Honey For Babies: You Should Pay Attention to This

Honey is not suitable food for babies

In the first year of life, children can become seriously ill from eating honey.

• This is because the food may contain traces of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
• Adults have a fully developed intestinal flora. The bacterium cannot spread there after eating honey.
• After birth, the baby’s intestine is not yet populated with the numerous healthy bacteria that ensure digestion and the protection of the intestine. Therefore, the bacterium can multiply explosively in the child’s intestines.
• The bacterium produces a toxin that enters the bloodstream through the intestinal tract. The result is severe infant botulism.
• Children in the first six months of life are particularly at risk. However, even then the intestinal flora is not fully developed. Therefore, children should not consume honey in the first year of life.
• Some mothers rub honey on the nipple to counteract the baby’s reluctance to drink. You should also refrain from doing this.

Infant botulism is difficult to detect initially

The difficulty in recognizing infant botulism is the temporal relationship.

• If the baby has eaten honey and is infected with the botulism bacterium, it takes a while for the first symptoms to appear.
• It can take a few to 30 days for the first signs to appear. This makes it difficult to link the symptoms to honey consumption.
• The first symptom is constipation. This is caused by the paralysis of the intestines by the bacteria.
• The paralysis then spreads to the whole body: in addition to paralysis of the arms and legs, the facial muscles are also affected. The facial expressions fail and the eyes can no longer be kept open. Swallowing is also no longer possible.
• The respiratory paralysis that can occur is life-threatening. If infant botulism is not recognized in time and treated in an intensive care unit, it leads to the death of the child.