Prescription sleeping pills: What's right for you?
Sleeping pills help when stress, travel or other disruptions keep you awake. If you have chronic insomnia, a better approach may be to remove the cause by changing your lifestyle.
If you're regularly having trouble either falling or staying asleep (insomnia), make an appointment with your doctor. Treatment is available — but it depends on what's causing your insomnia. In many cases an underlying medical or sleep disorder can be diagnosed and treated, a much more effective approach than just treating the symptom of insomnia itself.
Behavior changes are generally the best treatment for persistent insomnia. For occasional sleepless nights, however, prescription sleeping pills may be helpful. Although sleeping pills don't treat the underlying cause of your sleeping problems, they may help you get some much needed rest.
Today's prescription sleeping pills don't carry the same level of risks of dependence and overdoses as sleeping pills of the past. But risks remain — especially for people who have certain medical conditions, including liver and kidney disease. Always talk with your doctor before trying a new treatment for insomnia.
Types of prescription sleeping pills
Prescription sleeping pills are available to help you fall asleep easier, stay asleep longer — or both. Before prescribing a medication to help you sleep, your doctor will ask you a number of questions to get a clear picture of your sleep patterns. He or she may also order tests to rule out any underlying conditions that may be causing difficulty sleeping.
To reduce the risk of side effects and of becoming reliant on drugs to sleep, your doctor likely will prescribe medications for two weeks or less. If the first medication you take doesn't work after the full prescribed course, call your doctor. You may need to try more than one prescription sleeping pill before finding one that works for you.
Some prescription sleeping pills are available as generic drugs, which are typically less expensive than brand names. Ask your doctor whether there is a generic version available of the medication he or she prescribes.
15 February 2011
29 October 2010
Coffee and Depression - a cause and also a remedy
Coffee and Depression - a cause and also a remedy
What is the link between coffee and depression? Truth is, there are extremely mixed reactions and feedback from coffee drinkers regarding depression and being depressed.
While some of them believe coffee acts as an antidepressant, some indicate that by abstaining from coffee, the symptoms of depression reduced considerably. Therefore, it would seem that linking coffee with depression or lack of it depends on individual reactions, both psychologically and physiologically.
People who are used to drinking a hot cup of coffee every morning swear that it is an instant pick-me-up and gives them the zest to go through their routine activities. On the other hand, people who experienced depression and were asked to give up coffee and sugar experienced elevated moods.
And there are research findings supporting both theories of coffee and depression, too. For example, surveys conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in the year 1993 stated that nurses who consumed coffee had lower risk of committing suicide as compared to non-coffee drinkers. This study was later confirmed by Dr Ichiro Kawachi, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, who also studied the reactions of registered nurses between ages 34 and 59. Therefore, it was more or less concluded that the caffeine in coffee does act as a mild antidepressant. It is thought that caffeine reacts with various neurotransmitters, like acetylcholine and dopamine, and helps elevate the mood in people going through depression.
On the other side of the coffee and depression coin, reports and studies published by various institutes and organizations also indicate that consuming too much coffee can lead to depression. For example, an article published by the Kansas State University indicates that people should try and reduce the overall consumption of coffee, because coffee only gives people a temporary kick, and what follows is to the contrary. It clearly suggests that caffeine in coffee has the ability to increase the release of insulin into the blood. And as most of us are aware, insulin reduces blood sugar levels, which makes people experience low energy levels, and feelings of depression might then set in.
Therefore, to ascertain the coffee and depression connection, coffee drinkers must experience for themselves how their body and mind react to drinking coffee or decreasing their coffee consumption. Their observations will then help them to decide whether or not to continue drinking the beverage.
People who suffer from depression should always take a close look at their lifestyle, food, and drinking habits. This is because certain foods and beverages can affect people’s moods, and coffee is definitely one such beverage. Based on individual reactions to coffee, one can then take a call on whether or not to drink it.
What is the link between coffee and depression? Truth is, there are extremely mixed reactions and feedback from coffee drinkers regarding depression and being depressed.
While some of them believe coffee acts as an antidepressant, some indicate that by abstaining from coffee, the symptoms of depression reduced considerably. Therefore, it would seem that linking coffee with depression or lack of it depends on individual reactions, both psychologically and physiologically.
