Baby Colic - "Red Flag" Symptoms

"Red Flag" Symptoms

Babies who continue crying may simply be hungry, uncomfortable or ill. Parents who are unable to soothe their baby's crying must call their healthcare provider to make sure the baby is not sick. Fortunately, only 5% of colic cases are caused by illness (most commonly by intestinal allergy, described above).

Parents should be especially suspicious of illness or pain as the cause of their baby's fussing if the cry is accompanied by at least one of the following ten "red flag" symptoms:

• Vomiting (vomit that is green or yellow, bloody or occurring more than 5/day)
• Change in stool (constipation or diarrhea, especially with blood or mucous)
• Abnormal temperature (a rectal temperature less than 97.0 °F (36.1 °C) or over 100.2 °F (37.9 °C)
• Irritability (crying all day with few calm periods in between)
• Lethargy (excess sleepiness, lack of smiles or interested gaze, weak sucking lasting over 6 hours)
• Poor weight gain (gaining less than 15 gram a day)

Babies with persistent crying or any "red flag" symptoms should be checked by a healthcare professional to rule out illness. The top ten medical problems to consider in irritable babies with "red flag" symptoms are:

• Infections (e.g. ear infection, urine infection, meningitis, appendicitis)
• Intestinal pain (e.g. food allergy, acid reflux, constipation, intestinal blockage)
• Trouble breathing (e.g. from a cold, excessive dust, congenital nasal blockage, oversized tongue)
• Increased brain pressure (e.g., hematoma, hydrocephalus)
• Skin pain (e.g. a loose diaper pin, irritated rash, a hair wrapped around a toe)
• Mouth pain (e.g. yeast infection)
• Kidney pain (e.g. blockage of the urinary system)
• Eye pain (e.g. scratched cornea, glaucoma)
• Overdose (e.g. excessive Vitamin D, excessive sodium)
• Others (e.g. migraine headache, heart failure, hyperthyroidism)