Colic

• Introduction
• Research
• TCM Clinical Trials

Introduction

Does your baby have colic?

Other than routine check-ups, colic is the one of the first dilemmas that prompts a parent to take their infant to the doctor. Colic is a health problem that affects 25% of infants. Colic will last from several weeks to several months and takes an emotional toll on the entire household. Colic also affects the physical health of everyone in the family as a result of countless sleepless nights. Parents see that their child is having gas pains because he or she cries and characteristically pumps their legs to relieve the pain. Seeking comfort, the baby usually wants to be carried, held and moved about. If and when the baby passes gas, the pain decreases and the crying diminishes or stops. In most cases, a colicky infant’s crying begins in the late afternoon or early evening and may continue through most of the night. For this reason, Chinese medicine diagnoses colic under the disease category of ‘night crying’.

Unfortunately, modern medicine cannot offer distraught parents a tangible cause, or even a precise definition of colic. In most cases, paediatricians deem an apparently healthy, thriving infant with "colic" if the baby follows what is called the "Rule of Threes."

The episodes of inconsolable crying:

• Begin within the first three weeks of life
• Last at least three hours a day
• Occur at least three days a week
• Continue for at least three weeks
• Seldom last longer than three months

What is TCM?

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a holistic, natural alternative and complement to Western medical paediatrics. This form of Asian medicine is the oldest, continually practiced, professional medicine in the world. Unlike other forms of traditional medicine, TCM is not a folk medicine, but rather a highly sophisticated, time-tested professional medicine. An estimated thirty thousand volumes of Chinese medical literature were written before the twentieth century and thousands more since then. In addition, the TCM medical journals in China produce one hundred thousand articles per year. Most of these articles are clinical audits on the effectiveness of certain treatments for a particular disease. Universally, Chinese medicine is being used by more and more people every day.

Paediatrics is a specialty within Chinese medicine that dates back as far as the early first millennium. There has been renewed interest and great development in Chinese paediatrics over the past 500 years. Today, Chinese medicine offers a number of unique, noninvasive diagnostic techniques for paediatric conditions as well as a multitude of extremely effective treatment options.

Using herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) achieves almost immediate results in treating colic. The TCM treatment of colic involves restoring harmony and balance to the body and often includes herbal medicine and abdominal massage to help move food through the digestive tract and relieve the baby’s distress. Chinese Herbal Medicine is the most sophisticated herbal medical system in the world. In a single formula, the practitioner typically uses a combination of 8-15 ingredients.

Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formulas are correlated to every patient’s unique pattern of disharmony. Chinese Herbal Medicine is effective for both the preventive and remedial treatment of paediatric health complaints. There are a number of formulas TCM paediatrician’s prescribe daily that have been used for two thousand years to improve an infant’s colic. Infants and small children are administered this medicine in liquid form via an eyedropper.

Ten Tips for Comforting Colic **

1. Slower, more frequent feedings
2. Colic Carries
3. Colic Dances
4. Baby bend
5. Tummy Rolls
6. Tummy Tucks
7. Baby massage
8. Warm touches
9. Magic mirror
10. Babywearing

** For more information see “The Fussy Baby Book” by Dr. William Sears.

Success Story

Luke

I went to see Robert initially (myself) for cysts and menstrual problems. I was trying to get pregnant but had been unsuccessful for about 8 months and I even took fertility meds for a few months with no success. The doctor suggested I have surgery to remove the cysts. My co-worker suggested I see Robert. Within 3 months of using TCM (acupuncture and herbs) my cysts were gone (which was confirmed by ultrsound) and I was also pregnant!!!!

After my son Luke was born, he developed colic and my doctor said there was nothing I could do but wait it out. Luke saw Robert for a few months. The herbal formula’s and infant massage that Robert gave my son helped to resolve his colic. This treatment helped my son better digest his formula so he had less gas and pain.


Research

• A Colic Diet
• Colic and Apple Juice

A Colic Diet

Colic is defined as at least 3 hours of crying per day on at least 3 days of the previous week. It affects ¼ of today’s infants and several factors, such as exposure to cigarette smoke, have been proven to increase the chances of colic. Breastfed babies can also develop colic and researchers in Melbourne, Australia provide support for the theory that a breastfeeding mother’s diet can make a difference in her baby’s colic. Half of the mothers in the study went for one week without the most common allergy-causing foods: cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, and fish. The other half had a control diet that contained all of those proteins. Neither group had food colors, preservatives, or additives. The results were published online in the November 2005 edition of Pediatrics. For those moms on the colic diet, 74 percent of their babies ‘improved’ within 1 week (where improvement meant at least a 25 percent reduction in that baby’s crying time – meaning tangible hours of relief for babies and parents). At the end of the week, the difference between the two groups, on average, was 3 hours of crying per 48 hours.

