1 Symptoms of

Any pain is a signal that something bad is happening in the body. Often people easily find a source of discomfort and themselves can indicate its cause.

Intestinal colic is manifested with severe pain with the nature of tingling. Often they are accompanied by a feeling of pushing outward in the intestines. The localization of pain may be different, since spasms pass to the following areas of the intestine. The pain is often so severe that it hinders normal activity. Symptoms that accompany colic colic are, for example:

• nausea;
• bloating;
• excessive gassing.

During an attack of intestinal colic, the patient instinctively takes a comfortable position softening discomfort - leansforward.

Colic in a newborn or in a child is manifested by a sense of anxiety, strong crying and crying, pinching of the legs, bloating, redness of the face. The child has a suffering appearance, nothing and no one can calm him down.

Intestinal colic is a fairly common disease that can affect everyone, regardless of age and sex. However, there is a group, especially prone to the appearance of colic, - these are newborns and infants( before the 4th month of life).

Paroxysmal pains, which are accompanied by crying and restlessness of the baby, appear in healthy children for reasons that have not been fully clarified. In infants, intestinal colic is not a disease. Their cause is often found in enzyme deficiency.

It was noted that colic usually occurs in toddlers between the third and fourth month of life. More often it occurs in children, artificially fed, although it is observed in babies who are breast-fed. Pediatricians believe that before the baby is diagnosed with "intestinal colic," other causes of the ailments need to be excluded. They can cause infection, ear inflammation, often - allergic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - allergies to milk or dairy products and even to mother's milk( if it consumes a large amount of cow's milk).

Colic children usually occur at certain times of the day or night, and it repeats within a week or two. The belly of a child suffering from colic, painful and puffy to the touch.

Crying and irritability of the child can also be caused by hunger or inadequate fluid intake. If you exclude all these factors, and the situation continues to return, you need to seek help from a pediatrician.

2 The main causes of

Intestinal colic is the result of spasm of the musculature of the intestine. Most often this happens as a result of irritation of the intestinal wall, to which the smooth muscles respond with a sharp, painful spasm. Another cause of intestinal colic is the tension of the mesentery, for example, during intense physical exertion( the pain appears most often on the left side of the abdominal cavity).

Among the causes of intestinal colic are:

• immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract and the deficit of its physiological flora and nervous system( causes of colic in newborns and infants);
• use of heavy food and dishes that cause gases( for example, flour, legumes, fried and fatty foods, carbonated drinks);
• ingesting large amounts of air during meals( food in a hurry, in stress, greedy swallowing, conversation during meals);
• constipation;
• occurrence of a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract;
• food intolerance( eg, lactose intolerance);
• allergy;
• gastroesophageal reflux;
• irritable bowel syndrome;
• infringement of blood supply of the intestine due to such diseases as, for example, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis of the intestine;
• intestinal obstruction.

In addition, the cause of intestinal colic in newborns and infants is the incorrect technique of feeding and feeding the child in a nervous environment, in the presence of distracting stimuli( for example, television, radio) - all this leads to the child behaving during mealsrestless, cries and swallows a large amount of air.

It is also assumed that intestinal colic in infants can have a psychogenic basis: there is a more frequent occurrence of the disease in children who are brought up in a tense, nervous environment, and the parents' anxiety is transmitted to the child.

3 How to deal with the disease?

Intestinal colic is a malaise without treatment, but often the pain is so severe that patients are searching for effective methods to alleviate unpleasant symptoms.

Methods used in intestinal colic are:

• abdominal massage( performed in a circular motion) or back massage;
• imposition of a warm compress on the abdomen( for example, warmers or towels soaked in warm water);
• a warm bath( works as a relaxant on the intestinal wall);
• drinking herbal infusion( for example, from mint, fennel, chamomile, lemon balm);
• use of a preparation containing simethicone( reduces bloating, removes gases);
• use of drugs containing trimebutin( improves the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract and regulates intestinal wall tension);
• fighting with constipation.

There are many traditional, so-called home methods to combat this problem in young children. These include warm compresses, gentle massage of the abdomen, laying the baby on the tummy. Pediatricians recommend wearing children, placing them on the shoulder of an adult, applying the tummy to the chest. This brings relief, because it causes the evacuation of gases( collected as a result of an allergic reaction or swallowed while eating air).In such cases, infusions from various herbs are used, mainly from fennel. Infusion of dill, some doctors do not recommend, because it often causes bloating.

Intestinal colic, paroxysmal abdominal pain without a specific cause does not apply to adults. They have intestinal colic due to abnormalities of the intestine, due to a history of peptic ulcer disease or other pathologies, for example, ulcerative colitis.

4 Effective ways

To prevent attacks of colic recommended:

• follow a healthy diet: avoid fried, fatty foods and cause bloating products abdomen, such as onions, cabbage, beans, plums, made from wheat flour, dairy products, sweets, soft drinks,alcohol;
• apply medicinal herbs and spices to improve digestion( for example, mint, coriander, ginger);
• use herbal infusions( for example, from fennel, chamomile, mint);
• comply with the diet: eat often, but in small amounts;
• to take food in a relaxed atmosphere, without haste, without talking, in small sips, chewing carefully;
• to lead an active lifestyle;
• avoid intensive physical activity immediately after eating;
• to prevent constipation( including eating high in fiber, drinking plenty of fluids);
• apply probiotics( selected strains of bacteria, supplementing the physiological flora of the gastrointestinal tract) and prebiotics( auxiliaries podderzhivayuschin development and functioning of the physiological flora of the gastrointestinal tract);
• in case of allergy or food intolerance, to exclude from the diet allergenic products;
• in case of lactose intolerance, use preparations containing lactase( enzyme for splitting lactose).

The treatment of a causative illness causing intestinal colic attacks, for example, irritable bowel syndrome or gastric reflux esophagitis is of great importance.

In order to prevent intestinal colic in the newborn or infant, we recommend the following:

• feeding the baby in an upright position, in a tranquil setting, after the elimination of distracting stimuli;
• during feeding of the baby's nipple of the bottle must be constantly filled with food so that the child does not swallow the air;
• wearing a newborn or baby after feeding in an upright position for 10-15 minutes;
• compliance with the appropriate diet of a nursing mother( avoiding heavy, bloating foods and foods that can cause allergies in the baby).

Colic in the abdomen and very severe pain attacks in adults can be the result of various diseases of other organs( not just the intestines).Most often they are associated with cholelithiasis, kidney and liver diseases.