Memory foam mattress can make you sick

**Nana2two** · 12-19-2010, 08:45 PM

Well, back in July of 07 we bought a memory foam mattress, my husband suffers from CFS and i have Fibro. Here we are almost 2011 and i have been sick most of this time. I was reading something online and kept reading more and more articles.I feel like i was reliving my life for the past 3 /12 years.The mattress's produce very bad toxins. Some say the smell wears off after a few weeks and they continued sleeping on it like us. So we decided to go back to the old mattress and see how we get. The last few days i have slept in my daughters bed since she's away for the weekend and have woke up feeling great. When i look back on nights i have fell asleep on the couch and woke up feeling good. So you know im really thinking this could be the problem. Sad to say i really hope this is the problem. When i tie in everything. I started getting sick Fall of 07 a few months after buying it, bit never linked it together. I have had severe joint pains to the point of not being able to get out of bed, waking up with migraines,nose bleeds, swollen lymph nodes and just flu like symptoms. I know many that have the same type of mattress and don't have problems. But what i was reading if you have fibro your body reacts really different to the toxins. Just wondering if anyone else has a mattress like me.

**katholc** · 12-19-2010, 09:13 PM

It could well be the mattress. both my husband and I worked in a factory making those kinds of mattresses and we both developed joint pain in the hands and general arthritis like symptoms. great thing was, the symptoms went away when we quit the company.

**Gibs** · 12-19-2010, 09:23 PM

I no nothing about these mattresses, but I hope this is the problem and you are able to get some good rest and feel better with a new mattress. Hugs

**heartofmine** · 12-19-2010, 09:31 PM

I hope you find out if that is the problem. I appreciate you posting about this because I have fibro also and its scary to think it could be affected by a mattress. Please let us know if you find out more.

**Nana2two** · 12-19-2010, 10:03 PM

I will post and let everyone know how im doing. It's to think that something they sell for thousands of dollars can make you so sick.

**2ndGenGranola** · 12-20-2010, 08:20 AM

Many people are sensitive to the fire retardant chemicals in even regular mattresses. Many people have to encase them in mattress bags. Before spending $$$$$ you may want to pick up a couple bags (zippered allergy covers) to see how that works for you (and your pocket book).

**Gotonenerveleft** · 12-20-2010, 10:06 AM

Wow...never thought that the chemicals could cause problems. We bought a mattress with the memory foam layer on top. I hated it. Every morning I woke up feeling crappy and in pain. I always felt like my body was twisted like a pretzel. I dealt with it as long as I could because the hubby liked it. Two years later we bought a different one and moved the old one to a guest room.

Anyhow.....a year or so ago I went to the doctor and was discussing that I was getting so distracted that I felt like I had ADD. He ruled that out and told me he thought it was from sleep depravation. I then put two and two together that the problems had started when I was sleeping on the old mattress. That's one of the main reasons for buying the new one. The problems I was having are just about gone. So.....you never know.

**ShadowMom** · 12-20-2010, 10:10 AM

We actually love our mattress, my husband has a bad back, and with a normal mattress he would always wake up hurting. Since we got our mattress a year ago, we have both slept great and have had no problems with illnesses.

Maybe we are just not as sensitive to the chemicals or something?

**Dancing Lotus** · 12-20-2010, 10:16 AM

IDK, could be. I have one and we both love it, never slept better. WE do however have a special waterproof cover on it. At the time I thought it was silly to spend 70.00 on this cover when I could get one at walmart for 20 but I have since learned the difference between it and others. This one is made specifically for the memory foam and has a two yr life. At with time you mail in a card they give you to get a replacement one for 20.00. IF you don't have this you may want to look into it at the store that sold you the mattress.

**Debbie-cat** · 12-20-2010, 10:48 AM

Interesting. DS asked for a memory foam mattress topper for his bed at school but I couldn't afford it so I washed an older style topper I had here at the house and he was happy with that. So I am glad I didn't buy him one after reading this!

**Pianolady** · 12-20-2010, 04:12 PM

Originally Posted by ShadowMom

We actually love our mattress, my husband has a bad back, and with a normal mattress he would always wake up hurting. Since we got our mattress a year ago, we have both slept great and have had no problems with illnesses.

Maybe we are just not as sensitive to the chemicals or something?

We bought a memory foam topper, but it's encased (and was very expensive). Love that thing! I also have similar aches/pains as many posters here, and the problems have improved greatly since I bought it. I could hardly stand to lay down on our mattress prior to purchasing the memory foam. Maybe it has something to do with the way it was manufactured? Mine's been great.

**mndtrp** · 12-20-2010, 08:12 PM

You can buy organic and natural foam padding. That should help you to avoid the off-putting of gasses.

**monkeywrangler71** · 12-20-2010, 08:31 PM

I certainly believe that it could make people sick, when we first got it the smell was unbearable. I was afraid it would never go away, but it either dissipated or I got used to it because I barely notice it now. Whether it's had any other impact on me is hard to tell; I was so sleep deprived from constant pain before that any negative is more than offset by the rest that I'm getting now.