Memory Foam Disaster

People by the hundreds of thousands all over the world love these things, and get much better sleep from them. Did you actually buy a tempurpedic or a Sealy brand product? It sounds like you bought just a cheap mattress pad. I would suggest that you are having an allergic reaction, probably to some inferior materials in a cheap mattress pad. It also sounds like you are an asthma sufferer anyway and as result may be more inclined toward allergic reactions. But a good warning for people inclined to Latex or neoprene allergies.

Oh boy, I been considering buying one of these for some time. I've slept on a full motion waterbed for the last 30 years. I've been trying to reduce energy consumption here, and I think the waterbed heater has got to go. On vacation this year, I got to sleep on a memory foam mattress for about a week, and loved it. The only thing I know I'm allergic to is work, so I think I'll be OK.

Hi Bricktop,

I have been sleeping on one of these matresses ever since they came onto the market, but I have never suffered from any kind of complaints, so just go ahead and buy one.

Maybe this person was allergic to something that was in the foam?

Spencer.

You must have misunderstood...I don't HAVE to have an inhaler nor a CPAP nor anything just to breathe but I DO have asthma.... I don't know about the shock part but I know that dang rash hurt like the dickens and if you looked at my skin long enough you could actually SEE the blisters coming up...so weird!

Here in the state of Indiana there have been court cases where the children were damaged by playing on swingsets and tree houses made of treated wood.....it was sort of a big thing about 7 years ago. I was selling yellow pages at the time and that was a big selling point the YP vendors under that heading were including that year due to reported problems of hives, breathing problems and nerve damage in the hands that may or may not have gone away if the kids left the play gear alone. So it seemed relative to me in the case of buying what I believed to be a good product and it turning around and biting me in the butt.....that I included that comparison btwn the playgear and the bedding.

This mattress cover package said it was truly memory foam....I will get the numbers and vendor info off the tag when I get home this evening and let you all know. I did buy it at an upscale dept store and have also let them know.

Thanks for all the replies, nice or snippy,,,doesn't matter....I work with VERY ill pts here at a hospital and just know that an opportunisitc infection or extreme dermatitis like I suffered could really hurt someone who isn't healthy...even tho I do have asthma - I am relatively healthy.

Thanks - I will do additional fact finding to see what's up with manufacturing.

Nafta at it's finest maybe...

Amy

interesting that you cite nafta at its best.consider reading who was lead counsel in the prosecution of the authour of rats in the grain and his relationship to nafta being shoved down the throats of the north american people, the average mexican was never made aware of the implications it has for thier country or its environment, those people are ones who really never knew or will know what has hit them and how.

the info about the indiana court cases is rining a real klaxon for me we have a friend whose son has been a real terror ever since they moved into a house having the foundation walls made out of preserved wood. if i can get my hands on a name of a court case to pass on to brian it just might be enough to convince him his sons behaviours are not entirely coming out as a result of being a kid caught in the middle of a second marraige. brians wife has at least three dead husbands to her credit, with the last one she would not bother to go out to i.d him so the state troopers in bellingham had to accept that if she would take the time to have her i.d. him it would only be done with a fax.

since you work with t.i.s.p.'s you have a better than the experts knowledge of what does happen to them when a episode of inhalation arrest occurs. too bad you haven't got a respiratory therapists certificate, that would really scare the bejabers out of them.

"I work with VERY ill pts here at a hospital"

Could it be something you contracted from either a patient or someone visiting there? Even a Flu bug takes seven days before we feel the effects of it.

Hello possum

We cannot be certain that the various "Guests" are one and the same person.

However: <"....hives, various rashes, itching burning skin, whelts, joint pain, joint swelling and stiffness and more pain than I could physically handle....">

Influenza does not give such a collection of symptoms as the above.

Either a latex sensitivity, or some chemical compound in that foam will give the above symptoms.

When a person has become sensitized to any particular compound or material, it is important they keep their distance from that cause in future, because next time the allergic reaction is generally stronger and faster acting, perhaps fatally next time.

Refer: http://www.sleepnet.com/rest6/messages/525.html

Please also read the replies there.

There are many reports of such severe allergic reactions to memory-foam products, right here: http://www.chem-tox.com/guest/guestbook.html

While the actual polyurethane foam may not trigger the sudden immune response, but the cause may be one or more of the extra compounds added to make the urethane foam "Memory capable".

