Mattress Forum

I am curious for my own information so thought I'd ask ... it seems that allergies to latex foam are very rare since the proteins that are responsible for them are mostly removed in the making of the foam .... however I have also read that those very few who are allergic have often become sensitive through their exposure to latex in different forms that do have the proteins in them (rubber gloves etc).

What type and degree of exposure did you have in your past?

I sure hope that they (greensleep) will "support" giving you a complete refund considering your experience and the validation of your doctor.

The odour issue to that degree is really strange. Did you notice any odour in the first couple of nights or did it only start after a couple of days? I can't help but wonder if there was some kind of "defective" material in the mattress. Wierd.

Phoenix

What I find concerning about terra3's experience is the closed-mind attitude of the manufacturer (GreenSleep).  Thankfully, the retailer was more open-minded about it and is working to find terra3 a replacement mattress - I suspect the retailer is going to out some $ on this one if Green Sleep won't acknowledge the problem and he/she has to sell the Allegra at a reduced price.

A very slight odour first day taking if off the truck, unwrapping then into my bedroom.  Was still cool from the trucking and no real serious odours for the first 24 hours plus.  Slightly stronger the next night, but still discounted as a 'new' mattress, so feel off to (again) another excellent sleep.  When I awoke in the middle of that night, the smell was startling.  Once I'd taken care of myself, I had to seal the doorway to my bedroom with tape around the door as the odour was coming out into the rest of my house; more so with the windows left open for the 10 days or so, with a fan and filter running 24/7.  It did decrease with time and is non-existent today (last night was the first night I spent back in the bedroom  . . . . likely overdid my delay in returning, but was being very cautious). 

I work in spill response, site assessments/remedial work, hazardous site remediation . . . risks and exposure inherent to the work, but precautions taken to avoid exposure and to minimize risks.  Wild, as this was perhaps the most disturbing incident in my past 25 years because I simply was not expecting it and waking to it out of a deep sleep (the mattress was the most comfortable I've experienced in my life!) was a shock.

Shouldn't likely be stating this (?) as it might affect resolution, but Greensleep apparently has a very firm policy on returns:  they simply don't accept returns for any reason.  The retailer (again worth mentioning . . . The Mattress and Sleep Co, Edmonton, Alberta) is working with me to resolve.  The retailer simply wants to do their part to help me out with the issue, and ultimately provide me with a suitable mattress.  Bravo to them for the assistance along the way with this.  But I'll be honest . . . all my options will be sought out for a suitable replacement  . . . finances take a far second place to health and comfort issues. 

My suspicion is that there was an issue that may extend beyond simple allergic response.  I actually hope that wasn't the case.  I'm going to have the allergy thing checked out in the near future.  But as far as the potential for something other than that, from the manufacturer's side, that is dead in the water and there will be no further investigation (in fact, as far as I know, there never was any detailed investigation at their end).  The retailer checked the mattress out after I returned it and noted an odour but nothing extraordinary.  So be it.  I'm still of the understanding that Greenesleep makes some of the best organic mattresses in the world.  But the lack of input and assistance from them . . . . . they'll never see another dollar of mine.  At least not knowingly (i.e. I see many of these companies have business arrangements that span various apparently 'competitive' companies . . . branding and such are common, as are various ownership structures).

Enough talk of my troubles.  I'm even starting to tire of my comments.  Have started into looking at these more basic options.  They sound appealing.  And again, reminds me of the oh-so-comfortable tufted cotton mattress of my youth.   And I will start with the same retailer; they have done well with this.

Your issue was so extreme that I would think this as well ... and for public relations reasons if for nothing else I would think that Greensleep would be MUCH more willing to make exceptions to their "policy".

I wonder if this is a "greensleep" issue or a "sleeptek" issue. Sleeptek is (or perhaps was based on an earlier comment by Budgy) the licensee for greensleep.

Sleeptek (Sueno/Obasan/private label) also makes a really nice innerspring/natural stuffing mattress which is highly regarded apparently.

Phoenix

  The reaction may sound extreme but there is nothing mild about a Type II latex allergy.  It effects your respiratory system making it very difficult to breathe, and very likely is the reason why the odour became much more noticeable after you woke up in agony. What you are decribing with the taste and smell also sounds typical of someone experiencing a type II latex allergy.  At the end of the day the retailer is the actual company you purchased the product from, they will be responsible for trying to satisfy you.  The retailer will likely not be out any significant amount of funds either, so its not like the manufacturer needs to step in on their behalf.  I am just grateful you didn't have a type III reaction which is much more rare, you could have gone into anaphylactic shock, in some extreme cases it can actually be life threatening.  Type I allergy (the kind most people get from gloves) usually only gives you a bad rash or inflammation of the skin, some people might have an issue with gloves and be able to sleep on a rubber mattress, in your case I would probably avoid natural rubber content in gloves now too. 

Yes. The Obasan is one of a few I'm checking into (the others being Royal-Pedic and Shepherd's Dream 'wool' mattress).

Thanks for this new piece of information. I thought they had changed based on your earlier comment.

This sounds more to me like a type 1 allergy (anaphylactic type) than any of the other 3 types and if this is the case is much more serious than a more simple contact type of hypersensitivity. I know they can be serious as I have had a similar issue with something else that developed over a long time (peanut butter) which scared the life out of me (woke me up from a deep sleep unable to breathe through both constriction of the airway and reflux). It was not as long lasting as this though and my reaction for now is dependent on amount I eat and went away much more quickly. I need to be careful because I know it can worsen over time.

In this case something was causing the reaction to last for a long time and was not so much contact oriented which could also point to inhaled latex (or inhaled something). There are also certain foods that can contribute to a latex hypersensitivity.

There are a lot of good links about this but the most important part for now (at least for me) would be to find out what it was as it could progress. If it really did come from "normal" latex, then this could be a real issue as latex is endemic in our culture. If it was an issue with the latex that was more unique to that specific batch, mattress, or material (which I suspect), then knowing what it was would be more difficult. This is where the supplier could make a difference in being more co-operative or at least taking an interest in investigating that "batch".

Phoenix

These guys "copy" other mattresses and are based in Vancouver so may be worth a call as well http://www.parkersmattress.com since shipping would probably not be too much to Alberta if they make anything close to what you want.

There's probably more custom manufacturers in Quebec than anywhere else in Canada but "je ne parle francais" so I didn't look too closely at most of them in my research.

Phoenix

In any event, if it is a latex protein that caused the reaction then what is the manufacturer supposed to do? All their rubber will contain the same protein.  In any event the symptoms sound text book latex allergy, the shortness of breath, coughing, etc.  This is all the more reason why people need to be careful about who they buy from, most people don't have a rubber allergy but like other allergies we can develop them any time in our life, so its good to have some polices that protect you.  Terra, sounds to me like you just had a really BAD reaction to it, thats the most unfortunate part.  If anyone has allergy concerns and they are buying a natural rubber mattress then you want to know what protection you have in the event this happens. 

These guys are also getting regular testing on the contents of complete mattresses, from their UK website:

http://greensleep.com/Europe/Great-Brittain/EN/PDF/Hevea.pdf

I hope that helps put you at ease that the chances of this being something other than latex as the trigger are incredibly slim.  Also according to the UK site they sell some 15,000 mattresses every year (worldwide I am assuming), and take back about 4 because of allergy issues, I suspect they probably have more than that many people actually have the issue because GreenSleep NA does not have the same return policies, here it is the retailers responsibility.