Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 850
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"SleepTek and Greensleep are no longer linked to each other in anyway. Just that they used to be the distributor for GreenSleep in NA, now it is Matelas Rene." 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 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.
This message was modified Nov 12, 2010 by budgy
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