Approach to infantile colic in primary care

Teck Meng Lawrence Lam; Poh Chong Chan; Lay Hoon Goh

doi:10.11622/smedj.2019004

Approach to infantile colic in primary care

Singapore Med J. 2019 Jan;60(1):12-16. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2019004.

Authors

Teck Meng Lawrence Lam¹, Poh Chong Chan², Lay Hoon Goh¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, National University Health System, Singapore.
² Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Hospital, Singapore.

Abstract

Infantile colic is a common self-limiting condition that causes significant distress to parents and caregivers. There is no clear cause, gold standard remedy or preventative action. The role of the family physician is to rule out sinister causes while providing counselling and reassurance for parents. The mainstay of management is parental support and reassurance while looking out for red flags in the baby such as fever, lethargy, distended abdomen and failure to thrive. This article provides a framework to approaching infantile colic and practical pointers to share with parents.

Keywords: approach; colic; excessive crying; infant; infantile colic.

MeSH terms

Caregivers
Colic / diagnosis*
Colic / therapy*
Crying
Evidence-Based Medicine
Humans
Infant
Infant Formula
Infant, Newborn
Muscle Hypertonia / diagnosis
Parenting
Parents
Pediatrics / methods*
Physicians, Family
Primary Health Care / methods*
Professional-Patient Relations