Monday, April 11, 2005

Gripe water

The mighty Economic Times talks about a lowly product, gripe water, a category dominated by TTK Healthcare's Woodwards brand that sees minimal advertising of a boring, repetitive kind. Almost all pediatricians are against its use, and some actively attack it. In spite of these problems, the product is a best seller. So, what gives? Vikram Doctor has the answer!

An interesting quote from a doctor who thinks this product is useless: "Gripe water is really only good at soothing the parents"! The company, of course, says these attacks by pediatricians are misguided, since their main complaint -- that the product used to have small amounts of alcohol -- is no longer valid; their product has been alcohol-free since the 80's.

The article also talks about colicky babies who are fed this concoction; I am not so sure. When I grew up, babies were given gripe water routinely -- colic or no colic. I am quite sure this sort of indiscriminate use is still common.

We really have no experience with this product whatsoever, since our son grew up without too much of a fuss. I guess we just got lucky. Thanks Aadhu!

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