The Effectiveness of Topical Chamomile Oil in the Treatment of Infantile Colic Symptoms: A Case Report

Abstract

Background:Infantile colic is one of the most common causes for referral to pediatric clinics. Despite different treatments, physicians and parents are still facing difficulties in handling some cases of the disease. In this report, a different treatment is introduced for infantile colic control using Iranian Traditional Medicine. Case Presentation: A two-month old male infant with severe colicky abdominal pains for 5 weeks was referred to the pediatric clinic. Colic-driven cries of the infant had begun 21 days after birth and increased gradually to 5 h a day despite therapeutic interventions so that his parents were anxious to control the disorder. In addition to previous therapies, topical chamomile oil was recommended to be rubbed rotationally on the entire infant’s abdomen three times a day. At the end of the first day of treatment, the duration of the infant’s crying decreased by about 30 min compared to the pre-treatment day. At the end of the seventh day of treatment, the duration of crying significantly reduced to 3 h within 24 h. In addition to the reduction in the infant’s crying was an increase in his sleep time at the end of the seventh day. Conclusion: It seems that the topical application of chamomile oil as a complementary approach to ameliorate and reduce infantile colic symptoms can be considered as an appropriate and safe treatment. However, more comprehensive studies on the chemical composition and effects of chamomile is necessary to further confirm these results.