There is no single remedy that reliably stops colic, but a handful of options have enough evidence behind them to be worth trying. The most promising are a specific probiotic strain for breastfed babies, dietary changes (either switching formula or adjusting what a breastfeeding mother eats), and structured soothing techniques. Many popular products marketed for colic, including gas drops and gripe water, perform no better than a placebo in clinical trials.
Colic is defined by the “rule of three”: crying that lasts at least 3 hours a day, 3 or more days a week, for over 3 weeks. It typically peaks around 6 weeks of age and resolves on its own by 3 to 4 months. That timeline feels endless when you’re in the middle of it, so here’s what the evidence actually supports.
Probiotics for Breastfed Babies
The strongest evidence for any single intervention involves a specific probiotic strain called Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938. In a trial published in the journal Pediatrics, breastfed infants who received this probiotic daily saw their median crying time drop to about 35 minutes per day after three weeks, compared to 90 minutes in the placebo group. That’s a meaningful difference.
The catch: this benefit has been consistently shown in breastfed infants. Evidence in formula-fed babies is weaker and more mixed. If you’re breastfeeding, look for infant probiotic drops that list this exact strain on the label. Many pediatricians now recommend it as a first-line option for breastfed colicky babies. Generic “infant probiotics” with different strains haven’t shown the same results, so the strain matters.
Dietary Changes That Can Help
If You’re Breastfeeding
What you eat passes into your breast milk, and some babies react to common allergens. A randomized trial had breastfeeding mothers eliminate cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, and fish from their diets. After about a week, 74% of babies in the low-allergen group showed improvement, compared to 37% in the control group. On average, fussing and crying dropped by 21%.
Cutting out that many foods at once is demanding, so many parents start by removing cow’s milk and dairy products alone, since these are the most common triggers. If you don’t see improvement within 7 to 10 days, dairy likely isn’t the issue. A broader elimination diet is more effective but harder to maintain, so it’s reasonable to try it in stages and work with your pediatrician to make sure you’re still getting adequate nutrition.
If You’re Formula Feeding
Switching to an extensively hydrolyzed formula, where the milk proteins are broken down into very small pieces, reduced crying by about 63 minutes per day in one clinical trial. A smaller study using amino acid-based formula (where proteins are broken down completely) found a 45% reduction in total fussing and crying. These specialized formulas taste and smell different from standard formula, and they cost more, but they’re the most evidence-backed option for formula-fed colicky babies. Your pediatrician can recommend a specific product.
Why Gas Drops Don’t Work
Simethicone drops (sold under brand names like Mylicon and Little Remedies) are one of the most commonly purchased colic remedies. They work by combining small gas bubbles in the stomach into larger ones that are easier to pass. The problem is that gas isn’t actually what causes colic in most babies. A multicenter, placebo-controlled trial found that simethicone was no more effective than a placebo. About 28% of infants responded to simethicone, while 37% responded to the placebo alone. Even when researchers isolated babies whose parents specifically reported gas-related symptoms, simethicone still showed no advantage.
The drops are considered safe, so they won’t hurt your baby. But the improvement parents sometimes notice is almost certainly a placebo effect, or simply colic improving on its own over time.
Gripe Water: Not Recommended
Gripe water has been sold since the 1800s, when the original formula contained alcohol and sugar. Modern versions typically contain fennel, ginger, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), and flavorings. The problem is that gripe water is not regulated by the FDA, which means there’s no guarantee that what’s on the label matches what’s in the bottle. Manufacturing quality and ingredient purity are entirely at the company’s discretion.
Multiple brands of gripe water have been recalled over the years for posing dangers to infants. The sodium bicarbonate in many formulas neutralizes stomach acid, but acid isn’t the source of most babies’ digestive discomfort, so the mechanism doesn’t hold up. No clinical research supports gripe water’s effectiveness for colic.
Lactase Drops
Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down lactose, the sugar in breast milk and standard formula. Some researchers have theorized that temporary difficulty digesting lactose contributes to colic symptoms. Lactase drops, given as five drops before each feeding, have been studied in small trials with mixed results. Some babies do seem to improve, but the evidence isn’t strong or consistent enough to call this a reliable treatment. It’s another option in the “probably won’t hurt, might help” category.
Soothing Techniques That Help in the Moment
While none of these “cure” colic, they can reduce crying episodes while you wait for your baby to outgrow it. The classic approach involves the five S’s: swaddling snugly, placing baby on their side or stomach while you hold them (always on their back for sleep), making a loud shushing sound near their ear, gently swinging or rocking, and offering something to suck on like a pacifier. The key is layering these together rather than trying one at a time.
White noise machines or apps set to a volume similar to a running shower can be particularly effective, because the womb is surprisingly loud and the sudden quiet of the outside world can be unsettling. Skin-to-skin contact, warm baths, and gentle abdominal massage in a clockwise direction are also worth trying. Different babies respond to different combinations, so experimentation is part of the process.
Signs That It’s Not Colic
True colic happens in an otherwise healthy, well-fed baby who is gaining weight normally. Several red flags suggest something other than colic is going on:
- Fever in any baby under 8 weeks old, which needs immediate medical evaluation
- Vomiting (not just spitting up), especially if it’s forceful or green-tinged
- Blood in the stool or mucousy stools, which can point to a milk protein allergy
- Poor weight gain or refusal to feed
- A high-pitched, inconsolable cry that sounds different from the baby’s usual fussiness
- Lethargy or unusual sleepiness between crying episodes
- A swollen or tender belly
Conditions like reflux, ear infections, urinary tract infections, and milk protein intolerance can all mimic colic. The difference is that babies with these conditions usually have additional symptoms beyond crying, and the crying pattern often doesn’t follow the typical colic trajectory of worsening at 6 weeks and improving by 3 to 4 months. If your gut tells you something is off beyond normal colic, trust that instinct.
Taking Care of Yourself Through It
Colic is one of the leading triggers for caregiver frustration and shaken baby syndrome. If you’ve been holding a screaming baby for an hour and feel yourself reaching a breaking point, putting your baby down in a safe sleep space and walking into another room for five minutes is not neglectful. It’s the right call. The baby will be fine crying alone briefly, and you need the reset.
Tag-teaming with a partner, family member, or friend so you can take real breaks is more important than finding the perfect remedy. Colic ends. It doesn’t cause lasting harm to your baby’s development or your long-term bond, even though it can feel that way at 2 a.m.