to want to say something about the fumes?

[shelldockley]

Hi there, I just have a question concerning my friend spraying air freshener around her ds(3 months). Every time I go round her house it smells heavily of air freshener, I've even seen her spray it (aerosol) directly above his head. Now I'm very sensitive to such smells and it makes me cough when I go round, but I can't help worrying whether this is unhealthy for the baby. I'm sure it's not my place to say anything, but is it unhealthy for his little lungs?

Would it be unreasonable of me to say something? What if no one else does, what if no one else realises it could be dangerous? To add to this, her dd(4 yrs) is being tested for asthma, could this be related?

That sound horrible, YANBU. I'm sure it can't be good for anyone's lungs to have it sprayed right above their head, even worse for a baby.
I think I'd say something if it was a good friend. Maybe in a jokey way so she doesn't take too much offence. Difficult situation to be in. I had a friend once who smoked in the house round her new born and I never said anything, wish I had though. I would now I'm 10 years older!

I thought of maybe saying something in a jokey way, but I'm not sure you can criticise someone humorously can you?

Tell her that air freshener is for vile people in dirty houses.

Hmm tough one. Could it be that she is just worried about poo and sick smells that newborns make when visitors are there? If you sound to judgy you might make her feel like she can't do right for being wrong iyswim?
How bout saying something like 'what air freshener do you use? I'd like to use one but i've heard they can be bad for babies. Is that brand ok?'
at best you might get her to think about it. At worst she'll think you're a bit weird wanting to have a discussion about air freshner!

Do people still use spray air freshners?
I am really sensitive to air freshners etc - sneezing, watery eyes and a headache!

You could suggest to her to in a helpful kind of way 'have you tried the plug in freshners or the sensor ones? - they are really good and you don't have to keep spraying, especially good with babies about'...

Air fresheners are the work of the devil. A friend had one of those evil motion (ha ha) sensor ones in her tiny downstairs loo. It used to hiss at me whenever I walked in and made me want to puke with the vile, faux-floral sickly stench.

Poor, poor baby. I'm sure there are loads of nasty chemicals in air fresheners that young children shouldn't be exposed too.

"A common harmful ingredient of air fresheners is limonene. Limonene irritates eyes, mouth, skin. It can also cause incoordination and dizziness. You may also be breathing petroleum distillates, which can irritate or damage your lungs. You may feel fatigue and confusion when your air freshener contains tolune. Some air freshener chemicals show themselves more in long term, like cancerogenic benzene compounds, or phthalates interfering with hormone production. You can also find such toxic chemicals as methylformamide, terpinolene, methoxybenzaldehyde, and butanoic acid."

For the rest of the article: www.home-air-guide.com/air-freshener-health.html

It is a tough one isn't it. I did wonder if it's just when there are visitors because she's worried about poo smells. But then her dd really does wheeze a lot and it makes me worried.

Linziwam I might try and brave your suggestion of what to say!

Seriously, if you use air freshener you are vile. Tell her to stop it. If she does not never see her again.

Next time she gets the spray out have a look at the ingredients list and tell her how poisonous each componant is.

Thanks for that Callisto, I might try and sneakily check the ingredients!

bbc news story on aerosol harm to babies and pregnant women

It's a bit old (and worth a peek just to see a reminder of how the BBC website looked 10+ years ago ), I thought there was some more up to date research on the same thing but it makes the point pretty clearly.

Sorry, haven't got a chance to search at the moment in any more detail but there have definitely been studies over the years that have shown increased rates of things like lung problems in kids that live in households that use air fresheners compared with those that don't.

Might be worth asking the mum if she is aware of the health risks!