HONEY AND INFANT BOTULISM
An infant (from the Latin word infans, meaning "unable to speak" or "speechless") is the more formal or specialised synonym for "baby", the very young offspring of a human. The term may also be used to refer to juveniles of other organisms.
A newborn is, in colloquial use, an infant who is only hours, days, or up to one month old. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate (from Latin, neonatus, newborn) refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth, the term applies to premature, full term, and post mature infants; before birth, the term "fetus" is used. The term "infant" is typically applied to young children under one year of age; however, definitions may vary and may include children up to two years of age. When a human child learns to walk, the term "toddler" may be used instead.
Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance made by honey bees. It is a liquid that serves as stored food for bees. The smell, color and taste depend on the types of flowers the honey bees deeded on.
Nutritionally, 1 tablespoon of honey (21 grams) contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, including fructose, glucose, maltose and sucrose.
It contains virtually no fiber, fat or protein. High quality honey contains many important antioxidants. These include organic acids and phenolic compounds like flavonoids.
The antioxidants in honey have been linked to beneficial effects on heart health, including increased blood flow to your heart and a reduced risk of blood clot formation. Honey also fights against infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends honey as a natural cough remedy.
Honey with all these astonishing benefits isn't safe for babies under the age of one year old simply because it could contain spores of Clostridium botulinum that attacks the body’s nerves.
Botulism is a rare but serious condition caused by toxins from bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
Three common forms of botulism are:
Food borne botulism - The harmful bacteria thrive and produce the toxin in environments with little oxygen, such as in canned food. The botulinum toxin has been found in a variety of foods, including low acid preserved vegetables, such as green beans, spinach, mushrooms, and beets; fish, including canned tuna, fermented, salted and smoked fish; and meat products, such as sausage.
Wound botulism - If these bacteria get into a cut, they can cause a dangerous infection that produces the toxin.
Infant botulism - This most common form of botulism begins after Clostridium botulinum bacterial spores grow in a baby's intestinal tract. It typically occurs in babies between the ages of 2 months and 8 months.
Infant botulism is a potentially life threatening disease caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. It grows inside a baby's gastrointestinal tract.
Clostridium botulinum is a spore forming microorganism that is common in nature. The spores may be found in soil, dust and certain foods (such as honey and some corn syrups).
Risk factors include swallowing honey as a baby, being around contaminated soil, and having less than one stool per day for a period greater than 2 months.
The concern with infant botulism is that 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.
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 parents might observe increasing listlessness, decreased appetite, and weakened cry over the next several days. 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.
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. Botulism is fatal in 5% to 10% of people who are affected. However, if left untreated, botulism is fatal in 40% to 50% of cases. Recently, an antitoxin for infant botulism has been developed and shown to reduce hospital days, mechanical ventilation, and tube feedings.
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 and other allergies. Botulism is not transmitted by breast milk, even if a mother was to eat botulism spores in honey, the spores are far too large to pass through her body and into breast milk.
It is safe to wait until your baby is at least 12 months before introducing honey. You should even stay away from pasteurized honey since this process still can't remove the spores of the bacteria. Also avoid foods that contain honey as an ingredient.
To protect your baby from infant botulism, avoid exposure to potentially contaminated soil or dust. Soil can contain C. botulinum spores, which can circulate in the air and be inhaled into the lungs. Exposure to contaminated soil is most likely near construction and agricultural sites or other areas where soil is disturbed.
Infant botulism can also occur if a baby eats food in which C. botulinum spores have multiplied and produced the toxin. Canned food can also become contaminated with C. botulinum spores.
Other liquid sweeteners, like molasses and corn syrup, may also carry a risk for botulism. Maple syrup (a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species) is generally considered safe because it comes from inside a tree and cannot be contaminated by soil. Still, some doctors do not recommend giving babies sweeteners until after the age of 1.
If you're one of the mothers out there still giving honey to babies younger then the age of 1, the best time to stop is now and take your baby to the hospital. It can be successfully treated without long term effects on the baby if detected early.
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