People who are used to drinking a hot cup of coffee every morning swear that it is an instant pick-me-up and gives them the zest to go through their routine activities. On the other hand, people who experienced depression and were asked to give up coffee and sugar experienced elevated moods.
And there are research findings supporting both theories of coffee and depression, too. For example, surveys conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in the year 1993 stated that nurses who consumed coffee had lower risk of committing suicide as compared to non-coffee drinkers. This study was later confirmed by Dr Ichiro Kawachi, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, who also studied the reactions of registered nurses between ages 34 and 59. Therefore, it was more or less concluded that the caffeine in coffee does act as a mild antidepressant. It is thought that caffeine reacts with various neurotransmitters, like acetylcholine and dopamine, and helps elevate the mood in people going through depression.
On the other side of the coffee and depression coin, reports and studies published by various institutes and organizations also indicate that consuming too much coffee can lead to depression. For example, an article published by the Kansas State University indicates that people should try and reduce the overall consumption of coffee, because coffee only gives people a temporary kick, and what follows is to the contrary. It clearly suggests that caffeine in coffee has the ability to increase the release of insulin into the blood. And as most of us are aware, insulin reduces blood sugar levels, which makes people experience low energy levels, and feelings of depression might then set in.
Therefore, to ascertain the coffee and depression connection, coffee drinkers must experience for themselves how their body and mind react to drinking coffee or decreasing their coffee consumption. Their observations will then help them to decide whether or not to continue drinking the beverage.
People who suffer from depression should always take a close look at their lifestyle, food, and drinking habits. This is because certain foods and beverages can affect people’s moods, and coffee is definitely one such beverage. Based on individual reactions to coffee, one can then take a call on whether or not to drink it.
Depressed? You must like chocolate
people who were depressed ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, compared with 5.4 servings among those who were not.
And people who had major depression based on results of a screening test ate even more -- 11.8 servings per month. A serving was considered to be one small bar, or 1 ounce (28 grams), of chocolate.
"Depressed mood was significantly related to higher chocolate consumption," Dr. Natalie Rose of the University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Diego, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Many people consider chocolate a mood-booster but few studies have actually confirmed the connection between the confection and mood. And most studies have looked only at women.
Rose and colleagues studied the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. People in the study reported how much chocolate they consumed and most also completed a food frequency questionnaire about their overall diet.
Their moods were assessed using a commonly used depression scale. What they found was a marked association between chocolate consumption and depression. And unlike other studies that looked only at women, the link was true of both men and women.
What the study could not say was why people who are depressed eat more chocolate.
It could be that depression stimulates chocolate cravings, and people eat chocolate as a sort of self treatment, confirming some studies on rats that suggest chocolate can improve mood, the authors said.
Or, it could be that depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for some other reason without providing any mood benefit. People in the study did not have any such "treatment benefit" from chocolate, the team said.
And they said it may be that eating a lot of chocolate actually causes people to feel depressed, another possible explanation for the association they saw in the study.
It may be something physiological about chocolate, such as providing additional antioxidants. Or the mood-boosting effect of chocolate could be fleeting, like the temporary euphoria from drinking alcohol, leaving people feeling even lower after the brief euphoria has passed.
"Distinguishing among these possibilities will require different study designs," the team said.
They said future studies will be needed to determine whether chocolate is a cause of depression, or a temporary salve.
Depression and how dark chocolate can help.
Antidepressant Properties: Cocoa is a potent source of serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. These are three well-studied neurotransmitters which help alleviate depression and are associated with feelings of well-being.
Cocoa contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO Inhibitors) which help improve our mood because they allow serotonin and dopamine to remain in the bloodstream longer and circulate in the brain without being broken down.
As one lives longer, the level of neurotransmitters decreases. This leads to less creativity, less joy, more physical rigidity -and more rapid aging!
Cocoa, with its supply of MAO inhibitors, helps keep plenty of neurotransmitters in circulation, and thus facilitate anti-aging and rejuvenation.
