Whether it is caused by gas or the more insidious colic, hearing your baby cry in distress is miserable. The two most popular colic home remedies are gripe water and Ovol drops. According to Ivan Blumenthal in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, gripe water was originally created in 1851 as a treatment for malaria 1. The original formula contained alcohol, dill seed oil, sodium bicarbonate and sugar. Modern gripe waters usually have no alcohol or sugar, and contain fennel, chamomile and ginger. Ovol Drops are manufactured in Canada, and contain simethicone, which is proven to soothe abdominal gas 2.
Use Gripe Water
Squeeze the air out of your medicine dropper. Hold the bulb closed and dip the dropper into the gripe water bottle.
Release the bulb. The resulting vacuum will suck the gripe water up into the dropper.
Lift the dropper out of the liquid and gently squeeze the bulb, squirting out the gripe water until you have the proper dosage in the dropper. This varies between brands, so read the instructions on the label.
Squirt the gripe water gently into your baby’s mouth, if she is old enough to swallow it.
Use gripe water to mix your baby’s formula, or add it to filtered water. Give your baby gripe water with meals, just after them, or at bedtime, making sure you follow the dosage recommendations and do not exceed the maximum.
Use Ovol Drops:
Follow Steps 1 to 3 in Section 1 to measure out the proper dosage. This will be between 0.25 and 0.50 ml, depending on your baby’s age and weight.
Add Ovol Drops to your baby’s formula, filtered water or juice, or gently squirt the Ovol Drops into the baby’s mouth if she is old enough to understand that she should swallow it. Most infants under six months will just let it dribble back out.
Give your baby one dose of Ovol Drops with each feeding or just afterward, but do not exceed 1.5 ml in any 24-hour period.
Tips
Always consult you doctor before giving any home remedy to your child.
Warnings
Never use one dropper for different medications without washing it thoroughly between uses.