The chemical secrets that help keep honey fresh for so long

Post by elmomle » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 4:46 AM UTC

wtvanhest wrote: post #40

loeg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://parentdata.org/honey-botulism-babies/ > Infantile botulism is extremely rare. There are an estimated 100 cases per year in the U.S., among approximately 4 million children in the age range under 1. That’s a risk of 1 in 40,000. This is somewhat less likely than the chance of visiting the ER for a blanket-related injury in a given year (yes, I looked that up, and I do think it’s a good comparison). > ... In an…

I don’t think these probabilities are correct. Every parent is told not to feed their under 1 year olds honey, many times. In an extreme example… only 20 parents fed their kids honey and 20 kids contracted botulism. That would be a 100% risk. Obviously in real life it’s not 100% of kids, but still could be a meaningful percentage and likely higher than 1 in 50,000 for babies that eat honey.

Post by loeg » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 4:59 AM UTC

Analemma_ wrote: post #42

loeg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://parentdata.org/honey-botulism-babies/ > Infantile botulism is extremely rare. There are an estimated 100 cases per year in the U.S., among approximately 4 million children in the age range under 1. That’s a risk of 1 in 40,000. This is somewhat less likely than the chance of visiting the ER for a blanket-related injury in a given year (yes, I looked that up, and I do think it’s a good comparison). > ... In an…

I'm not sure that number is meaningful without knowing how many parents are giving their infants honey. Granted I'm in a high-income, high-education area, but at least in my bubble, "don't give babies honey" seems to be common knowledge, so it's possible there are relatively few instances and a high percentage result in complications.

Post by fsckboy » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:03 AM UTC

filterfish wrote: post #46

__mharrison__ wrote: post #25

Recently went through first aid training and the instructor claimed putting honey on wounds would help them heal faster. (Sample size 1) I tried it on myself and a wound that was stubborn about healing was better very quickly.

I had a planter wart surgically removed which they packed with Manuka honey and because it's a deep open wound it needs to heal from the inside. I changed the dressing and repacked it every few days for weeks and the wound was absolutely pristine ever time. I live in the tropics where people die because due to infection which makes it even more interesting that they use honey.

Post by cess11 » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:14 AM UTC

repeekad wrote: post #31

cypherpunks01 wrote: post #28

This article is missing what I think is a pretty important PSA on the topic of bacteria in honey: Honey commonly contains small amounts of the anaerobic bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. This is why you should not feed honey to infants, because their immune systems cannot safely handle any amount of it yet. Even though the levels apparently are small enough for the rest of humans to consume worry…

same with immunocompromised folks, though all that only applies to raw honey; pasteurized honey is more common in grocery stores and totally safe

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 08, 2025, 5:46 AM UTC

cypherpunks01 wrote: post #28

This article is missing what I think is a pretty important PSA on the topic of bacteria in honey: Honey commonly contains small amounts of the anaerobic bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. This is why you should not feed honey to infants, because their immune systems cannot safely handle any amount of it yet. Even though the levels apparently are small enough for the rest of humans to consume worry…