Talking Allergies

In trying to figure out the cause of my daughter's recent health problems, I began to suspect the new mattress that she bought exactly the same time she started to feel sick and developed severe skin issues. She has never had a problem with her skin in her life!

Check out these sites:

This is awful...

http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/People-Sick.htm

http://www.strobel.com/newsrelease.htm# ... g_Mattress

Here is another site:

http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/CIIN-Article.htm

Last month, we bought our kids new mattresses. When we opened the plastic covering to take out the mattress, the smell was OVERWHELMING!! It was such a terrible smell, and so obviously chemicals. We have been airing out the mattresses in an unused, isolated 4th bedroom in the house. Every single day, we open the window ALL DAY to air out the smell, and after almost 4 weeks, and reading these links, I'm returning these mattresses. I had already called 1 week after purchase to complain, and they had indicated we can return them without any trouble, but I was convinced the smell would disipate soon, and we could use them. But they still smell TERRIBLE, and there is no way I want our children sleeping on these beds. So, I'm taking them back. I am completely shocked that a product can be put on the market with such an overwhelming level of chemical use. Who would ever want to sleep on this mattress. Honestly, the smell would make anyone sick.

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18 yr old daughter: no health issues
16 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, egg, fish, sesame,sunflower,mustard,poppy seeds, peas, carrots, some fruits, instructed to avoid legumes(except soy & green beans),pollen, cats, horses, cold urticaria

The new mattress that my daughter has been sleeping on doesn't have any odor whatsoever. This is why we didn't suspect the mattress all this time. For almost 6 months she would wake up every morning with a sore throat and a headache. She also felt very tired all of the time. We thought it was the stress of starting a new job. She also started developing cysts on her skin. She was seeing a doctor for one on her face that was so large that she needed to have it drained and also be put on very strong antibiotics. The doctor said that if these measures did not work it would have to be surgically removed. THESE ARE ALL CLASSIC SYMPTOMS OF CHEMICAL POISONING. From my understanding, Antimony and Boric acid do not really have a strong chemical odor.

My daughter has been sleeping on her couch now for about a week and she is feeling much better and her skin has started to improve.

I've been getting the run around from the company that makes this bed. BTW, this bed is one of the top brand names. They claim that only beds sold to hotels and motels in Canada have this fire proofing.

I'm just sick about this.

Antimony :: poisoning

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a possible primary cause:

The hypothesis that poisoning by phosphines, arsines and stibines might be the primary cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was investigated. Most mattress materials contain phosphorus or antimony compounds as fire retardant additives. Mattress materials in areas affected by the warmth and perspiration of the sleeping infant were found to be naturally infected by the fungus Scopulariopsis brevicaulis which is thought to be capable of generating phosphines, arsines and stibines from materials containing phosphorus, arsenic or antimony compounds. These gases may cause anticholinesterase poisoning and cardiac failure in infants, but contributory factors include the prone sleeping position and overwrapping. In England and Wales, the progressive increase in SIDS between 1951 and 1988 seems to be related to increasing use of phosphorus and antimony compounds as fire retardants in cot mattresses.

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:7523575

Some more information:

http://chemicalsoup.ning.com/forum/topi ... opic%3A601

They may make these mattresses only for hotels but sometimes stores get a good deal on inventory that was ordered but rejected. Do you think the store sold you a mattress destined for hotels?

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy and green beans) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: Oral Allergy Syndrome, Allergic to Birch trees

I don't know what to think anymore. My daughter has been running from store to store trying to find a bed that won't make her sick. When she asks about fire proofing, most of the places simply say that they have never heard of such a thing and that their beds don't have it. Here again...nothing has to be labelled on a bed as to what goes into it! She did, however, talk to the manager of the mattress department in a major department store and he knew all about the use of flame retardants in mattresses. He didn't even make an effort to sell her a bed because he said they are ALL treated with fireproofing now. He suggested she get a bed custom made.

In the meantime she is still sleeping on her couch.

Another article:

<<<the "S" bedding giants such as Sealy, Serta and Simmons remain tight-lipped about the chemicals contained in their beds.>>>

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/rogoff/070826

I forget where I read about chemical free or reduced bedding in the last year but I think it was in one of our magazines Canadian Living or Chatelaine. I don't think it was Allergic Living. Anyways, I think I read that IKEA had mattresses that were designed for chemically sensitive people. I will try to look for the article. I might be remembering wrong but I will pass this on hoping there is something accurate.

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13 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, tree nuts and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
10 year old son - no allergies

Yes, we thought of Ikea as well but if the beds are made for the "American" market they would have to have the fire proofing since it is illegal to sell a bed in the U.S. without it (as of July 1, 2007).

Eldi, I'm so sorry to hear about how sick your daughter is. I hope this will resolve itself without the need for surgery!

Actually, the mattresses we bought that had the very strong chemical odour came from Ikea! The mattresses had been on sale, and we had a rain cheque and were waiting for the new shipment. The mattresses we received were with the new shipment - I've been wondering if this might have been part of the problem. I took them back yesterday without any problem. I spoke with the person in Customer Service to indicate my surprise that a product could be sold with such a strong chemical odour. The person indicated that sometimes the packaging is sprayed prior to shipping to prevent bug infestation, so maybe this was the odour? However, after 4 weeks, the odour was still very strong, and I had no idea how long it would take to dissipate. I didn't want to take any chances, and I couldn't find out what might be causing this odour. There is no way we wanted our children to sleep on these matttresses. Hopefully this is an isolated incident for Ikea!

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18 yr old daughter: no health issues
16 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, egg, fish, sesame,sunflower,mustard,poppy seeds, peas, carrots, some fruits, instructed to avoid legumes(except soy & green beans),pollen, cats, horses, cold urticaria

Thanks Julie...

<<<The person indicated that sometimes the packaging is sprayed prior to shipping to prevent bug infestation>>>

Actually, the boric acid they use in the fire retardant "is" an insecticide as well. Besides...why would there be any kind of "bug infestation" in a brand new product usually wrapped in plastic? Just so you know....Ikea stuff is almost all made in China now...it's only the "design" that is Swedish.

My daughter's skin is improving slowly. She has been off of the antibiotics for 4 days now and it hasn't gotten worse so that is good news. I read that it could take up to 3 months to detoxify your body from these chemicals.

She is going to look into ordering a custom made bed this weekend. She will insist on something IN WRITING that the bed doesn't contain any fire retardant chemicals.

Another article:

http://www.safecribbeds.com/SIDSLinktoC ... resses.pdf

Some posts from people who are having trouble with their mattresses:

http://www.chem-tox.com/guest/guestbook.html

Eldi --- is your daughter better now? Did she every find a mattress??

This is really terrifying that it can be allowed. My child with the growing list of allergies sleeps on the newest mattress

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental