A disease is an internal process that results '
    in symptoms.  A cold is a disease and the   '
     cough, running nose, etc. are symptoms.    '
                                                '
A disease usually has a cause that results in   '
something going wrong with the normal function- '
ing of the body.  This imbalance results in what'
we see as the symptoms.  The source of the im-  '
balance is the cause of the disease.  A virus,  '
for example, causes a cold.  The cold is the    '
disease that results in the symptoms we see.    '
                                                '
   A syndrome is a series of symptoms that      '
often appear to be unrelated but occur often    '
enough to show a set pattern without one cause. '
                                                '
When a child has colic there is a lot of pain.  '
                                                '
There are very few ways for a child to deal with'
or express pain or discomfort.  When something  '
hurts a child naturally cries.  This is almost  '
automatic.                                      '
                                                '
Feeling hurt is different than feeling upset.   '
                                                '
When you are feeling upset, you can be comfort- '
ed.  When you are feeling hurt, comforting will '
probably not remove the hurt.  As a result, the '
usual efforts to get the child to stop crying   '
may well prove fruitless, leaving the child     '
hurting and the parents feeling helpless.       '
                                                '
When an adult feels pain or physical discomfort '
       the tendency is to grin and bear it.     '
                                                '
When children, especially very young children,  '
feel pain they have little or no choice but to  '
      let the world know how they feel.         '
                                                '
This can lead to an escalating cycle of pain,   '
fear and tension.  The child cries, the parents '
attempt to comfort, the attempt fails, the      '
parents attempt to bear their discomfort but the'
result is tension and frustration.  The child   '
picks up this tension and gets frightened and   '
tense in return.  This results in even more cry-'
ing and more frustration on the parent's part.  '
                                                '
If you have ever had a bad case of heartburn or '
severe stomach cramps, you know how a child with'
colic feels.  The child's pain may not be as bad'
as the pains you had but the feeling is similar.'
                                                '
It is that internal feeling in the stomach that '
hurts but cannot be localized or easily removed '
like the pain of a pin sticking you.            '
                                                '
As you know, many things can result in an upset '
stomach, from not eating to eating too much or  '
too fast.  Also, how and what you eat and just  '
things going on that are unpleasant can tie your'
stomach into knots.                             '
                 It is the same with a child.   '
                                                '
Many explanations have been proposed for why    '
some children experience colic and others do    '
not.  It is common enough to have had a number  '
of myths grow up about it.  These myths or      '
simple explanations for its appearance are pass-'
ed from generation to generation. Unfortunately,'
just because an explanation is common, does not '
necessarily make it true.                       '
                                                '
When these explanations are examined closely,   '
they usually do not prove to be accurate at all.'
                                                '
Colic is one of those things that the simple    '
answers passed on usually prove to be not too   '
accurate or useful.                             '
                                                '
If you look closely at a child with colic, you  '
may feel the child is doing it on purpose or    '
simply refusing to be comforted.                '
                                                '
It may even be the case, that the child appears '
to be crying uncontrollably one moment and mere-'
ly fussing the next.  Sometimes they may stop   '
altogether.  You might think this means your    '
child could control things if the motivation    '
was there.                                      '
                                                '
When it hurts really bad, the child cries a lot.'
When it hurts less, the child cries less. When  '
it does not hurt, the child rests.  The pain    '
controls the child, the child cannot control it.'
                                                '
Colic is a term used for a set of symptoms that '
occur early in life.  It is interesting to see  '
that if a child is born prematurely, rarely is  '
colic developed until a week or two after the   '
full term date, rather than a week or two after '
birth.                                          '
                                                '
It's appearance is associated with the physical '
maturity of the child.  The bad thing about this'
is that it happens when the child is the most   '
helpless.                                       '
                                                '
The good thing about this is that when the child'
has matured enough, colic will vanish.  This    '
usually happens about 4 or 5 months of age.     '
                                                '
If the child has the system that is going to    '
result in colic, it usually will not happen     '
just once.                                      '
                                                '
   It can, and often does, occur over and over. '
   Even a bout of colic daily, regular as clock '
   work, is not unusual.                        '
                                                '
The child's system goes out of whack and then   '
something has to occur to bring it back into    '
balance.  This process varies from child to     '
child.  In one, it could take 15 mins, with     '
others, hours.                                  '
                                                '
What happens to help is often a mystery.        '
                                                '
Colic is the result of something going on in    '
the stomach of the child.  Almost anything can  '
set it off.                                     '
                                                '
This is particularly true if the digestive sys- '
tem and the nervous system that controls it is  '
not fully capable of maintaining the internal   '
balance.                                        '
                                                '
The pain can begin with a twinge & surprise the '
child or it can be a sudden pain.  The crying is'
the child's only way of relieving tension.  It  '
is a natural, positive thing.  It is also dis-  '
turbing as it tells the parent that something   '
is wrong that perhaps they cannot fix.          '
                                                '
Colic is something that about a third of all    '
parents must deal with.  It can result from a   '
number of different things that upset the nor-  '
mal digestive process of children.              '
                                                '
The pain a child feels is real but the cause of '
the pain is usually not serious.  The pain and  '
its causes can usually be managed but not stop- '
ped completely.                                 '
                                                '
It is associated with the maturity of the diges-'
tive system of the child and will go away when  '
the child matures.                              '
                  One of the keys to the man-   '
agement of colic is taking care of yourself.    '
                                                '
This section of NANNY presents many of the facts'
and issues associated with COLIC.  It is setup  '
to provide you what you need to know about      '
colic.                                          '
                                                '
The information is presented on ten different   '
screens.  Each screen contains information on   '
one facet of Colic.  Each screen has more de-   '
tailed information available if you want to see '
it.                                             '
                                                '
The purpose of this section is to provide infor-'
mation.  In it you will be asked no questions.  '
                                                '
Go through it at your own pace.                 '
                                                '
                                                '
                                                '