[] Is Your Mattress Making You Sick? (fwd)

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Is Your Mattress Making You Sick?

By Cheryl

CBN News

CBNNews.com - Many people who suffer with

headaches, joint aches, and other physical ills

on a daily basis reach for over-the counter remedies to quell their pain.

Few, if any, would ever suspect their mattress is the cause of their problems.

While it's well-known that an older mattress can

be a source of allergies - mostly from dust mites

or mold - a new mattress would be worry-free.

Or would it?

There's Something Scary in My Bed

Some 30 or more years ago, mattresses were made

of untreated, natural materials, but now most

come to the store bearing a host of

petrochemicals, flame retardants and other additives.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission lists the

following chemicals as the primary ones used in

mattresses to meet current laws: boric acid ,

formaldehyde, antimony trioxide,

decabromodiphenyl oxide, vinylidiene chloride, zinc borate, and melamine.

Most people have trouble believing that the

mattress industry and the government have put

poisonous chemicals in our mattresses to make

them fireproof, and think they must use a

different chemical. No, according to experts, the

chemical used is exactly the same as the

pesticide. Check the mattress Law Tag; if it says

'Treated Cotton,' it is likely boron/boric acid.

The initial reason for adding fire retardants to

mattresses was commendable - fire marshals

reported that more individuals died or were

injured from mattresses or upholstered furniture

catching fire than from any other type of fire.

But we're now finding -- from growing reports of

illnesses seemingly linked to mattress purchases

-- that this solution may also have its serious drawbacks.

Many doctors had initially opposed the move to

add chemicals to mattresses, fearing such

potential adverse effects. But the law was enacted, nonetheless.

Fortunately, there is at least one good method to

reduce mattress combustibility without adding harmful chemicals.

According to one organic mattress Web site,

manufacturers can add a layer of wool to either

side of an untreated cotton mattress. This serves

as an effective fire barrier -- no chemicals needed.

But there is another potential group of

troublemakers in your mattress that you should be

aware of - and that is pesticide residue.

Cotton is said to be the worst offender, because

it is the most heavily sprayed crop.

According to CasanaturaInc.com, " Twenty-five

percent of all the agricultural chemicals are used to grow cotton. "

And, according to Ousmane Boye, an official at

Senegal's Ministry for Agriculture, some of the

chemical insecticides and fertilizers imported to

Senegal from Europe and the U.S. last year are

restricted or banned in their country of origin.

There are 107 active ingredients in pesticides

still used in the U.S. that are carcinogenic, and

14 are known to cause reproductive problems in

animals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

And organo-phosphates are one pesticide type

known to have serious, long-term effects on human health.

But pesticide residues may not be limited to your

mattress. Sheets and other bedding can also be laden with it.

" One and 1/4 pounds of the chemicals are used to

produce a set of conventional queen-sized cotton

sheets, " says CasanaturaInc.com.

And the residue of this " chemical stew " is being

breathed in nightly by countless numbers of unsuspecting sleepers.

Restless Nights

For those with impaired immune systems -- a

problem more and more common -- there can be serious health ramifications.

Symptoms may range from a common headache or

joint ache, to unexplained rashes, eczema,

nosebleeds, dizziness -- even severe migraines,

arthritis, ringing in the ears, nausea and more.

Well, all this might make you run out and buy a " hypoallergenic " mattress.

But wait a minute -- a so-called hypoallergenic

mattress may not solve your allergy problems -- it could make them worse.

One Web site that tracks mattress complaints from

purchasers said that many hypoallergenic

mattresses actually trigger problems -- and in

many who never considered themselves " the allergic type. "

One South Dakota family reported the following

after they bought a memory foam mattress pad and

pillows from a popular discount store: " We went

through problems for seven months. It started

with minor problems and got worse - hives,

kidneys hurting, swollen lips, flu feelings,

cough, sore joints, etc. My wife was going to the

doctor in an attempt to figure it out. We never

suspected the pad and pillows. I finally ran

across a Web site while considering what type of

new bed to buy, in an attempt to resolve our

problems. We removed the two memory foam pillows

and the memory foam mattress pad, and within two

days all problems were gone. Two months later, all is well. "

And a Florida couple reported this: " Out-gassing

from our new adjustable air mattress gave me

false symptoms of a heart attack. It came on

gradually over a couple of days. (After going to

the hospital) I felt better -- until I came home.

Moving the bed outside finally did the trick (all

symptoms gone). I had also been depressed for a

few days (very unusual for me), but the

depression lifted within 24 hours of moving the mattress outside. "

And from Pennsylvania: " We bought our new

mattress some nine months ago. We heard this type

was very good. (But) the past few months my wife

has been to numerous doctors for rashes, lumps

and other problems. Her autoimmune system seems

to be affected. She is now scheduled for a

biopsy. We thought about what has changed in our

lives, and the only difference is the mattress.

It cost $2200, but it isn't worth her health.

Maybe it's time to take it back, or just get rid of it. "

Getting Those Zzzzzzz's

But while a mattress allergy may be annoying and

problematic, there are solutions that work.

Buying another type of bedding could resolve the

problem, if your allergies are limited to just a few suspect materials.

Or you could try a hemp mattress. Hemp is less

pesticide-ridden than cotton, so it tends to pose

fewer problems for allergy sufferers.

Or you could go organic. More and more stores,

many online, offer organic mattresses and

bedding. Their products are guaranteed to be made

of chemical-free, organically grown materials.

Some of the Web sites that offer these include:

The naturalbedstore.com, lifekind.com, and organicmattresses.com.

You'll need to do some research to find out which

type may be right for you. Be sure to ask all

your questions up front, before a purchase is

made. Most mattresses and bedding have a no

return/refund policy, so be sure you know the store's policies before you buy.

Another route -- if buying another mattress

hasn't solved your allergy problems, and because

buying more than one new mattress can get very

expensive (!) -- is to schedule some allergy

testing for dust mites and some of the more common chemicals and pesticides.

And here is some advice from

<http://www.cbn.com/noindex/go.aspx?redirectpage=http://www.chem-tox.com/ & title=\

ChemTx>ChemTox.com,

an information-sharing Web site for health

disorders from chemicals and pesticide exposure:

" While many environmental factors can contribute

to adverse health problems when sleeping , the

first step to determining if the bed or sheets

are the cause… simply sleep somewhere else -

couch, etc. - This trial-and-error analysis, when

repeated several times, will clearly demonstrate

if the bed, detergents or bedroom is the problem. "

The most important thing to remember is -- don't

get discouraged. If you can't solve the problem

on your first attempt, keep trying.

A process of elimination will likely solve the

problem, and you'll be back getting a good night's sleep, once again.

Sources: ChemTox.com, Nirvana Safe Haven, New

Internationalist, raworganic.com, casanaturainc.com.

NOTE: If you have had any allergies to a specific

mattress or bedding and want to list your

complaint, please go to the

<http://www.cbn.com/noindex/go.aspx?redirectpage=http://www.chem-tox.com/guest/g\

uestbook.html & title=ChemTx>ChemTox

Web site.