Despite Ability to Calm Coughs, Honey Not Recommended for Infants

Dangers of Honey Reiterated for Infants
Deseret Morning News (USA), 12/20/2007

Although honey has been recommended to calm a child's cough, it's a potentially deadly remedy for children under a year old.

Tuesday, Salt Lake Valley health officials issued a warning to parents that infants, with their underdeveloped immune systems, can get botulism from honey.

There's renewed interest in the sweet remedy following recommendations that children under 6 not be given over-the-counter cold medicines. Even before that, their effectiveness had been questioned. Studies have shown honey is more effective.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says honey sometimes contains Clostridium botulism spores that can translate into a deadly disease for infants. Each year, across the country, about 110 botulism cases are reported. Of those, about half occur in infants and 15 percent of infant botulism is traced to honey…