It appears that the more expensive the mattress is, the more chemicals have been added, and these chemicals are all petroleum based, including insecticides and other "bug-killing" compounds, none of which is good to be contacting and/or inhaling.

Kind Regards....

I understand. My experience on this is from a close friend of mine. He repaired CAT scan and MRI machines across the south east. He contracted a disease at one of his locations. One that only 1 in a million are affected severely by. By the time they discovered what it was it was to late. He did end up passing on due to this at the age of 29.

I was not stating that it was the Flu, only that some diseases or infections can take awhile to develop. I have allergies like some people, mine being latex. To live the rest of your life with an allergy, one wants to make sure that it is one. The writer may only have contracted something from his work.

Can you please give some detailed information. Did the symptoms appear the first night. You say "last week.........and....by Friday". You took the memory foam off your bed and then slept in another bed. Why? You are going to handle the product to return it to the store, and don't appear to worry about the risks. You missed work and left early. I either miss work or leave early, doing both is impressive.

I am sure your symptoms are genuine but this looks like an attempt to damage an industry. Why suspect the "memory" element of the foam, when it could be the cover, or the foam.

I am genuinely interested as I use closed cell foam, and will go off and check all the literature to see what problems are associated with foam and memory foam, but this is meant to be a scientifically based (laced with bad jokes) site and to gain any useful data, we need accurate details of the products, time scale etc.

Simon

I bought the memory foam at Kohls Sunday 8/31/08 and noticed a few bumps Tuesday - thought they might be bug bites since it is summer. Wednesday up at 2am with ice on arms to cool pain and blisters..,better during the day,,,back home to bed Thursday and up by 2am and had to put arms in the freezer and tummy against the fridge to feel any relief, benedryl, anything I thought would work. Thursday day - I dealt with it and had some docs here look - thought it was med allergy. Back to bed and up Friday at 1:30 am with arms in the freezer again, crying, pain thought about going to emergency room but didn't want the expense....missed work Friday but came in to one of the Infectious Disease docs and thought I had shingles - he said no and got me into the dermo dept for that afternoon and the drmo had no frggin' idea! The dremo even said - I doubt if it is the mattress cover...but I took it off Friday and slept in spare room and better by Sat...even better better by Sunday but had one little patch pop up....my husband wouldn't let me touvh that thing again and he put it in garbage bag....dear Simon...please don't be catty or snide...this was a bad instance and I have no idea of the manufacturing process outside the U.S. I hope I just got a lemon.....I will get more info when I get home and relay all for help but not for anyone to be rude or short....please be kind....I am only trying to avoid a future problem for someone. I went home early Wed and Thurs and missed work Friday.

I am talented but not talented enuf to do them all in one day :o)

Thanks~

Amy

Some things lately have been sold with a lot of the fire retardant in them. Testing show that some kids have high levels of the fire retardant in their blood streams espically those with a lot of allergys, and ADD and ADHD.

Joint swellong and stiffnes is often related to a kidney problem and a build up of Uric Acid.

if you can find the base source of the chemical that is used to introduce the fire suppressive element of the memory foam and or the anti mite element of the foam's chemical compsition. based on prior experiences i can only guess that just might make a few people in the automotive, aerospace, and handicap devices e.g. wheelchair, power chair and electric scooter seating supply industries, VERY unhappy the general public is aware of some of the problems that can resul when these chemicals are introduced to human and animal physiologies.

further to that point readers may wish to consider based on the events presented in rats in the grain( a REALLY SCARY BOOK) what some grain producing companies may decide to do in relation to the possibility of that info becoming available to the general public.

'da ber

Hi, AmyPB,

What you have described is definitely an anaphalactic or allergic reaction. If the symptoms have disappeared since removal of said bed, obviously it was the Memory Foam.

I understand that Memory Foam keeps mites from making a home in the bed. Those mites had to have gone somewhere, and, possibly, during their migration, they left you with an allergic reaction

If you've gotten rid of the memory foam and your symptoms have disappeared, you are in the clear.

