When can I give my child honey?!

When can I give my child honey?

My son appears to be suffering from seasonal allergies - alot of eye and nose rubbing, puffy eyes, general irritability. I'm aware of the benefits of eating locally grown honey to combat such allergies. What I'm not aware of, however, is when/at what age honey is no longer a danger.

So, the risk of honey is related to the fact that it can carry botulinum spores...which an infant can not inactivate in their immature intestines. That puts an infant at risk for Botulism when they eat it...a disease caused by the toxin produced by the botulinum bacteria. That risk goes away after age 1, so it is fine to give some at that age.

As for honey to treat seasonal allergies, it is not a bad idea but it probably won't do too much since most of the pollen is destroyed in the stomach...but it is worth a shot. As for your son's symptoms, he is unlikely to have stuffy nose/itchy eye symptoms from seasonal allergies until he is at least 4 or 5 years old as little kids have to be exposed to allergens like that for a number of seasons before they start to have the normal "adult" allergy-like symptoms. If he is younger than that age, I would really questions whether this is seasonal allergies.