Air fresheners and aerosols may harm mothers and babies

Air fresheners and other household sprays could damage pregnant women and new-born babies, according to a study linking aerosols with a range of disorders in mothers and children.

Although the research falls short of proving that fresheners cause ill health, scientists warn that people should use such sprays with caution.

The researchers found that almost a third more (32 per cent) babies suffered diarrhoea in homes where air fresheners - including sticks, sprays and aerosols - were used daily compared with households where they were used no more than once a week.

Babies in these households also suffered more earache.

Other aerosols such as polish, deodorant and hairspray were linked with a 30 per cent increase in diarrhoea and, to a lesser extent, vomiting in babies.

Mothers who used air fresheners and aerosols daily were 10 per cent more likely to suffer headaches than women who used them less frequently, the study found. The scientists also discovered 16 per cent of mothers who used such fresheners daily were suffering from maternal depression, compared with 12 per cent who seldom used them. That represented an increased risk of 26 per cent, they said.

Alexandra Farrow, of Brunel University, said more than 40 per cent of the 10,000 families who took part in the study used air fresheners regularly. "People think that using these products makes their homes cleaner and healthier, but being cleaner may not necessarily mean being healthier," said Dr Farrow.

The study sent out questionnaires to find out about the use of nine types of chemical-based products, from window cleaners and paint strippers to aerosols and air fresheners. The researchers interviewed the mothers of 14,000 children who have been monitored continually since birth as part of Bristol University's "Children of the 90s" study.

Dr Farrow and her colleagues also looked in detail at 170 families randomly selected from the group to measure levels of volatile organic compounds - lightweight molecules that easily evaporate into the air - and compared the measurements with the use of sprays.

They found a direct link between the levels of volatile organic compounds in the home with the frequency with which the women used air fresheners and aerosols.

"Air fresheners combined with other aerosol and household products contribute to a complex mixture of chemicals and a build-up of volatile organic compounds in the home environment," Dr Farrow said.

"Pregnant women and babies up to six months may be particularly susceptible to the effects of this, because they spend around 80 per cent of their time at home ... There may be implications for other groups who are at home a good deal, such as old people."

The most surprising finding was that the daily use of air fresheners could be linked with a significant rise in the incidence of maternal depression.

"We are not saying that air fresheners cause depression but that these products have to be used with caution. It is possible that depressed people are more likely to use air fresheners," Dr Farrow said.

The study, to be published in the journal Archives in Environmental Health, is believed to be the first of its kind and the findings will be examined by EU scientists involved in a wide-reaching review of the safety of the many thousands of chemicals used in domestic products.

"It is important that people know what our research is showing and they can make decisions themselves as to whether to continue or even to start to use these chemicals in the first place," Dr Farrow said.

"We also found an increase in headaches in women who were frequent users of both aerosols and air fresheners. It should be noted that neurotoxicity testing is not required by national authorities for classification of chemicals," she said.

"In relation to children, we found increases in diarrhoea and vomiting. Both these conditions are common in infancy and any factor that might lead to significant increases in these needs to be investigated thoroughly," Dr Farrow said.

"People should stop worrying about an absolutely clean home that smells of chemicals," she said. "They should open a window and use fresh oranges or a lemon which are just as good."

CANNED CHEMICALS

Volatile organic compounds commonly found in household sprays and aerosols:

Benzene

toluene

m-xylene

o-xylene

decane

1,2,4-trimethylbenzene

undecane