Peppermint oil for 8month ds...

[SaucyMoo]

My ds suffers from trapped wind a lot in the middle of the night-not sure why as he does lots of burps after his last feed. Anyway i think it may be hereditary as both me and dh have IBS...i bought some japanese pure peppermint oil, was just wondering if anyone knows whether its safe to put a couple of drops in his water bottle to settle his stomach? The woman at Holland & Barrat said she doesnt know.... My dh is going to try it to!

NO, peppermint oil is FAR too strong for a baby, fennel tea is much better. Use fennel seeds if you like, and strain it.

No - peppermint oil is very strong. Saintmaybe is right, fennel tea is effective and very gentle. He can drink plenty safely. If he has formula you can even make up his bottles with it. If he's breastfed then you should drink plenty of it, too.

Oh ok, im glad i asked-thanks! I have fennel seeds at home, if i just boil them in water and give him the water, would that do any good? He is breastfed and given formula at bedtime.....i hope he doesnt get IBS when he is older-poor thing.

Dh gets 'bubbles in his tummy' and huge amounts of flatulence, basically from hot food-we've narrowed it down to red chilli. Cos we make indian food at home, it makes it quite hard when all your food is quite spicy-but have started to make blander food. Dont know if its IBS, but thats what docters say to any type of digestive problem...

There's a 'mix' (for want of a better word) that Indians sometimes chew after meals to sweeten their breath. I've been served it at a posh Goan restaurant. It included fennel seeds and other seeds as well as something that look like liquorice comfits the size of 100s and 1000s. I wonder whether eating that would help your dh's flatulence?

I imagine you could just steep seeds in water. I don't honestly know what exactly is in the tea-bags, bu tthere's a make called something along the lines of Dr Stuart's Botanical, which is very good. The ordinary sort, like Twinings, are too weak. Dr Stuart's is fine for babies.

Hi-just to update, ive been giving ds a concuction of fennel seeds and fresh mint...just boil in water for 5 mins or so and dilute with some more water and give it to him in his bottle..ive found it has helped.
That stuff indians chew (lol) is aniseed/fennel mixture with those little red balls. We have loads of the stuff at home, will ask dh to have some after each meal.
thanks everyone