You might regularly use air-freshening and -scenting sprays, plug-ins, diffusers, oils, incense and candles, but did you know some may negatively affect you and your family’s health? Most conventional air-freshening products contain synthetic fragrances and nerve-deadening ingredients (so you can’t smell properly); or they coat your nasal passage with a thin, oily film to “block” the smell; or they might overpower the original scent but don’t “clean” and “erase” bad odours.

A 1999 survey by Bristol University (UK) involving 14,000 pregnant women showed regular use of air fresheners and household aerosol sprays made women and babies sick. Women who used those products most days had a 19 per cent increase in depression and 25 per cent more headaches than women who used them less than once a week.

Babies aged under six months who were regularly exposed had 30 per cent more ear infections and were 20 per cent more likely to experience diarrhoea (although they weren’t sure which came first — the stinky-nappy smell or trying to mask it).

Unsafe chemical levels

In 2005, European consumer group Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs measured the harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aldehydes in the air after using 74 types of home scent products, including incense, scented candles, aerosols, gels and liquid and electric diffusers. VOCs and aldehydes attack the peripheral nervous system (which transports sensory messages to the brain and helps control the stomach, heart and intestines) and central nervous system (affecting the brain and spinal cord).

The results showed that many of the home scent products tested released toxins into the air and exceeded the considered “safe” VOC emission levels. Some were even 25 times higher.

Synthetic fragrances

Our body’s systems interact with and support each other. The organs interconnect their functions to provide a smooth and elegant rhythm of life, says aromatherapist Christine Platten.

“We now know that synthetic materials we use on a regular basis compromise this natural rhythm. Synthetic fragrances [which are man-made or altered scents], in particular, negatively affect our endocrine system, which deals with delicately fine-tuning our many hormonal secretions for optimal health and balance.”

What is “fragrance”

Fragranced products (eg conventional candles, incense, gels, melt-waxes, air fresheners, oils etc) may smell nice but are synthetic and have no direct biochemical therapeutic benefits, unlike pure essential oils. Plus, you never know what’s in them, says aromatherapist, Jen Gallagher.

“When the word ‘fragrance’ is listed as an ingredient, it enables the manufacturer to make a mix of potentially hundreds of chemical compounds. There’s no requirement to separately list each of the chemicals used to make the fragrance. So you won’t know what or how many chemicals you’re exposing yourself and your family to when you use a synthetic scent,” she says.