Constantly crying

General Symptoms of Cow'S Milk Protein Allergy.

Crying is a normal, accepted part of a child’s development in the first 3 months of life and it is the primary means of communication between infants and their parents/carers.^1,2

Healthy newborn babies cry and fuss, on average, for around 2 hours a day which usually reaches a peak around 4 - 6 weeks of age. After this the crying gradually lessens, and by around 12 weeks it is closer to around an hour a day.^3,4 But all babies are different!

There is little consensus about the definition of an abnormal cry such as that of the inconsolable cry. The most widely used definition is “fussing or crying lasting for more than three hours per day, for more than three days, for at least one week”.⁵

The incidence of an inconsolable cry is high in infants below 3 months of age and decreases considerably beyond six months of age.⁶ If an infant cries for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week and for more than three weeks, then they may be suffering from colic.

As infants develop, they cry less frequently and become better at communicating their needs through other means, such as facial expressions, signal/gestures, and vocalizations.⁷

What Causes
Infants to Cry
Constantly/
inconsolably?

Common reasons for infants to cry include hunger, tiredness, discomfort (for example, their nappy is wet, or they are too hot or too cold); over stimulation can also cause infants to cry or if they need comforting. Newborn babies will also cry when experiencing discomfort and pain such as reflux, colic, constipation, or during illness.¹

Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) can also cause inconsolable crying.⁸ Other possible causes include a urinary tract infection, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a viral illness or bacterial meningitis.⁸

Could It Be a
Symptom of
Cow’s Milk
Protein Allergy?

CMPA can present with a number of clinical manifestations, which may result in symptoms such as inconsolable crying in newborn babies and infants.⁹

However, when considering the diagnosis of CMPA, it’s important to note that the majority of these infants have at least two symptoms affecting at least two different organ systems.^10-12

Therefore, it is important to consider the individual child as well as the magnitude of their symptoms. This can be achieved using an awareness tool such as the Cow’s Milk Related Symptom Score (CoMiSS™) which will help you determine if CMPA might be indicated.^13,14