why is honey bad for babies under a year and what are some of their potential reactions to honey?

Answer 1

Honey and Infant Botulism
My daughter is now 7 months old. I have been adding locally produced honey to my daughter's food to help with her allergies. In my opinion, this has decreased her allergy like symptoms. My wife and I have had great success decreasing our allergies with this practice. I was told that honey can hurt an infant. Is this true?
Mark Torrans
Pineville, Louisiana








Mark, your care for your daughter comes through clearly in your question. Taking the initiative with preventive measures to insure her health and comfort is a very loving act. Getting information regarding the safety and efficacy of these preventive measures is very wise indeed, and may save your daughter's life.

Like you, I have heard claims that wild honey might reduce allergy symptoms. In fact, today in a local supermarket I saw a jar labeled "100% Natural Raw Honey, Unfiltered Unblended." This product went on to promise great health benefits.

And indeed, careful scientific study has recognized great medicinal value in honey. Honey has significant, known antibiotic properties (Journal of Pharmacology, Nov 1996). Honey is also a traditional remedy for upset stomach. It has now been proven to prevent the growth of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach -- the organism responsible for many ulcers and much abdominal discomfort (J R Soc Med, Jan 1994). Honey also reduces the gastritis caused by drinking too much alcohol (Scandinavian Journal of Gastoenterology, Mar 1991).

Honey has been proven to decrease the cancer-producing effects of many carcinogens, and to be effective in eradicating yeast (Cytologic Genetics, Nov-Dec 1996). Topical honey is known to be useful in treating gangrene, preventing both death and amputation (Surgery, Feb 1993). Burns heal faster when treated with honey than when treated with OpSite burn dressings (British Journal of Plastic Surgery, Jun 1993). There is also less pain, less scarring, and fewer contractures when burns are treated with honey rather than with Silvadene dressings (British Journal of Surgery, Apr 1991). In Russia, honey was even proven to effectively preserve vision when cataracts begin to form in the elderly (Vestn Oftalmol, Nov-Dec 1990). Honey is an amazing substance -- but ...

As it turns out, NOT giving your daughter honey while she is an infant is an important preventive health measure. It may save her life.

The concern is with infant botulism.

Botulinum spores are found widely in soil, dust, and honey. Adults who swallow botulinum spores are almost never affected. When infants swallow the spores, however, the spores can germinate in their immature gastrointestinal tracts and begin producing botulinum toxin. This has occurred even when the honey was only used to sweeten a pacifier (European Journal of Epidemiology, Nov 1993).

Botulinum toxin is the most poisonous natural substance known to man. The lethal dose is only 1/10,000,000 mg per kg of body weight -- an amount that would be invisible to the naked eye. This tiny amount in the blood stream can cause death within minutes through paralysis of the muscles used in breathing.

Infant botulism has been found on every continent except Africa. In the United States it is most common in the states of California, Utah, and Pennsylvania. While infant botulism can occur from taking in soil or dust (especially vacuum cleaner-bag dust), eating honey is the number one preventable cause. Corn syrups are not sterilized and may also be a source of contamination (The AAP Red Book, 2000).

Infant botulism can occur any time in the first year of life, but like SIDS it is most common in the first six months. In fact it has been suggested as the cause of death in up to 10% of SIDS cases (Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics; Saunders 1992).

Thankfully, in most instances of infant botulism, the amount of toxin is so incredibly minuscule that the case remains mild. For this reason it is often misdiagnosed.

The first symptom of infant botulism is constipation (which is also a common benign finding in many infants). This can appear 3 to 30 days following ingesting spore-containing honey (The AAP Red Book, 2000). Typically, the parents then observe increasing listlessness, decreased appetite, and weakened cry over the next several days. Nursing mothers often report new engorgement. Sometimes this is the full extent of the disease. If the disease progresses, however, the child moves less and less and might begin to drool from the mouth. Gagging and sucking reflexes diminish. Loss of previous head control is also an important sign. Complete respiratory arrest can occur either suddenly or gradually.

If an otherwise healthy baby develops constipation, followed by weakness and difficulty in sucking, crying, or breathing, then infant botulism should be considered the most likely diagnosis until proven otherwise.

When infant botulism is diagnosed, the average Intensive Care Unit stay for the baby is about one month, typically including mechanical ventilation and continuous tube feedings. This is followed by another 2 weeks on the hospital ward, with a total hospital cost often exceeding $100,000 (Pediatrics; Feb 1991). Thankfully if the botulism is correctly diagnosed and the baby receives appropriate supportive care, almost all will recover fully and completely. The fatality rate for babies who have been hospitalized with botulism is less than 1%. Recently, an antitoxin for infant botulism has been developed and shown to reduce hospital days, mechanical ventilation, and tube feedings (The AAP Red Book, 2000).

The single most effective way to prevent infant botulism is for infants to avoid honey. Breast feeding also appears to lessen the severity of botulism cases.

Despite other health benefits, honey is an unsafe food for any infant. HONEY SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TO CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 12 MONTHS.

Breast feeding, though, is a great way to prevent or decrease allergy symptoms. Breast feeding and minimizing your daughter's being exposed to potential allergens (such as cigarette smoke, cat hair, house dust, etc.) are the best ways to serve your goals of reducing her allergies and her allergy symptoms. These measures will benefit your daughter now, and the benefit will last for years to come.



Alan Greene MD FAAP

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why is honey bad for babies under a year and what are some of their potential reactions to honey?

Answer 3

honey contains a bacteria called botulinum, which can cause a disease called botulism, in infants less than 1 year of age.

The concern over honey is botulism. Clostridium botulinum bacteria are found in about 10% of honeys in the U.S. Consumption of these bacteria almost never affects an older child or adult, but the immature infant intestine seems susceptible to colonization of this bacterium. As the bacteria multiply, it releases a potent toxin, (have you heard of Botox?). This botulism toxin affects the nerve endings in the body, causing paralysis, and can lead to death. Not only in honey, the botulinum spores are very commonly found in soil as well as in the dust in vacuum cleaner bags. The greatest risk factor for infant botulism is not honey, but living on or near a farm. The chief risk is in the first 6 months of life. Of course, the incidence of botulism in infants is low and most babies exposed to honey or dirt will not develop clinical signs of botulism.

Botulism can KILL the baby, there is no pediatrician who would recommend that idea.

Honey, primarily unprocessed (which you can buy at farms, or local honey dealers) may harbor the bug. It strikes babies hard and fast. Initially, the babies infected with this bug become irritable and severely constipated. The picture worsens when their breathing muscles get weak and they no longer can sustain themselves.

It hits the little ones hard because their immune system (which fights off foreign bugs) is not yet mature, and because they are so physically small, even a tiny dose of the bug can affect them greatly.

Answer 4

honey because it is not cooked can contain bacteria such as botulism. For a newborn this is deadly and after 1 year of age many of the bacteria can be handled by our immune system. So for there protection you need to never give honey to a child under 1.

Answer 5

honey should not be given to babies in any form (including raw, cooked or baked into products). Honey is bad for babies because it can grow botulinum spores, which can secrete a toxin and produce a transient paralysis in young infants.

http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Honeys-not-for-babies-1895.htm

Answer 6

honey bad babies year potential reactions honey: https://tinyurl.im/e/why-is-honey-bad-for-babies-under-a-year-and-what-are-some-of-their-potential-reactions-to-honey

Answer 7

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Answer 8

i think it caused spores or something...my mom never let me have it till i was like 4 or 5 lol. i dont reccommend it