The cause of asthma is unknown but there are many triggers which increase the likelihood of getting it.

There is a genetic link which is exacerbated by Bermuda's small gene pool.

Smoking in pregnancy increases the likelihood of infants having it while UK studies show exposure to cleaning products is also a factor.

Research from Bristol University shows children born in families where use of bleach, paint stripper and carpet cleaners was high were twice as likely to get the disease compared to where the use was low.

Pregnant women are advised to make sure they eat plenty of fruit and vegetables which can reduce the risk of their infant getting the problem.

Liz Boden has repeatedly called for people to lay off the constant use of household sprays and to install household ferns to reduce the poisons in the air.

And she said a shuttered existence where children are kept indoors with the windows closed further compounded the risk.

And she said overcleaning of the home reduced the efficiency of children's immune system. Instead people are urged to get outdoors.

She said: "Children are not playing in the gardens or yards and some families only go to the beach on May 24 and Cup Match."

Government was praised for taking away old carpets from Devonshire, Southampton and Warwick pre-schools where mould and dust lurked. Since then the numbers of children getting asthma symptoms had fallen by almost 30 percent.