Why does your baby cry?
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Crying is the baby's instinctive response, and the baby often cries to express needs.
There are no more than two major categories of reasons for babies crying, one is a normal physiological reaction, such as the baby is hungry and thirsty, cold and hot, which is called non-pathological crying; one is caused by diseases, called pathological crying.
Image source: Figureworm Creative
Common causes of nonpathic crying
Nonpathological crying is usually due to the fact that the baby is hungry, thirsty, cold, hot, wet diapers, want to be hugged or lose their temper, want to sleep or can't sleep.
The judgment of this situation is relatively simple, the general needs of the baby are met, the crying will stop, and the continuous crying time will generally not exceed half an hour.
Specifically, there are the following types, parents can check them.
1. Hunger
This kind of crying is mostly before feeding, the baby's crying is mostly dragged out for a long time, the face shows an impatient look, the head is constantly tilted to the sides to find something, and the mouth will do sucking. If the mother picks up the baby at this time, he/she will arch his/her head towards the mother's chest.
2. Thirst
Babies cry hoarsely, and the lips look dry, mostly after excessive sweating in the summer heat, dry outdoors in autumn, and excessive clothing quilts in winter.
3. Cold
The baby's face is slightly pale, the body is curled up, like to shrink to a warm place when crying, the neck and back temperature is lower than the palm temperature of our adults, and the arms and calves are cold.
4. It's too hot
Your baby's face is flushed, there is obviously a lot of sweat on the forehead or in the quilt, and the hands and feet may become cold due to a lot of sweating.
5. Want to sleep or get tired
When the baby cries mostly without tears, crying is low, the movement of hands and feet is not as much as usual, and from time to time the eyes are closed, but because they can't sleep and open their eyes to continue to cry, look tired and sleepy, some babies will have their own sleep signals, such as rubbing their eyes, scratching their ears and so on.
6. Diapers (diapers) are damp
The baby's crying is steady and the tone of the voice is elongated, and the crying stops, as if remembering something and then crying, probably because the wet diaper (diaper) makes the baby uncomfortable.
7. Ask someone to hug or throw a tantrum
If the baby cries strongly, the hands and feet are stiff, and the kicks are random, it may be to be hugged or lose their temper. When your baby sees something he likes or a novelty toy, he hears a novel sound and stops crying on his own.
Common causes of pathological crying
Pathological crying is generally characterized by more pronounced, high intensity and long duration, often more than half an hour or repeated crying, such as crying again shortly after crying stopped, and may even last more than 2 hours.
Generally, there are the following reasons, parents can check it against each other.
1. Intestinal spasm (also known as colic)
Among the causes of baby crying, the incidence of intestinal spasms is very high, and it is also the most asked by parents to the doctor.
Intestinal spasm, also known as intestinal colic, is more likely to occur in babies under 3 months of age, and its specific pathogenesis is currently unclear, which is the result of a combination of factors.
The typical symptom of an intestinal spasm attack is that the baby will suddenly cry loudly, and when crying, the face gradually turns red, the mouth is white, the stomach is swollen tight, the legs are curled up, the feet are cold, the hands are clenched, and the parents' hugging and feeding cannot be relieved.
The baby's crying may last for several hours, or it may be a burst of attacks, crying mostly occurs in the afternoon, at night, and may also have milk leakage, spitting up, farting, bloating and so on.
Most of the intestinal spasms caused by non-disease factors can be relieved by themselves, and when the baby defecates, farts, or the baby cries on his own to the point of no strength, it will stop, and the process generally takes 20 to 30 minutes.
If the baby is crying at the same time as frequent vomiting, changes in the number of stools, changes in stool characteristics, inguinal masses, scrotum masses, etc., or can not stop the baby's intense and continuous crying for half an hour (crying for a few minutes, stop for a few minutes does not count), then you need to be vigilant for intestinal disease factors, you need to seek medical treatment in time.
2. Respiratory tract and urinary tract infections
While the baby is crying, there are often accompanied by fever, refusal to eat, poor spirit and other manifestations.
3. There is a problem with the throat
Babies cry and cry at the same time hoarseness, which may be laryngeal cartilage, laryngitis, laryngeal edema, diphtheria and other diseases.
4. Ear diseases
Babies crying and scratching the pinna of the ear, which may be eczema of the external auditory canal, otitis media, boils of the external auditory canal and other diseases.
5. Intracranial diseases
At the same time as the baby is crying, there is frequent vomiting, sudden fixation of the eyes, bulging out of the front fontanelle (the baby's front fontanelle bulges), convulsions, angle arch reversal (that is, the head bends to the back), which may be intracranial infection, intracranial hemorrhage, intracranial tumors and other diseases.
6. Chromosomal abnormalities or hereditary diseases
If your baby cries incessantly and cries like a cat's bark, it may be cat call syndrome, a chromosomal disorder.
If the cry is like a sheep's beep, it may be Drange syndrome, a congenital syndrome of multiple developmental abnormalities and an autosomal dominant disorder.
In addition to crying caused by colic, the incidence of pathological crying is generally very low, but it also requires parental vigilance.
What to do if your baby cries incessantly
Non-pathological crying and crying caused by intestinal cramps caused by non-disease factors are more common, and parents can generally help the baby to alleviate it at home.
Although the incidence of other pathological crying is very low, it still needs the attention of parents, and once it occurs, it is necessary to seek medical treatment in time.
Parents at home to alleviate non-pathological crying and non-disease factors caused by intestinal spasms, you can refer to the following methods.
Nonpathological crying: meeting your baby's needs in a timely manner
Generally, when the baby feels comfortable, he will stop crying.
Parents can first check whether the baby's diapers need to be replaced; then touch the back of the baby's neck or vest to see if the temperature is not appropriate.
If it's been some time since your last feeding, try feeding your baby. In addition, by grasping the baby's sleep signals, you can know whether he/she is sleepy or not.
If the baby is tantrum and crying, at this time, parents need to respond to the baby in time, hug him, soothe his emotions, and also use some small toys to attract the baby's attention.
Intestinal cramps due to non-morbid factors: aircraft hugging, burping, massage, and hot compresses may be tried
If all of the above is done, the baby will still cry, the most common is the crying caused by intestinal cramps caused by non-disease factors.
At present, there is no clear way to quickly relieve the pain caused by this intestinal spasm, parents can try to hold the plane, massage and other methods to see if they can make the baby's abdomen more comfortable and shorten the crying time. If your baby is resistant, it is not recommended to continue to try.
Airplane hug: Have your baby lie on your parent's arm, similar to the picture below.
Image source: Lilac Mom
Hiccup: Parents first pick up the baby, let the baby's head rest on their shoulders, and at the same time pat the baby's back to discharge excess air in the stomach.
Massage: Let the baby lie on the bed, and the parents massage the baby's abdomen clockwise with their hands to discharge the intestinal gas.
Hot compresses: Parents wrap a hot water bottle in a cloth and place it on the baby's small belly. Pay attention to the temperature can not be too high, the hand is slightly warm to the touch, so as not to burn the baby.
When do I need to go to the hospital?
Pathological crying requires timely medical attention. A typical manifestation is that the parents can not alleviate the baby's crying no matter what they do, and the intense crying lasts for more than half an hour, and the crying is accompanied by other symptoms mentioned in the "Causes" section.
Parents can record or videotape the baby's crying, and check and record the baby's other symptoms at the same time, which can help the doctor judge the baby's disease.
Cooperation expert Fang Chao
Attending physician of pediatrics at Hengyang Central Hospital
Scientific audit Zhou Ying
Master of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhuo Zheng medical pediatrician
Curate Mei
Executive Producer Mei
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