What are Colief Infant Drops?
Colief Infant Drops have been trusted by mums and healthcare professionals for over 25 years as a natural remedy for infant colic. Suitable from birth, Colief Infant Drops are completely natural and help break down the lactose in milk into simpler sugars, glugose and galactose, making it easier for your baby to digest milk whilst reducing discomfort. The drops contain the naturally occuring enzyme lactase which helps relieve colic symptoms caused by temporary lactose intolerance – common in many babies as their digestive systems develop. Adding a few drops to infant formula or mum’s expressed breast milk helps to break down the lactose in the milk, making it easier to digest. The drops are classed as a food supplement and can be used from birth onwards.
We know that all babies are different and not every case of colic is caused by temporary lactose intolerance. You could try a one-week trial of Colief Infant Drops to help diagnose whether temporary lactose intolerance could be causing your baby’s colic symptoms.
What does Colief Infant Drops do?
The addition of Colief Infant Drops to the baby’s usual milk compensates for a possible temporary lactase deficiency in the baby’s digestive system. Colief Infant Drops added to a baby’s usual milk greatly reduces the level of lactose by breaking it down into glucose and galactose before the baby is fed.
Can Colief Infant Drops help relieve my baby's colic symptoms?
Infant colic can have many causes. In some cases, it is caused by temporary lactose intolerance. This is when babies are unable to fully break down lactose, a complex sugar in breast milk and infant formula. This can cause discomfort commonly known as colic and characterised by lengthy periods of distressed crying. Suitable from birth, Colief Infant Drops are completely natural and help break down lactose into simpler sugars, glucose and galactose, making it easier for your baby to digest their feeds and reducing their discomfort. You could try a one-week trial of Colief Infant Drops to help diagnose whether temporary lactose intolerance could be causing your baby’s colic symptoms.
What do Colief Infant Drops contain ?
The only ingredients in Colief are lactase enzyme (which should be naturally present in a normal, developed digestive system), glycerol (or “glycerine”-which is also naturally present in the body as part of the process of converting fats to energy), and water.
None of these ingredients has ever been shown to pose a risk to health.
What is lactase enzyme ?
Milk, infant formulas, breast milk, and dairy products all contain a complex sugar (disaccharide) called lactose. Lactase is the enzyme our bodies need to produce to break down the lactose in milk and dairy products into the simple sugars (monosaccharides) glucose and galactose. These can then be absorbed as part of the normal digestive process.
From what age can a baby have Colief Infant Drops ?
Colief Infant Drops is suitable for use from birth.
How do I use Colief Infant Drops when breastfeeding ?
Express a few tablespoons of breast milk into a sterilised container. Add 4 drops of Colief Infant Drops. Give this to your infant on a sterilised spoon before initiating breastfeeding and then breastfeed as normal.
Can I mix Colief Infant Drops with less than a few tablespoons of breastmilk ?
For snacking babies, a teaspoon or two of milk should suffice. We do however definitely recommend using 4 drops to ensure maximum effectiveness.
How does Colief Infant Drops work for breastfeeding ?
If drops were given directly to the baby, the acid in the upper digestive tract would quickly change the nature of the enzyme and render Colief ineffective. However, mixing 4 drops of Colief with a little expressed breastmilk appears to protect the active ingredient, lactase enzyme.
By adding the drops to a little breastmilk it allows the drops to disperse and while they act on the lactose present it also allows the dispersed drops to be retained around the mouth and upper tract of the infant where it can encounter lactose in the milk flow during normal breast feeding.
It also serves to buffer or protect the drops and keep them in a fluid matrix which aids the treatment of the breast milk as they are washed down into the infant’s stomach.
I am bottle-feeding my baby with expressed breast milk. How can I use Colief Infant Drops ?
Express a single serving of breast milk. While still at body temperature, pour it into a feeding bottle and add 4 drops of Colief, shaking occasionally. The breast milk will be ready to use after 30 minutes.
I am breastfeeding "on-demand", every hour or two. Should I still use 4 drops of Colief Infant Drops at every feed ?
If you are feeding this frequently, you may find it convenient to express approximately half a cup of foremilk* and store this in a refrigerator. Pour a few tablespoons, warm it to body temperature, add Colief, and give this to your baby before each feeding.
If the feedings are small-say 50ml each-you may be able to use only 2 drops of Colief per feeding. It is worth remembering that most of the lactose is concentrated in the foremilk at the beginning of every feeding.
* Foremilk contains a concentration of the lactose in breast milk.
I am freezing my breast milk for use at a later time. How can I use Colief Infant Drops ?
Option 1: Express a single feeding, and while still at body temperature, pour this into a suitable container. Add 2 drops of Colief® and place the breast milk in a refrigerator for 4 hours. Then use as required or freeze for future use. Do not place the breast milk straight in the freezer after adding the drops.
Option 2: Take a single serving of frozen breast milk from the freezer, thaw and heat gently to body temperature. Then add 4 drops of Colief® and use after 30 minutes.
Note: It is important to add Colief® only to milk that is at body temperature: do not add the drops to milk that is either hot or cold. Also discard any milk that is unused once thawed. Do not refreeze.
