Might your air be just too clean to breathe?

Epigram 17 January 2005 (Issue 166)
http://www.epigram.org.uk/view.php?id=294

Asthma during childhood has been linked to household cleaning products. New research at the University of Bristol has suggested a connection between persistent wheezing in children and pre-natal exposure to household cleaning products.

The study involved 7,019 families from the university's Children of the 90s project, the most comprehensive study of early childhood ever undertaken. Household usage of various products was considered, including bleach, disinfectant and carpet cleaners.

In the 10 per cent of families using these products the most frequently, children were twice as likely to suffer from persistent wheezing as families where they were used the least. Such wheezing in young children can often develop into asthma.