Cocoa contains anandamide which stimulates blissful feelings. Cocoa also contains B vitamins, which are associated with brain health
And people who had major depression based on results of a screening test ate even more -- 11.8 servings per month. A serving was considered to be one small bar, or 1 ounce (28 grams), of chocolate.
"Depressed mood was significantly related to higher chocolate consumption," Dr. Natalie Rose of the University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Diego, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Many people consider chocolate a mood-booster but few studies have actually confirmed the connection between the confection and mood. And most studies have looked only at women.
Rose and colleagues studied the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. People in the study reported how much chocolate they consumed and most also completed a food frequency questionnaire about their overall diet.
Their moods were assessed using a commonly used depression scale. What they found was a marked association between chocolate consumption and depression. And unlike other studies that looked only at women, the link was true of both men and women.
What the study could not say was why people who are depressed eat more chocolate.
It could be that depression stimulates chocolate cravings, and people eat chocolate as a sort of self treatment, confirming some studies on rats that suggest chocolate can improve mood, the authors said.
Or, it could be that depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for some other reason without providing any mood benefit. People in the study did not have any such "treatment benefit" from chocolate, the team said.
And they said it may be that eating a lot of chocolate actually causes people to feel depressed, another possible explanation for the association they saw in the study.
It may be something physiological about chocolate, such as providing additional antioxidants. Or the mood-boosting effect of chocolate could be fleeting, like the temporary euphoria from drinking alcohol, leaving people feeling even lower after the brief euphoria has passed.
"Distinguishing among these possibilities will require different study designs," the team said.
They said future studies will be needed to determine whether chocolate is a cause of depression, or a temporary salve.
Depression and how dark chocolate can help.
Antidepressant Properties: Cocoa is a potent source of serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. These are three well-studied neurotransmitters which help alleviate depression and are associated with feelings of well-being.
Cocoa contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO Inhibitors) which help improve our mood because they allow serotonin and dopamine to remain in the bloodstream longer and circulate in the brain without being broken down.
As one lives longer, the level of neurotransmitters decreases. This leads to less creativity, less joy, more physical rigidity -and more rapid aging!
Cocoa, with its supply of MAO inhibitors, helps keep plenty of neurotransmitters in circulation, and thus facilitate anti-aging and rejuvenation.
Cocoa contains anandamide which stimulates blissful feelings. Cocoa also contains B vitamins, which are associated with brain health
09 October 2010
World Mental Health Day-NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH
World Mental Health Day
No health without mental health
10 October 2010
World Mental Health Day on 10 October raises public awareness about mental health issues. The Day promotes more open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention and treatment services. The treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders is formidable especially in poor resource countries.
Physical and mental health are intertwined. There is a real need to deal with mental health problems of people with chronic physical illnesses and physical care of mental health consumers through a continued and integrated care.
On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, WHO is launching its Mental Health Gap Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG) this year on 7th of October which will be the inception of the implementation phase as well.
No health without mental health
10 October 2010
World Mental Health Day on 10 October raises public awareness about mental health issues. The Day promotes more open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention and treatment services. The treatment gap for mental, neurological and substance use disorders is formidable especially in poor resource countries.
Physical and mental health are intertwined. There is a real need to deal with mental health problems of people with chronic physical illnesses and physical care of mental health consumers through a continued and integrated care.
On the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, WHO is launching its Mental Health Gap Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG) this year on 7th of October which will be the inception of the implementation phase as well.
22 September 2010
Pacifiers
Pacifiers
Pacifiers are very handy in pacifying a crying baby. A pacifier stops a baby from crying by giving her a feeling of comfort. Pacifiers can be used as a preventive measure for thumb sucking. Read here to know everything about pacifiers.
Sometimes sticking a pacifier into a baby's mouth has the same effect as waving a magic wand that makes your wish come true. In this case, the baby stops crying. This miraculous object has a deceptively simple appearance. A pacifier is a nipple without a hole that is attached to a plastic disk. The disk prevents the baby from accidentally swallowing the nipple. It is not very clear how exactly a pacifier stops a mildly irritated baby from bawling. Either the act of sucking is a comfort in itself or the pacifier just keeps the baby's mouth occupied.
