Last Updated: September 25, 2023, 11:44 IST
Infants don’t have enough immunity to fight the bacteria present in honey.
Giving honey to infants can cause infantile botulism, a fatal disease that can cause nerve damage and paralysis.
When an infant is born, it becomes quite essential to take care of their surroundings. One of the most important things is to regulate what they eat. During the initial months, infants mostly rely on their mother’s milk. It is after they start growing that they are introduced to different food items. There are several articles on the internet that explain what kind of food should be given to children until one year.
Recently, a new video has been going viral on social media, where a professional health influencer has advised parents not to give honey to their children until they turn 1 year old.
According to reports, a TikTok personality named Dr Sam from Singapore has advised all parents not to give honey to children under the age of 1. He revealed that it can cause infantile botulism, a fatal disease that can cause nerve damage and paralysis. He added that children under the age of 1 should not consume any amount of honey because it is contaminated and contains a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum.
It has been revealed that infants do not have enough immunity to fight the bacteria from developing, which could be fatal for them. Even an organisation called Poison Control has warned against feeding honey to children under 12 months old.
Medical experts stated that the symptoms of the bacteria appear within 3 to 30 days after consumption. The symptoms include difficulty or stopping breathing, constipation, swollen eyelids and loose body. As per reports, the conditions worsen so much that the child has to be kept in the ICU.
Dr Sam even narrated the story of a child infected with the disease after consuming honey. After that, he had to be kept in the ICU for almost a month. He also added that the two-month-old baby had no medical condition until it started showing mysterious issues. The parents also noticed that the baby had poor muscle tone, and the condition worsened over the course of one or two weeks. The baby also developed seizures, chest infections, and difficulty breathing.