Colic and Apple Juice

Colic is often defined by the rule of threes - crying more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for more than 3 weeks. In modern medicine, colic often remains a mystery, however, parents usually report increased gas and gas-related symptoms in these babies. What parents of colicky babies are reporting directly corresponds with what Chinese Medicine has asserted for centuries – colic is related to an infant’s weak digestion.

Moreover, a study published in the May 2002 issue of Pediatrics divided babies (averaging 5 months old) into two groups, those who had, and had not, been diagnosed with colic. Each baby received a 4-ounce serving of apple juice and a 4-ounce serving of white grape juice, and was monitored in a metabolic chamber for 3 hours after each serving. The observers did not know which babies were which. Those in the colic group proved to have significantly poorer absorption of the sorbitol and of the elevated fructose in the apple juice (as shown by measuring increased hydrogen gas in their breath). They also were more agitated, spent more calories, cried more, and slept less after the apple juice. Their non-colic peers had no detectable problem digesting the apple juice. Both groups tolerated the non-sorbitol, lower-fructose white grape juice without a problem. Some kids have a harder time digesting certain carbohydrates than others. Avoiding those carbohydrates can lead to less gas and more peace.


TCM Clinical Trials

Night-crying (i.e Colic)

In Chinese medicine, pediatric night-crying covers several different conditions as categorized by modern Western medicine. In infants, it corresponds to colic. However, in older children, it corresponds to separation anxiety, nightmares, sleep terrors, and other such psychological disturbances.

Study 1

Jia Wei Dao Chi San (Added Flavors Abduct the Red Powder) was the base formula used to treat pediatric night-crying in a study that was summarized in the Hebei Journal of Chinese Medicine (#5, 2000). Appropriate modifications were made to the formula based on the patient’s clinical presentation. There were 42 patients in this study ranging from 3 months to 3 years of age. Cure was defined as disappearance of the night-crying which did not return one month after stopping treatment. Improvement meant that the night-crying was markedly reduced or had disappeared but did return before the end of the first month after cessation of the medicinals. Among the patients enrolled in this study, 37 cases (88.1%) were cured, three cases (7.1%) improved, and two cases (4.8%) had no improvement. Therefore, the total amelioration rate was 95.2%.

Study 2

The results of a study using Ye Tiao San (Night-crying Powder) Applied were published in the Modern Journal of Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine (#7, 2000). Among the 72 children included in this study all participants were less than one year old. The basic formula used in this protocol consisted of ten different Chinese herbs. These medicinals were combined, dried, and ground into powder. Aged vinegar was the added to this powder and applied to the umbilicus and covered with a gauze, an adhesive plaster, or cheesecloth. Before sleeping every night, the herbs were applied and, in general, were removed after 12 hours. Three days equaled one course of treatment. Forty-eight cases (66.7%) were cured. This meant that the night-crying and other symptoms completely disappeared. Twenty cases (27.75%) had some improvement. This meant that the crying basically disappeared or was markedly reduced, the length of time the child cried was less, and the child was more relaxed. Four cases (5.55%) had no results. Thus the total amelioration rate was 94.45%.

Study 3

A research study discussing the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine in the treatment of paediatric night-crying appeared in the first issue of Fujian Journal of Chinese Medicine & Medicinals, 2002. Altogether, there were 52 patients enrolled in this study who were randomly divided into two groups: a treatment group receiving Chinese medicinals and a comparison group receiving Western medicine. The treatment group [32 cases] was administered Chan Tui Gou Teng San (Cicada Sloughs & Uncaria Powder) which was composed of six different Chinese medicinals. The formula was modified based on the patient’s clinical presentation. The comparison group received a belladonna mixture (0.2ml/kg each evening/1 time) and vitamin B1 10mg TID. Cure meant that the night-crying stopped, the other symptoms were eliminated, and everything was normal at night during sleep. Improvement meant that the frequency and degree of night-crying were lessened.

Study outcomes:

Group	# of Cases	Cure	Improvement	No Improvement	Amelioration Rate
Treatment	32	5	21	6	81.25%
Comparison	20	2	9	9	55.00%

Study 4

Chan Deng Yin (Cicada & Juncus Beverage) was used to treat 25 cases of pediatric night-crying. The results of this clinical trial were published in the Jiangsu Journal of Chinese Medicine (#11, 1995). Among the 25 children included in this study, the oldest was 10 months and the youngest was 54 days old. The above formula was prescribed for 2-3 days and the authors said it was unusual to not have a cure after taking three packets. In general, after taking one day of medicine, there was a marked improvement. At night, the crying was less, and each time the child did cry, the duration was shorter than before. Among the 25 cases, 23 cases were cured. One case did not return after the first visit. So the results are unknown, and one cases had hepatitis. The case of hepatitis only took two packets of medicine and, after two days, was admitted to a specialized hospital to treat their condition. Of the 23 cases that were cured, 15 cases took two packets and eight cases took three packets of medicinals.