Sucking a pacifier vs. thumb-sucking
Parent share similar fears about thumb-sucking and the use of pacifiers to soothe babies. They are apprehensive that sucking the pacifier or a thumb may develop into a nasty little habit. According to Dr. Spock, pacifiers are the lesser of the two evils. He has observed that babies who use pacifiers without restriction in the first few months rarely become thumb-suckers, even if they give up the pacifier in 3 or 4 months. In addition, it has been observed that babies who develop a habit of sucking a pacifier voluntarily shun the pacifier after three or four months. The same object that they have been sucking blissfully for months is rejected. A three-month old baby will probably spit out a pacifier without any coaxing. At the latest, a child will give up the pacifier when she is one or two years old. On the other hand, babies who become thumb-suckers in the first three months continue to suck their thumbs until they are three, four, or even five years of age - sometimes even longer. Another disadvantage of thumb-sucking is that it has a tendency to push the baby's teeth out.
Parents who have starting trouble
All parents envision laughing, gurgling, babbling, smiling, even crying babies. However, a baby with a pacifier in her mouth spoils the picture. A pacifier somehow seems to put your baby on hold. The baby with a pacifier in her mouth somehow seems to lose her personality, like watching television with the mute button on. This is the reason that some parents express reluctance to calm their babies with pacifiers even when the doctors indicate that there is no harm. The problem occurs when these parents change their minds after a few weeks and offer the pacifier to the baby. It may be too late and she may not be willing to accept this object of comfort any longer.
Parents who can't seem to stop
Some parents, noting the effectiveness of a pacifier in calming a fretful or colicky baby, have a tendency to use pacifiers for their convenience rather than the baby's. Believe it or not, life does go on after the arrival of a baby. For parents rushing around trying to do a hundred things at the same time, it can be quite a nuisance to drop everything to comfort a whimpering baby. Sometimes it is so much easier to pop the pacifier into your baby's mouth and have her entertain herself. However, the problem begins when this becomes a habit with the parents even after the baby is ready to give up the pacifier by the time she is three or four months old. Continued use of the pacifier even after this point could result in the baby perceiving the pacifier as a source of comfort rather than something that assuages her need to suck. In these circumstances, the baby may not be willing to give up the habit till she is almost a year and a half old.
The pacifier as a preventive measure against thumb-sucking
Parents should try to pre-empt thumb-sucking by giving their baby a pacifier in the first few days or weeks of life. The idea is to get her used to the pacifier before she becomes accustomed to and enjoys the sensation of sucking her thumb.
No restrictions
Whenever parents notice the baby reaching out for something to suck, they should pop the pacifier in her mouth. Initially, babies are awake only before or after feeds. In all likelihood you will only need the pacifier at these times. However, do not hesitate to use the pacifier freely in the first three months of the baby's life. The aim is that the baby be given every opportunity to suck so that she gets it out of her system by the time she is three months old.
Phasing out the pacifier
Removing a pacifier is not as easy as popping it in the baby's mouth. Most babies protest vigorously. The best time to remove the pacifier is when the baby is feeling drowsy or has just fallen asleep. Babies who become accustomed to falling asleep with a pacifier can ruin their parents sleep. This is because when the pacifier falls out, the distressed baby begins to wail lustily and will persist till you replace the pacifier.
In normal circumstances, most babies decide on their own that the days of the pacifier are over. They usually indicate that they have outgrown the pacifier by spitting it out when it is offered to them. However, this does not mean that she is willing to give up the pacifier overnight. She may feel the need for it on days when she particularly needs comforting. You can resume your attempts to decrease the use of the pacifier when she seems willing again.
Pacifier care
Remember to wash the pacifier with soap when you first get it. You don't need to keep washing it unless it falls on the floor, because the only place it's been is the baby's mouth. Old nipples can crumble when babies chew on them. Remember to replace crumbling pacifiers.
Pacifiers are very handy in pacifying a crying baby. A pacifier stops a baby from crying by giving her a feeling of comfort. Pacifiers can be used as a preventive measure for thumb sucking. Read here to know everything about pacifiers.
