1 yr old (or younger) MUST NOT be given Honey - Infant Botulism

jovialz

Active Member
Extract: http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/nutrition_information/Nutrition_and_Health/hold_honey_baby.htm

Feeding honey to your baby could be harmful if he or she is younger than 12 months of age. Honey could be the cause of a rare type of food poisoning called infant botulism--a serious, even deadly, illness. Honey is the food most commonly found to contain the bacteria causing botulism. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that honey should not be added to the food, water, or formula that is fed to infants younger than 12 months of age. This recommendation includes foods processed with honey.

Honey is a known source of bacterial spores called Clostridium botulinum that produce a toxin which can cause infant botulism. These spores can also be found in soil, water, uncooked food, and even household dust. Infant botulism can occur from breathing in vacuum cleaner dust, but eating honey is the number one preventable cause. While honey is safe for infants over 12 months of age, infants under 12 months of age have not yet developed beneficial bacteria in their digestive tracts that can control botulism spores. Therefore, do not add honey to baby food, water, formula, or medicine. Do not dip a baby's pacifier in honey. Even the honey in some processed foods can cause this problem. After an infant eats the spores of this bacteria, the disease can occur within a few hours or up to a week after the exposure.

Symptoms of infant botulism include weakness in the neck, arms, or legs; inability to suck or cry normally; inability to feed or swallow; and persistent constipation. The first symptom is constipation, which can appear three to 30 days following ingestion of honey. The next symptoms observed are listlessness, decreased appetite, and a weakened cry over the next several days. Gagging and sucking reflexes diminish and the child moves less and less. Infant botulism frequently causes an infant to have an unusual breathing pattern, which often requires putting the infant on a ventilator to help with breathing.

Most infants recover from botulism with hospital care. However, if infant botulism is not treated immediately, it could result in death. Hospital care is necessary. Identifying the botulism toxin in the stool is needed for proper diagnosis. This toxin can cause nerve damage for weeks or even months. Neither antibiotics nor antitoxin have proven beneficial in treating infant botulism and may even make the illness worse. There is also a link between infant botulism and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), because breathing is affected in the most severe stages of the illness. It is believed to be the cause of death in 10% of SIDS cases. As children get older, the stomach acid, bacteria, and the intestinal tract mature to make them less susceptible to the toxins that botulism spores produce. The single most effective way to prevent infant botulism is to avoid giving honey to infants younger than 12 months of age.


Other Reference (or you can google on 'infant botulism'):
http://www.babycenter.com.sg/baby/startingsolids/honeyexpert/

http://www.drgreene.com/21_825.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/infant-botulism/hq00854

http://www.nutriwatch.org/06FST/honey.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/botulism.html
 


Thanks for the warning
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Those babies whose parents have asthma or bronchitis also better don't take honey.
 
totally agree

MIL gave honey drink to my ds when he was 25m -
when he came home at nite - vomitted 3-4 times
(even in the middle of the nite after drink milk)

Luckily, he was ok the next day

I insisted to mil not to give - she say : never mind - just a little bit ...
 
JTS. No point telling us in SMH. Cos those babies that are taken care of by grannies, don't read the posting here.

Anyway, I tried educating the older generation to no avail. I can't really lose my temper and stomp off... So, I just hope nothing bad happens.
 
Kell: try bringing your babies caretaker to PD the next time and ask the PD if babies can be given honey etc.

Sometimes third party advice will help.
 
maybe you can try replying with "I wonder why they say that."

could help to prompt them to think how should the decision be arrived at.

different method for different people - we always have to find one that works.
 
Michael,
Thanks. Tried to no avail. Their mentality is "last time also like that", also no baby die (or anything bad happened).

Sad to say, in Asian Values, even if parents are wrong, you have to listen to them.

I give up. Hope to get windfall and then be SAHM.
 
