People Getting Sick From New Mattresses! Have you been a victim?

Customer Testimonials

Dear Lee,

You may post this hoping it may help someone.

In response to your questions regarding my children's allergic reaction to mattresses:

My children had an immediate skin reaction in a furniture store while we were looking at mattresses, standing next to (and not touching) the small, layers/core sample showing what a Tempur-Pedic mattress is made of. The salesman said the children must be allergic to the latex in it. After having my children skin tested for latex and finding no reaction to latex, we had yet to find the cause. We now know, thanks to you, it may be the flame retardant chemicals in mattresses that was the cause of their skin reactions.

Knowing that these chemicals are in something which we are in contact with for so much time is very disturbing. We are looking forward to sleeping well on your chemical free mattresses!

Thanks!

Lisa DeMatteo

My Response to Lisa: It is very interesting that the salesman said that your children must be reacting to the latex in the Tempur-Pedic because Tempur-Pedic doesn't use latex. I guess that was convenient to say because he sure doesn't want to tell you it was fire-retardant chemicals because he then wouldn't be able to sell you a mattress.

To Learn More About Chemicals in Mattresses - Click Here

Hi Lee,

Here it is. Feel free to cut it down if it's too long. You can include my email address if you need to (in case anyone wants to contact me) Thanks for your help.

Blessings,

Paula Friedrichsen
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

My tongue hurts. It's kind of itchy...sort of tingly, and definitely "not right." And it's not just my tongue that hurts - my lips feel prickly and swollen, and the back of my throat has blisters on it.

My mouth problems began about four months ago when my husband and I treated ourselves to one of those super-cushy mattress toppers. When we unwrapped the foam pad portion of the mattress cover it had a very, very strong chemical smell. But because the paperwork explained that a strong odor upon opening was normal, we didn't worry too much about it. We spread the foam pad on the floor of our living room and left it to "off-gas" for 24 hours as directed.

My mouth issues began the very first evening of off-gassing. During the night our home began to fill with the noxious fumes coming from the mattress cover. As night turned to morning I could actually feel the chemicals on my tongue, down my throat, and in my lungs. I was nauseous and headachy most of the next day, and my husband and I discussed whether we should go forward with our plans for a new mattress cover. In the end we decided to put it on our bed and hope for the best.

Okay...yes, in hindsight that decision does seem rather lame, but we honestly believed that the "smell would completely subside within a few days," as the paperwork indicated. And actually the chemical smell did eventually go away, but my mouth issues had only just begun. We eventually decided to return the mattress topper to Costco, and getting it off the bed and out of our house helped my health issues considerably. It's now been approximately six months and for the most part my symptoms have diminshed, with occasional reoccurrences.

I was appalled to discover (by researching this issue online) that others had experienced similar, and some much worse, health problems - and it seemed to me that the common denominator was the fire retardant found in mattresses and mattress tippers. Others have suffered irritated and swollen eyes, dizziness, headaches, throat pustules, bronchial irritations, strange taste on tongue, and sinus problems after sleeping on foam mattress toppers and pillow-top mattresses.

Here's my testimony on my bed allergy Lee. Please do not use my last name, or my email address when putting this on your web-site. But you are welcome to use it. I sincerely hope this keeps someone else from getting as sick as I did.

My testimony: I purchased a mattress from a major bedding manufacturer two months ago in the fall of 2008. It was a wonderfully comfortable plush top. I loved the comfort of it. However, the first night, I was so sick from the off-gassing that I woke up in the middle of the night, horribly nauseated, coughing up a lot of "material" out of my lungs. This happened the second night too. After that, the chemical odor didn't go away, but it became less, and was only really noticeable if I put my head under the covers and inhaled. I decided not to do that, because the off-gassing was so unpleasant. But I thought I'd just get used to it and eventually it would go away. It didn't go away completely however. Six weeks later, I woke up one night to find my bare feet burning and itching. So I got up at 2AM and rinsed them off with cold water, put on some socks and went back to bed.

The next night, the bottoms of my feet, my back, and the back of my head started to burn and itch (I sleep on my back). So I got up, showered off, and went back to bed. The third night into the 6th week, my whole body started burning and itching. I showered, and then thought, let's just do an experiment here.

