Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsWhy Pain OccursOther CausesManagementLifestyle Habits
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Why Pain Occurs
Other Causes
Management
Lifestyle Habits
Colicky pain occurs as sudden spasmodic abdominal pain that occurs in cycles and then resolves. While it is a problem often linked with newborns, it can also occur in older children and adults.
Colicky pain can occur in children and adults as a symptom of health problems affecting the gallbladder, kidneys, or intestines. In infants, it is more often a problem involving uncontrollable crying without a known cause.
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Describing Colicky Pain Symptoms
Colicky pain symptoms involveabdominal painthat starts, intensifies, and ends suddenly in severe waves.Symptoms can vary due to their cause.
Pain Location and Sensations
The pain location and sensations of colic in adults can include:
Signs in Babies
Colic in babies occurs as a special pattern of crying in babies who are otherwise healthy. Despite eating and growing well, they cry in spells, usually at the end of the day.
Other signs of colic in babies include:
Onset and Duration
In babies, colic usually occurs in the following pattern:
In adults, colicky pain often occurs as severe pain that comes in waves. It suddenly starts and abruptly ends in periods that can last minutes to hours.
Emotional Effects
Parents of babies with colic often experience a broad range of emotional effects that can include:
Adolescents and adults living with chronic pain such as colic are vulnerable to the emotional effects of anxiety and depression, leading to a low health-related quality of life.
Why Colic Results in Pain
Colic results in pain that occurs due todistension, obstruction, orinflammation. Pain can result as your abdominal muscles vigorously contract to try to resolve the obstruction.
Affected Organs
Adult colic involves intestinal or urinary system pain in different types of colic:
Gallbladder
Biliarycolicoccurs as a result of distension (an increase in size) of your gallbladder. It occurs when the flow ofbileis disrupted. Bile is a digestive aid that is produced in your liver and stored in your gallbladder.
The blockage typically results from agallstone(a hardened deposit of bile), which blocks the flow of bile from your gallbladder. Biliary colic usually occurs as a steady or intermittent pain in your upper abdomen, often under the right side of your rib cage. The pain may be more common after eating a large fatty meal since more bile is needed to break down the fat.
Kidneys
Renal (kidney) colic occurs with the formation ofkidney stones(hard clumps of minerals and salt that form in your kidneys). Severe pain, or kidney colic, can occur when the stones move around in your kidney or block the flow of urine in aureter(one of two tubes that lead from your kidney to yourbladder).
Kidney colic typically occurs as severe pain in your lower back, side, or groin. The pain may move to the groin area, affecting thetesticlesin men and thelabiain women.
Intestines
Intestinal colic can occur as cramping in your intestines, usually due to a blockage in your large or small intestine.
Common causes of blockages leading to intestinal colic include:
Related Surgeries
Colicky pain can occur after surgeries that involve the following areas:
These procedures are more likely to result in abdominal adhesions. These bands of scar-like tissue form inside your abdomen between two or more organs or between organs and your abdominal wall, causing these surfaces to become adhered together.
As abdominal adhesions kink, twist, pull, or compress your intestines and other abdominal organs, you can experience an intestinal blockage or obstruction. This can restrict the. movement of food or stool through your intestines, leading to colicky symptoms.
Other Exacerbating Factors
Having any of these exacerbating factors can increase your risk of having colicky pain:
Is It Colicky Pain or Something Else?
There are numerous causes of abdominal pain. This can make it hard to determine whether the problem is colicky pain or another medical condition.
In older children and adults, colicky pain can have a broad differential diagnosis (difficulty narrowing down the cause since this type of pain is true of many conditions). If symptoms continue, contact your healthcare provider. Many conditions with similar symptoms can be easily remedied with the right treatment. Other conditions require immediate care for the best results. Some common conditions that mimic symptoms of colic include:
Severe Symptoms and Complications of Colicky PainCall 911 or go to an emergency room emergency care for the following severe symptoms of colicky pain:Severe stomach pain that interferes with your normal ability to function, move, eat, or drinkSudden onset of stomach painHigh feverBlood in your stool, urine, or vomitStomach pain after an accident that caused abdominal traumaSevere nauseaPain in the upper abdomen under your rib cageJaundice(yellow skin or eyes)Vomiting blood or a black material that resembles coffee grounds
Severe Symptoms and Complications of Colicky Pain
Call 911 or go to an emergency room emergency care for the following severe symptoms of colicky pain:Severe stomach pain that interferes with your normal ability to function, move, eat, or drinkSudden onset of stomach painHigh feverBlood in your stool, urine, or vomitStomach pain after an accident that caused abdominal traumaSevere nauseaPain in the upper abdomen under your rib cageJaundice(yellow skin or eyes)Vomiting blood or a black material that resembles coffee grounds
Call 911 or go to an emergency room emergency care for the following severe symptoms of colicky pain:
How to Manage Colicky Pain at Home
Try the following strategies to treat colicky pain in older children and adolescents:
How to Treat Colicky Pain
Additional treatments for colicky pain depend on the cause of pain in older children and adults. Your healthcare provider may advise one of the following therapies:
Prescription antispasmodic colic medicine to ease spasms in the wall of your bowel:
Treatment of kidney stonesincludes:
Removal of gallstones includes:
Long-Term Effects of Living With ColicThere is some evidence that colic may have long-term effects on infants who experience it.It can also cause a significant emotional burden on parents who feel inadequate or helpless in managing their child’s needs.Living with long-term colicky pain is physically and emotionally draining. When children and adults endure long-term colicky pain, they become vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and a decreased quality of life at home and at work.
Long-Term Effects of Living With Colic
There is some evidence that colic may have long-term effects on infants who experience it.It can also cause a significant emotional burden on parents who feel inadequate or helpless in managing their child’s needs.Living with long-term colicky pain is physically and emotionally draining. When children and adults endure long-term colicky pain, they become vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and a decreased quality of life at home and at work.
There is some evidence that colic may have long-term effects on infants who experience it.
It can also cause a significant emotional burden on parents who feel inadequate or helpless in managing their child’s needs.
Living with long-term colicky pain is physically and emotionally draining. When children and adults endure long-term colicky pain, they become vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and a decreased quality of life at home and at work.
Lifestyle Habits to Offset Colicky Pain
The following lifestyle habits may help offset colicky pain:
In babies with colic, the following lifestyle habits may help relieve colic:
Summary
Colicky pain is a common problem in infants. However, it can also impact older children and adults.
While home treatments may help improve episodes of colicky pain, long-term symptoms should not be ignored. A healthcare provider can diagnose the cause of your pain and advise appropriate treatments.
In infants, treatment may involve lifestyle changes and home remedies until the infant outgrows the problem. In children and adults, treatment can vary based on the cause. Lifestyle changes, medication, therapies, and/or surgery may be advised.
32 Sources
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