This is the follow-up to my previous post on Gavin’s strange night behaviour (or rather sleep behaviour).
I think it should be quite evident that I’m not really a subscriber of “alternative” medicine, but in this case, I felt it warranted a mention.
A few days back, my MIL who was carrying Gavin, mentioned she felt a lot of “wind” in his tummy. Well, everybody gets a little wind in the tummy from time to time, especially if we eat things that don’t really agree with us. If it isn’t too bad, we just live with it. Sometimes we take antacids, PPIs (proton pump inhibitors – if the cause is warranted) or whatever other remedy there is out there.
If you’re Chinese, you rub this stuff on your tummy:
I’m not sure what it is called or if it even has an English name but you can usually find it in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Halls. In Asia, I think some pharmacies also carry it. It’s a sort of brownish yellow liquid (the botle in the photo is almost empty) and it is for stomach “wind”. I’m not sure if it is used for other purposes. It is also purportedly “safe” to use on infants (we used it on Gavin on a daily basis when he was a baby and, as far as I know, so do a lot of other Asian parents).
Like I said, I don’t usually subscribe to this, but I’m usually willing to give it a go if there are no harmful side effects. When Gavin was a baby, I can’t really say I really noticed the beneficial effects of the oil. Lately, however, we started applying the oil to Gavin’s belly over the last couple of nights and he appears to be sleeping a lot more soundly now. So was he waking up crying because of a bloated tummy? Possible. Did the oil do the trick? Possible.
Verdict? Gavin is sleeping better, which means Mummy and Daddy are, too, so I guess we’ll give this the thumbs up.
Recently, I’ve also been feeling a bit bloated (I think due to the pregnancy symptoms), so hubby has been rubbing the oil on for me. Does it work? Well, all I can say is that after rubbing on the oil I start to get rather flatulent, followed by a trip to the bathroom and a happier tummy. It is hardly an exact science but I can live with the results – not to mention that the tummy rub’s also pretty nice.
sooyin says
Ooo…that’s yu-yi oil! =) It’s quite ‘hot’ so you have to use it sparingly and rub it between your own palms first if you use it for infants. It’s sold in Cold Storage too.
Another alternative is ‘Ban Leng’ oil which we use on Elena. For her, we found it more effective than yu-yi oil in chasing out the wind plus it can be applied directly.
figur8 says
Yes, you’re right. It does get quite “hot”. We usually put two drops on our hands and rub first before applying to Gavin’s tummy. Should look out for Ban Leng after we use up the 3 bottles hubby bought! (If we still need it by then or maybe for the second baby).
Wow! Didn’t know that Cold Storage sold it, too!
sooyin says
LOL…3 bottles? That’s quite alot…=) We couldn’t find Ban Leng oil here in the Chinese medicine shops, but apparently it’s sold everywhere in Penang so if you have friends or relatives there, you can ask them to buy it for you (my parents bought it for me when they went there).
figur8 says
Hahaha… yeah – kiasu hubby. Noted – we’ll have to look out for Ban Leng the next time we’re up north, then.