Best of luck,

/Ari (Orpheuse)

Foam mattresses are made from a variety of chemicals. I'm guessing that you had a latex mattress, and that you had an allergic reaction to it. You should be tested by an allergist to determine whether you have a latex allergy. This is very important, because if you do have an allergy, you will need to notify any medical caretakers who may treat you. This includes dentists, PC, surgeons, etc. Any kind of allergic reaction can increase in severity, and can result in death. You do not want to take this lightly. You may not survive your next exposure to latex.

Memory foam is a viscoelastic polyurethane, not latex. However, some are more prone to cause allergic reactions than others. Not all memory foams are created equal. It is entirely possible that the specific plasticizers used or the specific fire retardant used may have disagreed with you.

You are correct about the chemical composition of memory foam, however there are many materials masquerading as memory foam, and if someone is allergic to any one of them, it's best to find out in advance, and minimize the exposure.

john galt was one of the original creators of fine quality high carbon content edge tool makers dont know exactly when he lived in a place called sheffield or there -abouts in england. several makers of saws and chisels followed his system thier tools such as a company robert sorby still are being made in the same fashion and with the same reliable edge keepting quality he came up with

you get your hands on one of his 14" x 1-3/4 chisels put a edge on it and you can plane the hairs off the back of your hand or cross plane cedar with no snipe.

'da ber

You should read 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand.

I just did a little more research into these mattresses.

Memory foam is not the only material in those matteresses.

They all have some type of product that keeps you from sinking into the foam and smothering.

AmyPB,

It does sound like a Latex allergy, my wife is also allergic to latex. You should get tested as there are a surprising number of items that contain latex. You may even have a slight reaction to some foods such as bananas.

Good Luck,

Dan

My daughter has had similar symptoms for several years, since she left for college four years ago. She has used a memory foam type mattress for quite a while. I don't know if they coincide. I appreciate the heads-up and will be doing some research into her situation.

I'm sorry if I scared anyone with my death threat rant. You see, my wife had an anaphylactic reaction to about 1cc of kiwi fruit that she ate while we were vacationing in the Turks and Caicos islands earlier this year. She was treated in an ICU on the island and med. flighted to the US for emergency care. Cost for that treatment was just shy of $20,000. She nearly died. So please excuse me if I stress one more time, the importance of taking these allergic reactions seriously. By the way, I knew an athlete who knew she was allergic to nuts. She went out with the team after a squash match and had a cup of chili at a local pub. How was she to know that ground nuts were a secret ingredient in the chili? She died in the ambulance, on the way to the hospital.

That must have been a terrible experience, your concern about the issue is understandable. I hadn't heard of Kiwi fruit allergy. Thanks for bringing it up, it's something I can alert others to. This article on the topic makes mention of a connection to latex allergy.

In the UK, many foods carry warning in the small print about the item having been produced on a line that handles nuts. It's not always prominent on the packaging, but can be found in a surprising array of foods. Eating in restaurants must be a nightmare - even if the chefs don't directly use nuts, there's a serious risk that they might inadvertanly use products that are contaminated with nut residue.

Sensitization is also alarming. For many years my mother kept bees, but in a very short period of time developed a severe reaction to stings. Many years later (she'd obviously given up bee-keeping) she got stung while on holiday in Portugal. She was in a remote area, and it was pure luck (and some very fast driving) that the town they got her to had the required drugs. After the long break without any stings she'd forgotten to keep an EpiPen with her. Nearly a fatal mistake.

some canners of beans are now putting soy bean in whole as well as in powder form in the beans intended and adversited as a base of homemade chili. reading the labels is intresting because the adveristers of those products have in my words redisgned the labelling to again in my words not inform the buyers that soy or soy bean are contained in the product, it might be listed under thickeners or as a substance called sorghum(?) and possibly a dozen or more different names for the same thing soy/soybean.

this is becoming a real yhot topic it is strange that to my observ ation there have been few posts on the subject put out by biomechanical engineers, bioethecists or food chemical engineering crowd who as we write are dealing in food substance safety issues which are related to the effect those foods have on human and animal physiologies negatively affected by the allergens they ought to be aware of are potential allergens to either.

this makes me ask are they also afraid of what after reading "the whole soy story" i consider referring to as the cereal crop growers retribution toward industry whistleblowers processes?

stay tuned for the next episode folks.

