I was reading the label on a jar of honey and I'm just curious. Why honey shouldn't be given to children less than 1 year old?
2007-10-18 10:12:37 · 10 answers · asked by Snowflake 7 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Pryvet!
Honey contains Clostridium botulinum spores. The sugar concentration in honey is so high that they remain in spore form, so the bacteria don't produce botulinum toxin, so it's safe for older people to eat; however, in children under about 18 months' age, the spores can survive to live in the gut, and there the active bacteria can flourish. They produce the toxin, paralyzing the infant, and cause what looks like SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome, or crib death). Older kids and adults seem to kill the spores off, perhaps with the acid environment in the stomach.
2007-10-18 13:46:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Honey may contain botulinum spores. Adult digestive systems can kill of the bacteria pretty easily, but the bacteria may start to grow in an infants and cause botulism.
2007-10-18 17:19:00 · answer #2 · answered by Brian A 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Honey can contain botulism spores. Adults digestive systems can handle them and aren't affected, but it can be life threatening to infants.
2007-10-18 17:15:08 · answer #3 · answered by daisy mcpoo 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
honey can have botulism and i think it has something to do with the pollen the honey is made of, if the kid is alergic then as an infant is body couldn't fight it off...
2007-10-18 22:06:30 · answer #4 · answered by Rose 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because honey is to thick for an infant to swallow and they can choke off of it its okay to give an infant baby food in a jar like apple sauce.
2007-10-18 21:45:29 · answer #5 · answered by Michelle T 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Infant botulism, which shouldn't be confused with the botulism that adults can get.
http://www.infantbotulism.org/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-botulism/HQ00854
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/diseases-maladies/botu_e.html
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1037.html
2007-10-18 17:22:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
It has nothing to do with its taste because it is natural. It has to do the sugar content. Children should not be given anything with too much sugar and toddlers should not be given any sweetness at all. The same thing holds true for white granulated sugar. It will affect the teeth, not just cavities.
When they gave babies sugar in Africa, their teeth grew abnormally. There were large gaps between teeth and a deformity altogether. Prior to introducing the sugar, ALL the babies grew to have healthy teeth. You never hear this in the USA, why?
If Botulism was a problem, why have we not heard of millions of babies getting sick? We would have a pandemic! Some unknowing parents mix it with milk because it is not white sugar and put it in baby bottles.
2007-10-18 17:29:28 · answer #7 · answered by Richard S 4 · 0⤊ 6⤋
It can contain botulism. Rare, but it can be there.
2007-10-18 17:15:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
I heard that it can cause an allergic reaction if the babies touch it. I'm not sure if that's right or not, but that's what some one told me.
2007-10-18 17:16:40 · answer #9 · answered by RockingRollinGuy 2 · 1⤊ 5⤋
It can contain Lysteria...which is a very bad sort of food poisoning which can kill a baby.
2007-10-18 17:15:31 · answer #10 · answered by Daisyhill 7 · 2⤊ 6⤋