Gripe water is a non-prescription product sold in many countries around the world to relieve colic and other gastrointestinal ailments and discomforts of infants.
[2][3][4][5] Gripe water was invented in 1851 by William Woodward, an English pharmacist who did his apprenticeship in Lincolnshire and later bought a business in Nottingham.
He noted that the formula used to treat fen fever was an effective "soother of fretful babies and provided relief from gastrointestinal troubles in infants."
[5][7] In response to the FDA's import alert, gripe water products are sold as dietary supplements.
A 2000 review in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine found that most of the ingredients in Woodward's gripe water are of little value in relieving infantile discomfort and that any benefit may be no more complicated than the baby receiving some sweet-tasting liquid.
[3] Yet, commercial attention has continued to grow as companies have produced product options claiming to provide various digestive benefits, like Wellements who introduced a probiotic gripe water in 2016.
Health departments from the local to international level[11] warn against its use for infants due to lack of research and highly varied ingredients.