Asthma nurse Liz Boden is urging islanders to lay off the aerosols and air fresheners if they want to preserve their health.

New UK studies shows they may be causing a range of health problems with babies and pregnant women particularly exposed.

Research by Brunel University linked use of air fresheners with earache and stomach ache in babies and depression and headaches in mothers and a study by Bristol University shows babies exposed to the sprays were more likely to suffer diarrhoea. In Australian study has linked them to asthma attacks.

One in ten high school students in Bermuda and one in ten adults have asthma while asthma rates are six times higher than 25 years ago.

Ms Boden said the studies confirmed what she had always believed.

?It basically proves they are bad for your airways. Bermudians love using spray, the spray every corner of their bodies and their homes.?

An asthma sufferer herself, Ms Boden said one woman who suffered from the condition had confessed to using a kitchen counter cleaner six times a day. ?When she stopped spraying she didn?t have asthma.?

She said a survey done by school children showed the average Bermudian home has 15-20 aerosol or pump sprays.

The sprays may kill the smell but they linger for up to two days and she fears offices which with closed window will build up such chemicals, said Ms Boden.

It does not matter whether the spray is from an aerosol or a pump said Ms Boden, founder of health charity Open Airways ? and emphysema and asthma sufferers are particularly vulnerable.

?It isn?t about the CFCs, it?s about the chemicals.?

Air freshener plug ins were also a concern said Ms. Boden but she said household plants were good at absorbing toxic vapours and improving air quality by releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere.

Particularly effective are rubber plants and peace lilies. Studies by NASA showed a single spider plant could reduce dangerous toxins by 96 percent in 24 hours. Ventilation also diffuses the danger.

According to research the chemicals in air fresheners contain low level toxins which have been linked to a number of diseases with prolonged exposure.

They include

Benzene ? linked to leukaemia

Xylene ? linked to nausea and sick building syndrome and liver and kidney damage

Phenol ? linked to kidney, respiratory, neurological and skin problems.