Colic Take a thorough history of an infant with

signs of colic
Colic is paroxysmal abdominal pain that
generally occurs in because intestinal obstruction or infection
may mimic
infants under 3 months of age and is
marked by loud, in-tense crying (Bolte,
2007). An infant cries loudly and pulls

the legs up against the abdomen. The

infant’s face becomes

red and flushed, the fists clench, and the

abdomen becomes

tense. If offered a bottle, the infant will

suck vigorously for

a few minutes as if starved, then stop as

another wave of in-testinal pain occurs.

The cause of colic is unclear. It may occur

in susceptible in-fants from overfeeding
or from swallowing too much air while

drinking. Formula-fed babies are more

likely to have colic than

breastfed babies, possibly because they

swallow more air while

drinking or because formula is harder to

digest.

Although infants continue to thrive

despite colic, the con-dition should not be
dismissed as unimportant. It is a distress-
ing and frightening problem for parents
not only because an

infant appears to be in acute pain, but

also the distress persists

for hours, usually into the middle of the

night, so no one in the

family gets adequate rest. This is a difficult

beginning to a par-ent–child relationship,
which needs to be strong and binding

for the parents to enjoy parenting and for

an infant to thrive

in their care (see Focus on Nursing Care

Planning Box 29.7).