their back. [16]
The Lullaby Trust’s 2026 safer-sleep guidance recommends a baby’s own clear, flat, separate sleep space with a firm, flat mattress; the cot should not be inclined, tilted or propped. [24]
This is particularly relevant in a colic article because the posture that relieves discomfort while awake is not automatically the posture that is appropriate for sleep.
“Gas” is useful information, but it is not the diagnosis
HealthyChildren notes that gas discomfort often peaks around 6–8 weeks and improves markedly by around 3 months, roughly overlapping the age when colic is most troublesome. [17] That overlap helps explain why wind is so often blamed.
But a baby can swallow air because they are crying, and then pass gas during an episode without gas necessarily being the original cause. For remedy selection, ask a more precise question:
- Does passing gas actually end or shorten the episode?
- Does the baby need to straighten before wind comes out? Dioscorea.
- Is the belly visibly huge and evening-linked? Lycopodium.
- Is the wind extreme with a desire for air/fanning? Carbo vegetabilis.
- Does belching clearly relieve distension? China.
That turns “windy baby” into usable information rather than a diagnosis by itself.
A short note on when the pattern is not behaving like ordinary colic
Rome IV defines colic in an infant who is otherwise growing and has no fever or illness. [12] NHS guidance similarly treats colic as a pattern in an otherwise healthy baby and recommends assessment when the crying is worrying, the baby is not gaining weight as expected or the pattern persists beyond the usual age range. [13]
NHS guidance on persistent crying also points out that crying during feeds may belong to reflux rather than colic, and that a baby who seems unwell should not have every symptom automatically attributed to colic. [15]
The useful principle is simple: ordinary colic is a recurring pattern in an otherwise well baby. If the picture stops behaving like that, reassess the label rather than adding more colic remedies.
Keep a three-day Colic Pattern Log
For a homeopathic case, a short structured log is more useful than counting every minute of crying:
- Feed: breast/bottle, start time, frantic or calm feeding, obvious gulping?
- Onset: how long after the feed did crying begin?
- Posture: curls / straightens / arches / constantly wants carrying?
- Best relief: hard pressure / warmth / upright / rocking / belching / stool / flatus?
- Clock: 4–8pm / after sunset / 2–3am / no fixed time?
- Stool: ordinary / watery / green / sour / frothy?
- Between attacks: cheerful and normal, tired, hungry, unsettled?
Mayo Clinic likewise recommends recording when crying occurs, how long it lasts and what happens before, during and after an episode. [25] For homeopathic differentiation, adding posture and the exact relieving factor makes that diary much more useful.
Quick FAQ
What is the best homeopathic remedy for infant colic?
There is no single best remedy for every baby. Colocynthis fits violent colic relieved by curling and firm pressure; [2] Magnesium phosphoricum when heat is essential; [3] Dioscorea when straightening or being upright helps; [4] and Chamomilla when the baby is furious and only settles while being carried or rocked. [1]
Which remedy fits a baby who arches backwards?
Dioscorea villosa is particularly distinctive when curling forward or lying is worse and the baby becomes quieter upright, straightened or gently extended backwards. [4] This is almost the opposite of Colocynthis.
Which remedy fits colic that is much worse at night?
Jalapa is highly distinctive when severe night screaming, gurgling or watery stool contrasts with a cheerful child by day. [5] Magnesium carbonicum is more likely when the night episode is tied to sour, milk-related stool, while Chamomilla is selected by angry carrying behaviour rather than timing alone. [6] [1]
Which remedy fits a very sour-smelling baby?
Rheum palmatum is the strongest “sour everywhere” picture: sour saliva, sour sweat and sour irritating stool with umbilical colic. [7]
Should I remove dairy from my diet while breastfeeding?
Not simply because your baby has colic. NHS guidance says routine maternal dietary changes are not needed for colic, [13] and the Cochrane review could not recommend routine dietary modifications based on the available evidence. [21] A separate suspected allergy or intolerance should be assessed on its own merits.
Do probiotics help infant colic?
The answer depends on the strain and the baby population. A 2026 meta-analysis found benefits for Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 across 11 placebo-controlled colic trials, while an earlier individual-participant meta-analysis found the clearest benefit in breastfed infants and insufficient evidence for formula-fed infants. [18] [19] General NHS guidance still does not recommend probiotics routinely for colic. [13]
Do lactase drops help colic?
Evidence is mixed. A 2024 systematic review of five RCTs found some positive individual studies, but a pooled analysis of two trials found no clear reduction in crying or fussing after one week. [22]
Can I put my baby on their tummy to ease colic?
