Will gripe water help my baby's colic? Is it safe?

Gripe water is a home remedy that has been used for centuries for babies with colic, gas, or teething pain. Its ingredients vary and may contain ginger, dill, fennel, chamomile, or peppermint. No one is completely sure how gripe water works, but historically, these herbs were thought to calm the digestive tract.

Look at the gripe water ingredients and make sure that the gripe water does not have alcohol which can also be a common ingredient. In general, babies should only have a small amount of gripe water per day -- please talk to your physician about this amount. Don't substitute gripe water for water when mixing infant formula. Also, research the safety record of different brands. One brand of gripe water recently was contaminated with cryptosporidium, a parasite.