Thanks for the articles and links. Always heard that honey is not sutiable for young babies, but got no proper proof to show to hubby so he can educate his mum. My MIL used to gave my boy drink honey water, as my boy dun like to drink water so mil will say add a bit of honey so water taste sweet then baby will drink. If not, boy will consitpate. Until a fren told me and hubby that baby cannot take honey. So just to be on the safer side, we stopped mil from giving. But we cannot explain why to mil, just say people say cannot give honey to baby.
 
hi ladies, thks for the advice..my mum oso sometimes ask me to give my 10 mths old son honey water but i heard somewhere before that its not advisable..but i do give him barley water without sugar quite often, so far ok..he likes it too..my pd said if baby is constipated, u can give abit of sugar water but not too much as it is a form of laxative..bu i usually give fruits to ease the constipation like papaya, apples or bananas..
 
i gave my twins honey when they were abt 8mths they are doing fine! I gave them abit to try & i'm pretty lucky both of them have no reaction of it! I agreed have to be careful but dnt be too caution abt it!
 
My hubby accidentally bought a tin of milk powder tat contains natural honey and when son took the milk, he developed rashes immediately. He was only 12mths old and got to be rashed to the Mt Alvernia to be treated by his PD. So we know he is actually allergy to honey.
 
Thanks a lot Jovialz. I was not aware of this. Thanks for this warning. My bb is 13 months now. Is it safe now to give him honey to cure cough?
 
Thanks for sharing the article. Fortunately for me I can't take honey so it's never been an issue at home. Like CJJ, I don't feel well taking bee/pollen products.
 
When my son was abt 13 mths old, my hubby accidentally bought a tin of milk powder that contains natural honey and my son developed rashes immediately after he consumed the milk.

Now I am very conscious with his diet...
 
hi thank for the alert.

Some times natural food is not always safe for baby.

I wondered nowaday, what type of food is really safe for baby to consume,taking in considerational of the many type of Genertic Modifified process foods.
 
hi thanks for sharing.

I told my MIL honey is NO NO for my kid till they turn 3yrs old. I told her No nuts as well cos easy to casue allegry. I told my MIL is very serious matter therefore my MIL give my boys try all type of food except honey and nuts. Other food i just close 1 eye. So far my boys dun try seafood as well. My boys are abt 4yrs old and 13mths now.
 
hi jappooh, u mean u've not given yr 4yr old boy any seafood? Is it necessary to stay away from seafood? If so, till what age? Tks!
 
Melissa,

yes my boy was not given any seadfood except the dry scallop that use to cook his porridge. Actaully i think normal kids should be ok to take the seafood. My boy have ecezma there i dun give seafood till now. Worry of allegry loh.
 
Jappooh
oic...better dun give seafood since got ecezma. even adults who have ecezma should avoid seafood also.
 
i have actually given my 15months old son some honey but it was mixed with the oregano extract for his asthma.. hope this is just ok..
 
Hi chance upon tis article at Young Parents:

IS IT SAFE? Babies under the age of one should not be fed honey because some versions contain a low count of naturally occuring bacterial spores. If these grow in the immature digestive system of babies, they can cause a serious disease called infant botulism. But it is safe for a pregnant or nursing mum to eat honey, as the digestive tract of adults renders them harmless. In fact, a cup of warm milk and honey is often recommended for pregnant women who have difficulty falling asleep.

TO THE RESCUE While there is no one particular type of honey that is specifically for kids, Tony recommends buckwheat and manuka honey to soothe coughs. In 2007, the Penn State College of Medicine in the US found that a dose of buckwheat honey before bedtime did better than cough suppressant in reducing the severity and frequency of night-time coughs.
 
hi

My daughter have cough frequently before she was 2. Then an old 'makcik' lady that massage me for my confinement told me that honey can reduce phelgm. She recommended me to give every other day. 350ml h2o to 1/2 tsp honey.
Now she is 2 1/2 yrs old and thank god whenever she have cough, it will last only 2-3 days and will disappear. No phelgmy cough also.

I guess it all individual. Buy honey that is not mixed with any other external ingredients
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eerrrmmm a mixtured drink of aloe vera, honey and ginger always works for me grandchildren............be it, cough,cold or flu
 
I noticed a post wasn't answered.. How about the nestle cereal, Honey & Wheat? It's for 6mos up.. Stage 1.. Can babies that age consume that?
 

Hm... What is the possibility that product is not made with real honey ? Any idea if honey is listed as an ingredient ?
 

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