Episodes of irritability, and excessive crying in otherwise healthy infants, thought to be due to spasm in the intestines.
A baby with an attack of colic cries or screams incessantly, draws up the legs towards the stomach, and may become red in the face and pass wind.
Colic tends to be worse in the evenings.
The condition is distressing but harmless.
Usually, it first appears at 3–4 weeks and clears up without treatment by the age of 12 weeks.
Also known as salaam attacks, these are a rare but serious type of EPILEPSY, usually starting in the ?rst eight months of life. The spasms are short and occur as involuntary ?exing of the neck, arms, trunk and legs. They may occur several times a day. If the baby is sitting, it may collapse into a ‘salaam’ position; more usually there is a simple body jerk, sometimes accompanied by a sudden cry. An electroencephalogram (see ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY (EEG)) shows a picture of totally disorganised electrical activity called hypsarrhythmia. The condition results from any one of many brain injuries, infections or metabolic insults that may have occurred before, during, or in the ?rst few months after birth. Its importance is that in most cases, the baby’s development is seriously affected such that they are likely to be left with a profound learning disability. Consequently, prompt diagnosis is important. Treatment is with CORTICOSTEROIDS or with certain anti-convulsants – the hope being that prompt and aggressive treatment might prevent further brain damage leading to learning disability.... infantile spasms
adj. 1. denoting conditions occurring in adults that are recognizable in childhood, e.g. poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) and infantile scurvy. 2. of, relating to, or affecting infants.... infantile
Health Encyclopedia