Sometimes sticking a pacifier into a baby's mouth has the same effect as waving a magic wand that makes your wish come true. In this case, the baby stops crying. This miraculous object has a deceptively simple appearance. A pacifier is a nipple without a hole that is attached to a plastic disk. The disk prevents the baby from accidentally swallowing the nipple. It is not very clear how exactly a pacifier stops a mildly irritated baby from bawling. Either the act of sucking is a comfort in itself or the pacifier just keeps the baby's mouth occupied.
Sucking a pacifier vs. thumb-sucking
Parent share similar fears about thumb-sucking and the use of pacifiers to soothe babies. They are apprehensive that sucking the pacifier or a thumb may develop into a nasty little habit. According to Dr. Spock, pacifiers are the lesser of the two evils. He has observed that babies who use pacifiers without restriction in the first few months rarely become thumb-suckers, even if they give up the pacifier in 3 or 4 months. In addition, it has been observed that babies who develop a habit of sucking a pacifier voluntarily shun the pacifier after three or four months. The same object that they have been sucking blissfully for months is rejected. A three-month old baby will probably spit out a pacifier without any coaxing. At the latest, a child will give up the pacifier when she is one or two years old. On the other hand, babies who become thumb-suckers in the first three months continue to suck their thumbs until they are three, four, or even five years of age - sometimes even longer. Another disadvantage of thumb-sucking is that it has a tendency to push the baby's teeth out.
Parents who have starting trouble
All parents envision laughing, gurgling, babbling, smiling, even crying babies. However, a baby with a pacifier in her mouth spoils the picture. A pacifier somehow seems to put your baby on hold. The baby with a pacifier in her mouth somehow seems to lose her personality, like watching television with the mute button on. This is the reason that some parents express reluctance to calm their babies with pacifiers even when the doctors indicate that there is no harm. The problem occurs when these parents change their minds after a few weeks and offer the pacifier to the baby. It may be too late and she may not be willing to accept this object of comfort any longer.
Parents who can't seem to stop
Some parents, noting the effectiveness of a pacifier in calming a fretful or colicky baby, have a tendency to use pacifiers for their convenience rather than the baby's. Believe it or not, life does go on after the arrival of a baby. For parents rushing around trying to do a hundred things at the same time, it can be quite a nuisance to drop everything to comfort a whimpering baby. Sometimes it is so much easier to pop the pacifier into your baby's mouth and have her entertain herself. However, the problem begins when this becomes a habit with the parents even after the baby is ready to give up the pacifier by the time she is three or four months old. Continued use of the pacifier even after this point could result in the baby perceiving the pacifier as a source of comfort rather than something that assuages her need to suck. In these circumstances, the baby may not be willing to give up the habit till she is almost a year and a half old.
The pacifier as a preventive measure against thumb-sucking
Parents should try to pre-empt thumb-sucking by giving their baby a pacifier in the first few days or weeks of life. The idea is to get her used to the pacifier before she becomes accustomed to and enjoys the sensation of sucking her thumb.
No restrictions
Whenever parents notice the baby reaching out for something to suck, they should pop the pacifier in her mouth. Initially, babies are awake only before or after feeds. In all likelihood you will only need the pacifier at these times. However, do not hesitate to use the pacifier freely in the first three months of the baby's life. The aim is that the baby be given every opportunity to suck so that she gets it out of her system by the time she is three months old.
Phasing out the pacifier
Removing a pacifier is not as easy as popping it in the baby's mouth. Most babies protest vigorously. The best time to remove the pacifier is when the baby is feeling drowsy or has just fallen asleep. Babies who become accustomed to falling asleep with a pacifier can ruin their parents sleep. This is because when the pacifier falls out, the distressed baby begins to wail lustily and will persist till you replace the pacifier.
In normal circumstances, most babies decide on their own that the days of the pacifier are over. They usually indicate that they have outgrown the pacifier by spitting it out when it is offered to them. However, this does not mean that she is willing to give up the pacifier overnight. She may feel the need for it on days when she particularly needs comforting. You can resume your attempts to decrease the use of the pacifier when she seems willing again.
Pacifier care
Remember to wash the pacifier with soap when you first get it. You don't need to keep washing it unless it falls on the floor, because the only place it's been is the baby's mouth. Old nipples can crumble when babies chew on them. Remember to replace crumbling pacifiers.
