Gripe Water vs Gas Drops: What's the Difference, and Which Should You Use?

At 6pm most evenings, a newborn who was fine all afternoon starts crying and does not stop. Two products sit next to each other on the pharmacy shelf for exactly this moment: gripe water and gas drops. They look interchangeable. They are not.

What Gas Drops Actually Are

Gas drops contain simethicone, an anti-foaming agent. It works mechanically: it lowers the surface tension of gas bubbles in the stomach so they merge into larger bubbles that are easier to burp or pass. Simethicone is not absorbed into the bloodstream — it passes through the gut and out again — which is the main reason it is considered low risk for infants.

Because it is a drug rather than a supplement, a bottle of gas drops has a defined active ingredient and dose on the label. The inactive ingredients vary: some contain artificial colours, flavourings, or sodium benzoate, and dye-free versions are available.

What Gripe Water Actually Is

Gripe water is a herbal preparation, not a medicine. A typical modern formula is purified water with fennel and ginger extract, sometimes chamomile, lemon balm or dill, and often sodium bicarbonate. In the United States it is sold as a dietary supplement, which means the formula is not pre-approved and can differ substantially between brands.

Older formulas contained alcohol and sugar. Those still exist in some markets and in imported bottles. An alcohol-containing gripe water is not appropriate for a baby.

What the Evidence Says

This is the uncomfortable part: the evidence for both is weak. Reviews of simethicone for infant colic have repeatedly found it performs about as well as placebo. Gripe water has been studied far less, and the studies that exist are small. Colic also resolves on its own, usually by three to four months, which makes almost any remedy look effective if you start it at the peak.

That does not mean either is useless to you. Holding a baby upright, dosing calmly, and a few minutes of focused attention are themselves soothing. It does mean you should not keep escalating doses when nothing changes.

How to Choose Between Them

• If the crying comes with visible straining, a hard tummy and relief after passing wind, simethicone is the more logical first try — it targets gas specifically.
• If the crying is general fussiness or reflux-like discomfort, neither product is targeting the cause; positioning, smaller more frequent feeds and winding technique matter more.
• Choose a dye-free, alcohol-free product with a short ingredient list, whichever category you pick.
• Do not use both at once on the assumption that more is better.

Reading the Label Before You Buy

The front of the box tells you almost nothing. Turn it over and look for: the active ingredient and its strength, whether alcohol or added sugar appears, the preservative used, and whether dosing is given by weight or by age. Scanning the panel with LabelBaby breaks those ingredients down against infant-appropriate guidance instead of marketing language.

Nothing here replaces your pediatrician's advice. If your baby's crying is new, severe, or comes with any other symptom, that call comes before any bottle on a shelf.