Why are babies not supposed to have honey?

Question

My son is 9.5 months. Grandpa fixed him a special dinner last night (he's a wonderful cook) - anyways, after my son had ate it, I noticed the honey sitting on the counter and just casually asked if he had put honey in Johnny's dinner and he did.

I've been watching Johnny, he hasn't had any reaction to it yet. If he was going to have some sort of reaction, how long would it take to show up? This was around 7pm last night and when I dropped him at daycare this morning at 7am, he still showed no signs of a reaction. Do you think we are in the clear?

Thx. :)

Answer 1

I have read that it leads to botulism

I just looked this up, I dont really have personal knowledge on this.

Answer 2

It could take up to 72 hours for any signs of allergic reaction to appear. Not only is that why you don't give a child under 3 honey, but also because of the botulism spores that it contains. The amounts that it contains could be fatal to a child that young. Here is a link that further discusses that.

"...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.

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

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..."

EDIT- Just so everyone is clear, because it appears as though everyone is not, allergic reaction and infant botulism are two separate conditions. Infant botulism is food poisening, not allergic reaction.

Louie - should we give our babies red meat as well? Our parents didn't know that that was harmful either, but does it make it ok? Seriously

Answer 3

Honey is a known source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. When ingested by infants, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism, a rare and serious form of food poisoning. For this reason, infants under 12 months of age should never be fed honey.

Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. Most babies with infant botulism, however, do recover. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

Persistent constipation

Floppy arms, legs and neck

Weak cry due to muscle weakness

Weak sucking and poor feeding

Tired all the time (lethargy)

Difficulty breathing

Botulism spores may also be found in low-acid home-canned foods and corn syrup. For this reason, you should avoid feeding these foods to infants.

Answer 4

Honey can contain botulism spores.  While adults and older children can deal with the spores without harm, babies can develop botulism, a VERY serious illness.

While the risk is very low, since the disease is so serious, and babies don't need honey, there is no reason to take even the small chance.

Botuslim takes a while to develop. (3-30 days).  Again, it's unlikely that he's sick, but remind grandpa that babies can't have honey.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/...

Answer 5

Because honey can cause infant botulism. Honey is a known source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. When ingested by infants, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism, a rare and serious form of food poisoning. For this reason, infants under 12 months of age should never be fed honey.

Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. Most babies with infant botulism, however, do recover. Signs and symptoms of infant botulism include:

Persistent constipation

Floppy arms, legs and neck

Weak cry due to muscle weakness

Weak sucking and poor feeding

Tired all the time (lethargy)

Difficulty breathing

Botulism spores may also be found in low-acid home-canned foods and corn syrup. For this reason, you should avoid feeding these foods to infants.

Do know that Botulism is a very very rare condition.

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.

Answer 6

i know , i wonder that too . since especially it was ok the past years and still ok in some countries .anyway my daughter had this horrible cough once and her throat was filled with mucus like the ones we get when we have a cold .i was desperate , the doctor didnt know of anything that could clear , he only said time will clear it but as soon as my dad heard her talk , he knew and he gave her a bit of lemon and honey . the next day it was clear and she was feeling much better . . once in while i will give her some honey but that is my maternal instinct and experience i had . nothing ever happend to her . now she is 14 months and gets a spoon once a day . i made sure it was  organic though.and i grew up taking one tea spoon a day so .

Answer 7

The possiblity of botulism (they are more susceptible)

Answer 8

Babies don't have a reaction to honey.

The reason you don't give honey is that there's a small chance that it can contain live botulism spores, and botulism is a very serious illness for a small baby. That said, when's the last time you caught botulism from honey? It's only a minute chance but it's one that's not worth taking, hence the advice.

Botulism spores are killed by heat, though - if Grandpa used honey as an ingredient when making a hot cooked meal, there's no risk at all.

Answer 9

They say there is a possibility of botulism. However, if he was going t hae an allergic reaction he would have more than likely showed signs by now. Jus call his Dr and make real sure- Just to be on th safe side, and to ease your mind! :)

It seem as though nothing is safe for babies anymore :( My Grandparents tell me that they feed there kids Honey, and whatever else they wanted and they all turned out fine~!  Sometimes it seems like in this world today you have to question everything you do with baby because you hear that " this is not right", or " you cant do this"....anyways im rambling on but I think he will be ok!!!

Answer 10

My mum used to dip my dummy in honey and it would keep my quet when i was a baby, and i don't think i ever had some kind of reaction!

i think it's perfectly fine, i know quite a few people who's babies like a bit of honey

Answer 11

There's a possibility that botulism spores could be in the honey.  A baby's immune system isn't strong enough to fight the disease off.

Answer 12

haha you know, i never heard of this untill last year, when my second daughter was already a month old. i had given my first daughter honey as a baby. i asked my mom about this, and her words were "oh jesus, whats next?" she gave me and my siblings honey as babies aswell.

Its another new one they have come up with i guess. im sure most of us had honey as babies and we were fine,, right? ask you parents, see there reaction.

a little bit probebly isnt going to hurt him this time round...just try to avoid it i guess for next time...

Answer 13

Our pedi said it can lead to botulism in children under two. She also said since it's pure sugar if he did have any we needed to be sure to give his teeth a very good cleaning immediately afterwards so none would be left behind. Other than those 2 reasons, I'm not sure why.