21 September 2010
Tips on Coping with Colic
Tips on Coping with Colic
A colicky baby cries incessantly for no reason. A colicky baby tests the patience of the parents as they find it difficult to handle him. Here we have given some tips on handling a colicky baby.
•If your baby has been crying incessantly for no apparent reason, check with the doctor to see whether he has colic.
•The endless sound of a crying baby (even if it's your own) would try the patience of a saint. Remember that it's not unusual to harbour negative feelings towards your baby like anger, even hatred, when nothing you do can make the crying stop. However, if you're worried that these feelings and crazy, even violent impulses may get the better of you, seek professional help immediately.
•Take a break. Don't try to handle things alone. Ask your spouse, neighbour, friend, or relatives for help or get hired help. Take some time out for yourself every day. Go for a walk, have lunch with a friend, or pamper yourself with a massage. You don't have to feel guilty because this will just help you get your strength back to continue the battle against colic.
•If you've done everything you can to make your baby comfortable and he continues to cry, put him down in his cot for about 15 minutes and do something else so that the both of you can take a break.
•Get earplugs.
•Exercise helps to work out frustration.
•Husbands must help. There is no way that they can be allowed to shirk their responsibilities in such a situation. The mother cannot be expected to cope alone.
•It helps to talk about it. So find a friendly shoulder and cry on it. It also helps to talk to other parents who have colicky babies so that you know you're not alone.
•If you have another child, remember not to neglect her. If she's old enough, try and make her understand that it's not her fault and that there's nothing seriously wrong with the baby. Make a little special time for her every day and make her feel that you love her
A colicky baby cries incessantly for no reason. A colicky baby tests the patience of the parents as they find it difficult to handle him. Here we have given some tips on handling a colicky baby.
•If your baby has been crying incessantly for no apparent reason, check with the doctor to see whether he has colic.
•The endless sound of a crying baby (even if it's your own) would try the patience of a saint. Remember that it's not unusual to harbour negative feelings towards your baby like anger, even hatred, when nothing you do can make the crying stop. However, if you're worried that these feelings and crazy, even violent impulses may get the better of you, seek professional help immediately.
•Take a break. Don't try to handle things alone. Ask your spouse, neighbour, friend, or relatives for help or get hired help. Take some time out for yourself every day. Go for a walk, have lunch with a friend, or pamper yourself with a massage. You don't have to feel guilty because this will just help you get your strength back to continue the battle against colic.
•If you've done everything you can to make your baby comfortable and he continues to cry, put him down in his cot for about 15 minutes and do something else so that the both of you can take a break.
•Get earplugs.
•Exercise helps to work out frustration.
•Husbands must help. There is no way that they can be allowed to shirk their responsibilities in such a situation. The mother cannot be expected to cope alone.
•It helps to talk about it. So find a friendly shoulder and cry on it. It also helps to talk to other parents who have colicky babies so that you know you're not alone.
•If you have another child, remember not to neglect her. If she's old enough, try and make her understand that it's not her fault and that there's nothing seriously wrong with the baby. Make a little special time for her every day and make her feel that you love her
Colicky Babies
Colicky Babies
Sometimes babies cry incessantly for hours without any reason. Parents get worried on seeing their bundle of joy, crying. This could be due to colic and this is not a disease. Colicky babies are healthy.
Every parent's worst nightmare
Suvarna Datta recounts her experience when her daughter Prerna had colic. I knew that babies cry, but I thought it was just something that happened in the middle of the night, or when they were hungry, wet or sleepy. I could deal with that. But one day my baby started crying and she went on for hours and nothing that I did helped. I nursed her, changed her diaper, sang to her, carried her, took her outside to the park but the terrible wailing wouldn't stop. I just felt like pulling all my hair out and screaming.
Parents who have survived babies with colic can probably still hear the banshee wails echoing faintly in their brains and are probably wiping their brows with relief that it's all over. Colic is a parent's worse nightmare. Parents can do little more than watch as their baby curls up into a tight ball, squeezes his eyes tightly shut, clenches his fists, and opens his mouth to scream till he is red in the face. And this can go on for hours without a break.
