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We recently purchased a new Simmons Beautyrest NxG 250 Luxury Firm Mattress from US Mattress which is a hybrid mattress, consisting of their Super Pocketed Coil System with 1.5 inches of regular foam and 2.5 inches of memory foam on top.
We sleep pretty well on the mattress but I had a minor headache the first 3 days and then today I woke up feeling dizzy. I'm worried that I might be sensitive to the chemicals used by the memory foam, and read some anecdotal evidence online supporting this. I was curious if anyone here has experienced any side effects from memory foam, but it sounds like most people on this forum go the latex route. Which brings me to my real question. Since we can't return/exchange our mattress, it sounds like our best option would be going the "surgery" route, taking the foam out down to the coils, and then replacing it with some natural latex from the Foam Factory. Can anyone reccommend the type/size of latex that would be a good replacement for our memory foam? Would I need to get one of the medium (32 ILD) and then one of the soft (20 ILD) layers? Thanks for your help. This is a great forum that I wish I would have found before we made our purchase. This message was modified Jun 11, 2011 by galileo
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The off-gasing is the strongest when the memory foam is new. So, it is possible it may not bother you after it has time to air out. You may want to take the bedding off and open the windows as much as possible. In a few of weeks it might be okay. At least that has been my experience. However, you may be more sensitve than most people. It is hard to say whether it is actually harmful or not. Certainly it seems there is less risk with pure latex. I would try to give it more time before doing something drastic. If possible, you might want to sleep elsewhere while it airs out. |
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I've had some problems with both memory foam and polyurethane foam. I used to use an egg crate topper with memory foam on top, then a fitted sheet over that. It was comfortable, but I had a stuffy nose, itching, and lower leg rashes that were huge and had no explanation. The rash cream I was prescribed didn't really help much, and the itching was quite intense sometimes, always at night only, especially if it was hot. It took me 3 years of sleeping on them and having these symptoms to make some connection. I noticed that whenever I handled them, like to roll one up, my nose burned badly. I thought the memory foam was the problem (6 years old now and it still smells like, well, memory foam) so I started using 2 layers of polyurethane foam instead. I don't remember if this helped because I was making so many swaps at this time. Pretty soon I put a wool topper on top of the two layers of polyurethane and my legs are all cleared up. I don't itch much anymore either. I am not stuffed up outside of my bedroom, and breathe great outdoors, so hopefully once I get rid of the polyurethane that will be taken cared of. I talked a little about this in a latex allergies thread as I have stuffiness with latex foam also. Others don't seem to though, so hopefully latex will solve it for you! I certainly think latex is comfortable. For what latex to use...I personally find 3" soft dunlop (Savvy's soft) to be the most comfortable over a firm surface. Medium talalay was nice too (Foam Sweet Foam's medium). Innersprings usually use only one layer of latex on top, 2-3" thick. See European Sleepworks, Greensleep, I think Lifekind (Sanora?), and a few others for examples then maybe just copy their setup. This message was modified Jun 16, 2011 by cmq2009
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I had a bit of the same issue with a mattress I bought for a spare bed room. I did a little digging around and the best explination that i found about the smell was from wikipedia... "Hazards When new, some memory foams give off a distinct chemical odor, which many people find unpleasant and some say is akin to the smell of paint. This odor decreases with airing, but some remain sensitive. Emissions from memory foam mattresses may cause more respiratory irritation than other mattresses. Mildew and house dust mites may not occur as frequently, so asthma attacks may be less frequent and severe"
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