'da ber

Hi there, ok, I almost fell over when I read your post, I want to know if you are doing better....I am almost going crazy as for one year now I have had every test done on me for swelling of my joints and stiffness that is almost unbearable (it eases up as the day goes) however I also have fatigue & sleeplessness from the pain all night. I am using an inhaler for asthma attacks and my blood pressure is dangerously high and it has never been before, the doctor wanted me to start taking Lyrica for fybromyalgia, but I don't want to. For my anniversary we went away and stayed in a hotel last weekend, I woke up and felt "wonderful", when I came back home I had one of my worst nights on Sunday. Just on a fluke I started thinking what was different about the day before and all I could think of was the bed. I have a memory foam topper I bought a little over a year ago and decided to see if there were any reported allergies to these toppers and could not believe your post. What do your doctors say? My symptoms seem to be the same, it started out just in my hands and wrist, However, I do not suffer from any rashes, just major joint and muscle pain, stiffness, anxiety attacks and high blood pressure. I just turned 41 and this started about 1 month before my last birthday. please let me know if you have gotten any better or if you have found out any more information on reactions to the topper. thank you

My advice to you and anyone else who suspects that they are having an allergic reaction to the memory foam would be to stop sleeping on it for a few weeks and see if your symptoms improve. Even better, get the foam out of the house so that you cannot breathe any fumes it might give off. If the symptoms improve, then it is very likely that the memory foam is a factor. If they do not improve, it is very likely that the foam is not a factor. Eliminate only one thing at a time, otherwise you will not know which thing was the culprit.

thank you for your post. it is curious though that i ave seen little or no posts about what the source material the memory foam is made from, its country of origins or the primary binary and tertiary component sources. true getting the pads out of the house will help but i speculate that will only be a stop gap cure based on personal experiences.

it seems strange there is no levels of accountability to the end user that legislators are willing to stand behind or assist is peircing the legislated viels of protection that manufacturers of the products under discussion are supposed to be subject to.instead the cost to manufacture a cure for the disesases and disorders thier products create seems a situation they are willing to fob on to the medical fraternity or more plausibly the medical legal insurance pharmacuetical fraternity.

do what you will with these observations but don't consider them the words of a crank, nor a person sensing conspiracy to injure the worlds inhabitants lurking around it periphery.

'da ber

There is a MSDS on memory foam:

http://memoryfoamreviews.com/private/memory-foam-material-safety-data-sheet-msds/

thanks for the great info via the msds info sheet, i will have a ball looking up other items of intrest to me now that i have a web page for the group.

the item about the foam or its derivatives not having or contributing to a medical reactive condition is news to me though. consider that one of the problems henry ford had with his soy suit was the the materials propensity to cause his skin to itch and blister when he wore it. my thinking is that if that was what it did on the outer shell of the human form what is it capable of doing on the inside?

for me the data sheet is a real eyeopener about what the material's suggested applications. i had no idea the list may only be a iceberg tip.

as for the flame contributed what i have experienced is the way the dense choking black smoke that comes off the material from truck seats material can flow like water and explode like a sodium magnesium flare when water is sprayed on it if it is burning. having had one occasion to be struck by one of those fire balls left a scar that has lasted over 20 years, when i reorted it the medic got all shook up he thought he was seeing another napalm burn.

what i find missing though is once more where its primary and secondary compnents originally come from.few if any of the product manufacturers the foam itself of the products it becomes will pass that information on, i can only guess it goes back to the medical legal insurance issues no one seems to want to anwser questions about regarding the effects these materials have on the human or animal body.

again thanks for the post and sharing the web address, MOST useful.

'da ber

Yes Urethane can be a real problem when it catches fire. It melts and flows like gasoline and sticks to you like tar, it also gives off toxic gasses so much that people generally die from toxic gas inhalation before they die of burns. The FAA does not (or at least didn't used to.) allow it to be used on aircraft for that reason. You can treat it with fire retardants, but it only does so much. It still melts and gives off toxic gasses and will burn as long as there is something else flammable in contact with it to help sustain the reaction. And then there is the question of whether long term skin contact with the fire retardant is safe.

I wouldn't own one for that reason, but not for allergy issues.

Best and safest memory foam mattress in the world:

http://www.isoform.com

Much cheaper than the competition, American-made, allergen free.

AWESOME.