Health benefits of gripe water for babies include relieving colic, treating acid reflux, cures trapped wind and gas, helps in teething, helps in falling asleep, good for tummy and cures indigestion.
From the day your baby is born he/she needs utter care and attention for a healthy growth as he/she is still growing and immunity is yet to develop. Colic is one of the problem that can turn out to be tough for you as well as your baby. It is a condition that can cause your hale and healthy baby to cry continuously for hours. Clenching of fists and curling of the leg while crying unstoppably can be considered as a sign of colic.
Colic can start at the age of two weeks and last upto 4 months of age. Gripe water is considered to be the apt cure for this problem. It is a mixture of herbs and baking soda in water. The main herbs mixed in gripe water are fennel, ginger, chamomile and lemon balm. It may also contain dill oil, fennel oil, aloe, and preservatives. Apart from curing colic, gripe water also has many other benefits. Let’s look into the several benefits of gripe water in detail.
10 Must Know Health Benefits of Gripe Water for Babies
Seeing your baby cry can never be a pleasant sight to watch. But the condition called colic can cause your child to cry for three to four hours. Though the causes of colic are not known, but surely the cure is known. It is the best treatment to ease colic in babies. It has worked wonders since ages and still continues to be the best remedy for colic.
Treatment for acid reflux:
Gripe water contains baking soda, that is, sodium bicarbonate which is a well-known neutralizer of stomach acid. Whenever the baby is suffering from heartburn due to the formation of acid in the stomach, you can always trust gripe water to be an appropriate cure, as the sodium bicarbonate present in it works as an antacid and turns out to be highly effective and instantly provides the baby relief from acid reflux.
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It works well to cure trapped wind and gas:
Babies are generally affected by wind or trapped gas in the stomach. One of the best remedies is dill seed. Dill seed works wonders in soothing the stomach muscles as it is a natural soother. When used as an ingredient in gripe water it increases the medicinal value of gripe water. Gripe water, thus helps to relax the baby’s tummy and breaks down the air bubbles that are trapped and these air bubbles are passed out as wind. Thus, gripe water helps in relieving the symptoms of gas in your baby.
It can also help in teething:
When your baby is in the initial stage of teeth growth, he can become too fussy and remain irritated most of the time. He may cry a lot and breathe irregularly. This may also cause wind as the baby takes in more air than he normally does. So, it can calm down a teething baby by easing the formation of wind in the stomach.
Read More: Gripe Water: Side Effects Every Mom Should Know
Treats problem caused by enzymes of salivary glands:
During the period of teething the salivary gland of the child works overtime and thus excreting excess enzymes. The extra enzymes that are produced are not required by the stomach, so that can lead to upset stomach. So, as you know gripe water is just the best thing to treat upset stomach, so in such a situation all you need to do is bring your baby at ease by giving him a dose of gripe water without a second thought.
It can also help the baby fall asleep:
Earlier gripe water used to contain alcohol, due to which the baby used to fall asleep instantly. But, due to certain safety and health concerns the use of alcohol in gripe water was stopped. But gripe water is said to have certain properties like chamomile which cause sleep. So, if your baby has been restless for hours, you can give them some gripe water so as to get temporary relief, and easily fall off to sleep.
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It benefits the baby’s tummy:
The ginger and fennel present in gripe water are essentially beneficial. They help to ease digestion and avoid the situation of gas in babies. So if gripe water that essentially contains these ingredients is given regularly to the baby, it can avoid any such situation in the baby. It is so effective that pregnant ladies use it to get relief from morning sickness.
Cures indigestion:
Babies do not have strong digestive systems in initial months, so any kind of overload can cause upset stomach and indigestion. It has such properties which can ease digestion in any such situation. So, whenever your kid has any issues with digestion, do try giving them some gripe water.
Read More: 14 Home Remedies for Gaseousness and Farting in Babies
Helps in case your baby has a loss of appetite:
Babies need to eat well to grow well. But at times they suffer from loss of appetite due to certain reasons. Loss of appetite can lead them to less feeding, which is not at all a good sign. It is a great cure to revive the diet of the baby. It actually fixes any issues related to the digestive system.
It is made up of natural ingredients:
The ingredients used to make gripe water are natural and healthy. They have many health benefits and minimal side effects. This makes it completely safe for the baby. Earlier alcohol was used in gripe water which could be considered little unsafe, but nowadays the use of alcohol is prohibited, making it more safe and better.
Gripe water is thus a very important thing to include in your baby care kit. It is extremely useful to cure many probable problems in babies. Various ingredients that are mixed to make gripe water have different impact on the baby. It has certain cons along with the benefits. It may cause allergy due to presence of allergic substance. So, make it a point to check the ingredients that constitute the gripe water. Happy parenting!!