So I got a plastic drop cloth, doubled it, and put it over the bed all the way to the floor. It completely covered the bedding. I then put a sleeping bag on top and slept on the bed. Lo and behold, all my itching and burning stopped. At this point, I had no doubt it was my new mattress and possibly the box spring as well.

This plastic drop cloth worked for another 7 days. On the 8th day, the burning and itching started up again. I realized, the off-gassing was either coming through the plastic somehow, or currents in the air from my forced air gas furnace were circulating the off-gassing out from underneath the plastic. (One health web-site I went to says one of the new flame retardants being used actually leaches through plastic.)

At that point, I called the bedding store and asked for my money back. I told them they would have to remove the offending mattress and box-spring as soon as possible, as it was making me sick. They stated if I got a prescription from my doctor saying I was allergic to the flame-retardants (which are at a greater concentration since bedding manufacturers have had to comply with the new July 2007 Federal Flame Retardant Regulations), that they would take the mattress and box spring back. I found out the new regulation is "16 CFR Part 1633" by the way, and no consumer ever voted it in. I also found out that these toxic flame retardants are cumulative, and supposedly are not something you can flush out of your body once you absorbed them. Not comforting. I did however try to sweat out the toxins with Epsom salt baths. That seemed to help.

I went to my doctor, who said he has been seeing incidents of allergic responses to the newer mattresses with the increased flame retardants in them. He readily gave me the prescription saying I am allergic to the flame retardants and the foams (as polyurethane foams have a lot of those retardants in them). To the bedding store's credit, I got my money back, the bedding was removed, and my symptoms have disappeared completely.

Cheryl

Hi Lee,

Thanks for sharing information @ mattresses - you seem to know alot! I honestly do not know what exactly I have been reacting to in the new mattress, but it is certainly severe and leaves me unable to breathe without medication. From the first night of moving into the spare bedroom recently (an ancient mattress), I could breathe again and have not had the bronchitis, allergy symptoms or sinus infection which had become the norm for me for the past 2 months. I have been able to run again and get through classes at the gym without an inhaler! My youngest daughter has suffered severe hives after exposure to polyurethane foam, so I have kept her away from the new mattress, but my 13-year-old did sleep in the bed with me for a couple of weeks and she suffered severe breathing difficulties as a result. This memory foam mattress has urethane in it & I thought I was reacting to that, but I don't really know what compound we're reacting to. I will not buy another mattress w/o a lot of research first; I also like your idea of a note from my doctor - thanks! I definitely don't want to sleep on formaldehyde or any other chemicals!

I don't think the mattress I bought is lethal and in fact I've seen tons of memory foam stuff in stores lately (so someone's sleeping on memory foam successfully), I just think that whatever is in the foam is not good for me or my girls to be around - and maybe for anyone to be around, but we were just "lucky" enough to react severely and so we can't sleep on the "solidified gas" memory foam!

Have a great week!
Brenda

Lee,

I am sorry that I am so late in furnishing you with information about what happened to my wife and I when we purchased two single beds with Tempur Pedic mattresses from a Roanoke furniture company. The sales person who sold them to us did not tell us they had been treated with fire-retardants. Had we known about this beforehand we probably would not have purchased these beds.

After the furniture company delivered the beds to our home and setup in our master bedroom, I had only walked through the room a few times before I became nauseous and I had a headache. After just a few hous, my headache and nausea continued to rise to the point that my wife and I had to sleep in another bedroom and we stuffed clothes under the door where the new beds were to keep any of the vapors from coming out into our other room.

The next day, I called the furniture company and told them the problems and that we had not even slept in the beds nore could we stand to be in the same room with them, let alone sleep in them. We requested that they pick up their beds immediately. It took them one whole week to pick up the beds and we had to suffer through another week to misery. To add insult to injury, we lost $200 of our down payment for returning the beds even though we had never slept on them. Naturally, we will never purchase anything else from this furniture company.

After they picked up the beds, it was several days before we could move back in our master bedroom. I had to open the doors and windows and use a floor fan to blow out the chemical odors.

