Honey on a dummy could have killed tot
The Scots have a way with headlines -- and in this case it’s deadly serious.
Call it what you will, a dummy, pacifier, soother, nuk – that’s Sorenne with one of hers a few weeks ago – they should never be dipped in honey.
A child in Scotland has been in hospital for six weeks fighting for his life with botulism and he could have caught it from sucking a dummy which had been dipped in honey, it emerged last night.
Since 1976, over 1,000 cases of infant botulism have been reported worldwide, most of them in America.
Clostridium botulinum can cause sickness in very young children, and infants under the age of 1 years old are most at risk. Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores that can grow in the digestive tract of children less than one-year-old because their digestive system is less acidic. The bacteria produces toxin in the body and can cause severe illness. Even pasteurized honey can contain botulism spores and should be not be given to children under the age of 12 months.
Honey helps sore throats
So says lead author Dr. Ian Paul of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine after a study found that honey did better than cough medicine or no treatment in a three-way comparison of 105 children.
The story explains that federal health advisers have recently warned that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines shouldn't be used in children younger than 6, and manufacturers are taking some products for babies off the market.Three pediatricians who read the study said they would tell parents seeking alternative remedies to try honey. They noted that honey should not be given to children under age 1 because of a rare but serious risk of botulism.
The research appears in December's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