Tummy-down across an adult’s knees or forearm can be used as an awake, supervised soothing position. If the baby falls asleep, move them to their own sleep space on their back. [16] Safer-sleep guidance recommends a clear, flat, separate sleep space with a firm flat mattress and no inclination. [24]
References
Homeopathic remedy descriptions and differentials are sourced exclusively from the IQ Homeopathy Materia Medica. External references support the medical definition of colic, feeding and soothing measures, probiotics, diet, lactase, massage/manual therapy and safer sleep.
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Chamomilla’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/chamomilla/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Colocynthis’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/colocynthis/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Magnesium phosphoricum’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/magnesium-phosphoricum/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Dioscorea villosa’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/dioscorea-villosa/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Jalapa’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/jalapa/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Magnesium carbonicum’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/magnesium-carbonicum/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Rheum palmatum’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/rheum-palmatum/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Aethusa cynapium’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/aethusa-cynapium/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Lycopodium clavatum’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/lycopodium-clavatum/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘Carbo vegetabilis’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/carbo-vegetabilis/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Qandil, I. (n.d.) ‘China’, IQ Homeopathy. Available at: https://www.iqhomeopathy.com/materia-medica/china-officinalis/ (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Rome Foundation (n.d.) ‘Rome IV Criteria: G4. Infant Colic’. Available at: Rome IV criteria (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- NHS (2022) ‘Colic’, NHS. Available at: NHS colic guidance (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- NHS (n.d.) ‘Colic and bottle feeding’, Best Start in Life. Available at: NHS colic and bottle feeding (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- NHS (2026) ‘Soothing a crying baby’, NHS. Available at: NHS soothing a crying baby (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- American Academy of Pediatrics (n.d.) ‘Colic Relief Tips for Parents’, HealthyChildren.org. Available at: HealthyChildren colic tips (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- American Academy of Pediatrics (n.d.) ‘Abdominal Pain in Infants: 8 Possible Reasons Your Baby’s Tummy Hurts’, HealthyChildren.org. Available at: HealthyChildren infant abdominal pain (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Bianchi, M. et al. (2026) ‘Efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 in preterm newborns and infants with colic: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials’, Nutrition, 151, 113327. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2026.113327.
- Sung, V. et al. (2018) ‘Lactobacillus reuteri to Treat Infant Colic: A Meta-analysis’, Pediatrics, 141(1), e20171811. Available at: PubMed 29279326 (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Vaz, L.E. et al. (2024) ‘Probiotics for infantile colic: Is there evidence beyond doubt? A meta-analysis and systematic review’, Acta Paediatrica, 113(2), pp. 170–182. doi: 10.1111/apa.17036.
- Gordon, M. et al. (2018) ‘Dietary modifications for infantile colic’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 10, CD011029. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011029.pub2.
- Kozłowska-Jalowska, A., Stróżyk, A., Horvath, A. and Szajewska, H. (2024) ‘Effect of lactase supplementation on infant colic: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials’, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 78(5), pp. 1009–1016. doi: 10.1002/jpn3.12144.
- Chen, S-C. et al. (2024) ‘Pediatric massage therapy in infants and children under 5 years: An umbrella review of systematic reviews’, Heliyon, 10(16), e35993. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35993.
- The Lullaby Trust (2026) ‘Safer sleep for babies: Professionals’ guide’. Available at: The Lullaby Trust safer sleep guide (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Mayo Clinic (2025) ‘Colic: Diagnosis and treatment’. Available at: Mayo Clinic colic diagnosis and treatment (Accessed: 24 August 2026).
- Park, U.J., Jeong, H.I. and Kim, K.H. (2023) ‘Comparison of Effectiveness of Manual Therapy for Infant Crying: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials’, Journal of Pharmacopuncture, 26(4), pp. 285–297. doi: 10.3831/KPI.2023.26.4.285.
When several colic remedies seem to fit
Infant colic creates a lot of overlap: crying, wind, knees up, interrupted sleep and a desperate need to be held can all occur in the same evening. The useful prescription usually appears when we identify the one feature that repeatedly changes the attack.
Does the baby need hard pressure, heat, extension, carrying, a particular time of night, belching, or passage of stool? Is milk genuinely the trigger, or does the episode happen regardless of feeds? Those distinctions are more valuable than the word “colic”.
A consultation gives us time to compare the acute episodes with feeding, reflux, stool, sleep, temperature, skin, family patterns, growth and the baby’s wider constitutional picture.