How do I use Colief Infant Drops with infant formula ?
• Prepare the formula carefully according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or if you are using ready-to-feed formula just warm the milk
• Add 4 drops of Colief® Infant Drops to the warm (not hot) formula
• Gently swirl the formula occasionally, and feed your baby after half an hour, having checked that the bottle is at the correct feeding temperature, discard any unused feed
Can I add the drops to infant formula that I have already prepared and stored in the fridge ?
Not at refrigerator temperature. The drops work very slowly on milk that is already chilled. The ideal temperature for the enzymes to work properly is between room temperature and body temperature-neither too hot nor too cold. This is why we recommend that the drops be added when the formula is first prepared then allowed to cool to body temperature.
Can I prepare more than one bottle at a time ?
Yes, though the latest advice from health experts is that bottles should be prepared as and when required. The bottles should be prepared as normal and allowed to cool to body temperature (not hot, not cold). Add 2 drops of Colief and place them in a refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. Take the feedings from the refrigerator as required.
If prepared in advance, we recommend 12 hours as a maximum limit for keeping milk treated with Colief, even when stored in a refrigerator. After 4 hours, most of the lactose will be broken down and there will be little more activity thereafter. It is not good practice to keep prepared formula for too long, even in a refrigerator.
Can I use Colief Infant Drops with goats-milk based infant formula?
Yes. Goats milk based infant formula contains lactose. Use Colief Infant Drops as for other formula.
Can I use Colief with soya formula or lactose-free formula?
There is no need to use Colief Infant Drops with soya or lactose-free formulas. These do not contain lactose and so Colief will have no active effect.
Does Colief Infant Drops have any side effects ?
When babies begin taking milk treated with Colief, there may be a change in stool pattern. The stools may then resemble those of a breastfed baby-looser and more frequent-even if formula feeding. If you are happy that the baby is otherwise well, gaining weight and urinating normally, there should be no cause for concern. If the drops seem to be working well, you might try reducing the number of drops used at each feed.
If you have any concerns regarding your baby’s health, you should consult a health care professional as soon as possible.
How should you store Colief Infant Drops ?
Please store below 77°F/ 25°C and in an upright position. Once opened refrigerate when possible and discard after 3 months. Very high temperatures will reduce the effectiveness of the drops, but it does take some time before that happens. Temperatures above 131°F/ 55°C will rapidly reduce effectiveness.
How long can I use Colief Infant Drops ?
Colief Infant Drops can be used every time you feed your baby, either in expressed breast milk or infant formula. At around three to four months a baby’s digestive system will naturally cope better with lactose and usually symptoms will disappear. However, if symptoms persist you can continue to use Colief Infant Drops for as long as it is needed.
How do I wean my baby off Colief ?
By 3 to 4 months your baby’s colic symptoms should have disappeared. When weaning off Colief it’s best to do this gradually. First of all you can half the number of drops per feed, then use at alternate feeds, then one feed per day, then eventually none at all. If at any stage the sign of discomfort returns, revert to the previous dosage level. We recommend allowing about 5 -7 days between each withdrawal stage until eventually the baby is down to 1 feed /per day for a few days.
Are Colief Infant Drops suitable for vegetarians ?
Yes. Glycerol is derived from vegetable sources, and the lactase enzyme is derived from yeast.
How do I use Colief when I’m out and about – can I leave it out of the fridge?
We recommend that your bottle of Colief Infant Drops is stored in the fridge when possible once it’s opened and should be discarded after three months.
A good option if you’re planning on being out the house is to make the formula up in advance. Add the drops, then store the formula in the fridge until you’re ready to leave the house. The drops will need at least four hours in the fridge for the enzymes to work on the lactose in the milk, so make sure you account for this when preparing.
The prepared bottle can be transferred from the fridge to a cool bag for travel as long as the Colief has the full 4 hours to break down the lactose in the milk. In addition, it is also ok to have the bottles unrefrigerated or un-cooled for up to 2 hours before use either treated or untreated with Colief. Always make sure you use the formula within 12 hours.
Are Colief Infant Drops available on prescription ?
In the UK, Colief Infant Drops is approved by the ACBS for prescription by GP’s for babies with established lactose intolerance.
Where can I buy Colief Infant Drops ?
Colief Infant Drops is available in-store and online in a number of supermarkets and pharmacies throughout the UK including Boots, Sainsbury, Superdrug, Tesco, Holland & Barrett, Lloyds Pharmacy, Amazon and independent pharmacies. In Ireland Colief Infant Drops is available in pharmacies nationwide including Boots, Tesco, Lloyds, McCabe’s, Hickeys and McCauley’s Pharmacy. Please visit our Find a Store page for more information.
Where has Colief Infant Drops been researched ?
Colief was tested in a clinical study at Cork University Hospital, Ireland, by Professor Kearney in the early 1990s to demonstrate that a lactose-reduced feed was effective in reducing infant colic. His results were presented to the Royal College of Pediatricians at its annual meeting in spring 1994 and published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics in September 1998. These results were confirmed in a larger study recently completed at Guy’s Hospital, London, by Dr Dipak Kanabar and published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics in October 2001.
