What Is Gripe Water?

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I'm a registered and licensed dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I've been asked to what is gripe water? Gripe water is actually a home remedy that has been around for many, many decades and it used primarily to treat colicky infants. It can be homemade but these days you can actually purchase it over the counter as well. It can be made from a variety of things that may have alcohol in it, it may bicarbonate, which is baking soda, also a variety of herbs such as chamomile, fennel, dill, mint. All of these items may or may not be in gripe water. One thing to keep in mind this is being used for infants so typically if you buy it over the counter, it will be sold with a dropper and you will dose it in between two to ten milliliters to the infant. It's best if it does not have alcohol in it. So if you were going to make gripe water on your own, again make it without alcohol, just use a purified water and small amounts of the herbs, such as the chamomile or the fennel, and in very, very small amounts. Typically this is used because it is thought to actually calm the digestive tract, to actually soothe an upset stomach, decrease nausea, and decrease any diarrhea. In most infants, if other things have been tried and haven't worked, a lot of times gripe water can be effective in decreasing their symptoms of colic."