Emily asked
Can I give my baby gripe water along with Zantac (ranitidine)?
Answer
Gripe water is one of the most commonly used over the counter products to treat for colic in infants. Unfortunately, the term 'gripe water' doesn't indicate a specific product or ingredient. In other words, 'gripe water' does not refer to a single standardized formula.
There are hundreds of products on the market today that are listed as 'gripe water', and most contain different ingredients.
This can make it difficult to discern potential drug interactions with gripe water products. However, most gripe water products are safe to use with Zantac (ranitidine) and there are generally no interactions reported between the two.
Gripe Water Information
Gripe water was invented in 1851 by a pharmacist named William Woodward. At it's creation in the mid 1800's, 'Gripe Water' contained a relatively high alcohol percentage (as high as 9%), a large amount of sugar as well as various herbs. Today, most, if not all gripe water products contain no alcohol. In addition, most contain little sugar. A history on of gripe water can be found here.
Most gripe water products today contain various herbs and often sodium bicarbonate. The herbs included in gripe water are commonly used nausea relieving herbs such as ginger and fennel. Sodium bicarbonate is often listed as an inactive ingredient but may play a role in neutralizing stomach acid in infants that suffer from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease).
Below are the nutrition facts for a popular gripe water products, 'Mommy's Bliss'. This is a good example of the ingredients contained in many gripe water products:
The ingredients in this product are mostly consistent with the majority of 'gripe water' products in that it contains no alcohol, no sugar, various herbs and sodium bicarbonate.
Using Gripe Water With Zantac (Ranitidine)
There are no reported interactions with most gripe water products and Zantac (ranitidine). Below is a list of ingredients contained in common gripe water products that are safe to use with ranitidine (i.e. no drug interactions):
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Ginger
- Fennel
- Lemon oil
- Chamomile
- Cinnamon oil
- Clove oil
- Dill
- Galacto-oligosaccharides
Summary
You can feel confident that most gripe water products are safe to use with Zantac (ranitidine). There are no reported drug interactions between many of the commonly used ingredients in gripe water and Zantac (ranitidine).