Colic normally raises its ugly head when the baby is two or three weeks old and it doesn't go away for a long time. The crying usually reaches a peak after six weeks, but by the twelfth week, the wailing would either have stopped miraculously or would be on the wane.
Why does it happen?
Colic is still a bit of a mystery to most doctors. They are pretty much in the dark about the causes of colic or how to differentiate between a child who cries a lot and one that has colic. Of course, that does not mean that there aren't a great many theories that have been put forward, most of which have been dismissed. Here are some of the more popular ones.
One theory attempts to link colic to the development of an allergy to something the baby ingested or something that the mother ate (if the baby is breastfed). Naturally, there is a school of thought that theorized that colic is hereditary, but there is no scientific evidence to back up this theory. Another hypothesis explains the crying related to colic as a result of the pain caused by the violent contraction of the digestive tract when the baby passes gas. The current favourite propagates the idea that colic may occur because the inhibitory responses of infant brain have not developed enough to inhibit the crying and so on and so forth. There is one thing that has been established though, and that is that parents who are smokers are more likely to have colicky babies. Nobody knows why, but it's a fact. If you're expecting a baby and you smoke, give up. It's not worth it, because if your baby gets colic, you'll really regret it.
Is there a cure?
Obviously, since the cause of colic is unknown, it would be too much to expect a cure. At any rate, parents needn't worry because colic is not a disease. Even though your baby may scream as if he were being murdered, colic does not leave any permanent emotional or physical scars. Colicky babies are healthy. They develop normally and as quickly as babies that don't have colic and display no behavioural problems in the future.
Sometimes babies cry incessantly for hours without any reason. Parents get worried on seeing their bundle of joy, crying. This could be due to colic and this is not a disease. Colicky babies are healthy.
Every parent's worst nightmare
Suvarna Datta recounts her experience when her daughter Prerna had colic. I knew that babies cry, but I thought it was just something that happened in the middle of the night, or when they were hungry, wet or sleepy. I could deal with that. But one day my baby started crying and she went on for hours and nothing that I did helped. I nursed her, changed her diaper, sang to her, carried her, took her outside to the park but the terrible wailing wouldn't stop. I just felt like pulling all my hair out and screaming.
Parents who have survived babies with colic can probably still hear the banshee wails echoing faintly in their brains and are probably wiping their brows with relief that it's all over. Colic is a parent's worse nightmare. Parents can do little more than watch as their baby curls up into a tight ball, squeezes his eyes tightly shut, clenches his fists, and opens his mouth to scream till he is red in the face. And this can go on for hours without a break.
Colic normally raises its ugly head when the baby is two or three weeks old and it doesn't go away for a long time. The crying usually reaches a peak after six weeks, but by the twelfth week, the wailing would either have stopped miraculously or would be on the wane.
Why does it happen?
Colic is still a bit of a mystery to most doctors. They are pretty much in the dark about the causes of colic or how to differentiate between a child who cries a lot and one that has colic. Of course, that does not mean that there aren't a great many theories that have been put forward, most of which have been dismissed. Here are some of the more popular ones.
One theory attempts to link colic to the development of an allergy to something the baby ingested or something that the mother ate (if the baby is breastfed). Naturally, there is a school of thought that theorized that colic is hereditary, but there is no scientific evidence to back up this theory. Another hypothesis explains the crying related to colic as a result of the pain caused by the violent contraction of the digestive tract when the baby passes gas. The current favourite propagates the idea that colic may occur because the inhibitory responses of infant brain have not developed enough to inhibit the crying and so on and so forth. There is one thing that has been established though, and that is that parents who are smokers are more likely to have colicky babies. Nobody knows why, but it's a fact. If you're expecting a baby and you smoke, give up. It's not worth it, because if your baby gets colic, you'll really regret it.
Is there a cure?
Obviously, since the cause of colic is unknown, it would be too much to expect a cure. At any rate, parents needn't worry because colic is not a disease. Even though your baby may scream as if he were being murdered, colic does not leave any permanent emotional or physical scars. Colicky babies are healthy. They develop normally and as quickly as babies that don't have colic and display no behavioural problems in the future.
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