infants PRECAUTIONS • Any bleeding of the circumcised penis beyond a few drops should be reported to your doctor. • If there are any signs of infection (pus, spreading redness, swelling of the shaft of the penis), see your doctor. • During bathing, any part of the foreskin remaining after healing of the circumcision should be pulled back to expose the base of the glans for cleansing. • Boy babies born with malformations of the penis should not be circumcised because the foreskin may be used later during surgery to correct the malformation. MEDICAL TREATMENT Your doctor or religious leader will perform the circumcision, using one of a variety of approved techniques. Ask for specific directions for care of the circumcision. In a rare instance of postoperative infection, the doctor will perform cultures of blood and material from the circumcision site, and begin antibiotic therapy. Quick Reference Colic SYMPTOMS • Crying for hours at a time • No other obvious cause of crying HOME CARE • Look for possible signs of illness or other causes of discomfort • Offer a feeding to see if the baby is simply hungry. • If colic seems to be the problem, apply gentle heat to the baby's abdomen. • A pacifier may calm the child. • Try inserting a glycerine suppository or lubricated thermometer to help the child pass a bowel movement PRECAUTIONS • If the baby is being bottlefed, make sure that the formula is prepared properly. • Keep the bottle's nipple full to keep the baby from swallowing too much air. • Make sure that the bottle's nipple hole is large enough to allow the baby to finish feeding in less than 20 to 25 minutes. • After each feeding, carefully burp the baby in different positions. • If the baby is being breastfed, be sure that the mother's nipples are not bleeding. Swallowed blood causes cramps. • Between feedings, try keeping the baby partly upright in an infant carrier to avoid regurgitation of food into the esophagus (food tube). Colic is a relatively common condition characterized by fussiness and long spells of crying that affects many infants (10 to 20 percent of babies in the United States). Often, babies with colic appear to be suffering from cramplike abdominal pains. However, other babies with colic don't act like they are experiencing any such abdominal discomfort-instead, their crying seems related only to general irritability. (In some babies, both factors may be at work.) Colic usually starts during the first few weeks of life and lasts one to six months (an average of three months). SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS The signs of colic are seen in the typical behavior of colicky infants. A baby with colic cries for hours a day, particularly in the late afternoon and evening. The child often pulls the legs up, clenches the fists, screams, and turns red. The child may feed briefly but often stops feeding and returns to crying. Rocking and cuddling also stop the cries only briefly. whooping