We understand from you that the fire-retardants used in the treatment of these mattresses are formaldehyde, melamine, and boric acid which I understand is a rat poison. It is appalling that the mattress companies would do this without telling the consumers. We worry about all the fire-retardant mattresses that will be sold to families all over the country and many of the families could possibly have the same serious side effects that we have experienced.

After all the time that has passed since our horrific experience we had with these mattresses, I cannot, to this day, walk through a furniture store where the mattresses are exhibited without feeling the same effects as mentioned above.

Sincerely,

R.F. Poole

P.S. By the way, I have found out that I am deathly allergic to formaldehyde.

Dear Lee,

Just by chance I saved an article about a mattress advertised in our Sunday paper. I have a child that is recovering from Autism and suffers daily with Fibromyalgia. He is 16 years old. I've been working on finding a mattress fro him for a year. He has very high levels of toxic metals. Two weeks ago, out of need I picked up a mattress toper for myself. I have been sick for two weeks. Not even thinking of the connection just looking for a mattress for my son. I called Sleep Essentials and talked to the owner. Our conversation became very interesting. I told him that I was looking for a mattress for my son. He went into detail about no chemicals and I responded with the symptoms of a horible two weeks for myself. I have had little sleep. Waking up every night on my new mattress tipper with my back burning all the way to my feet. Feeling ehxausted I went to the doctors who put me on an antibiotic with no relief. My children almost missed Easter because I felt so sick! After talking to Lee and putting it all together I realized just how important this phone call ended up...relating symptoms...I just threw my mattress topper off the balcony...I plan to work hard to get this information out to all parents and especially for parents with children like mine who suffer from a form of heavy metal toxicity. We worked so hard to detox my son who has a Methylation blockage due to heavy metals. To think of putting my children to bed to suffer from more toxicity is very frightening. My eyes are open now and I can't wait to start feeling better and to be here for my precious children and to be able to confidently purchase a safe mattress.

Thanks Lee!!!

The Hutchinson family.

The mattress is wonderful. It took a couple of nights to get used to it, but my hips no longer ache in the night, and it really does mold to your body. I love it!!! Pete is sleeping harder and better too. (He is a diabetic, and has several other major complaits.)

Thanks!

Ann

Lee, even after the first night sleeping on my new mattress my back felt like it had received an allignment at a chiropractics office. I find the mattress to be comfortable and supportive.

Thanks!

Fern S. Agee
January 31, 2008

Lee,

We have enjoyed our new mattress. Both of us have slept well on our new latex mattress. We had guests over last evening. They were very impressed with our latex mattress and fell in love with feel of the mattress. I would expect them to be contacting you soon.

Sincerely,

Lester & Ruth Martin

The mattress is awesome! I really appreciate your prompt delivery because it's the most comfortable mattress ever! I fall asleep in 5 min! It usually takes hours.

Thanks!

Lori

Dear Lee:

Just a note to tell you how much we are enjoying our new bed. You were wrong -it made a difference the very first night we slept in it, didn't take a bit of "getting used to."

Sincerely,

Sam and Jeanne Pritchard
July 31, 2007

In 1952, my husband and I purchased our first Englander foam rubber mattress. When we replaced this mattress 39 years later, it was still in excellent condition. There were no indentations at all and it was still as firm as the day we bought it. The only reason we replaced it was because we had purchased a larger bed.

Dot Poindexter
July 26, 2007

I've spent countless hours researching memory foam, foam beds, and mattresses in general. On one hand it seems like I know nothing because for everything I learn, someone comes along and claims something that contradicts what I thought I knew. But when I came across your site I found myself nodding and saying to myself this is what I've been looking for. No BS and just quality foam without the marketing spin.

I have your number and will call when I can. It's 2 AM in the morning now.

David Hays
Chesterfield, Missouri

This letter is to express my enjoyment of the bed I recently purchased from you. For the past 14 years my husband has had back pain directly related to a motorcycle accident that broke his back in several places, both his shoulder blades, collar bone and right arm as well as punctured his left lung. Needless to say, he knew pain very well.

For the past six years we have been sleeping on a mattress that was purchased at a mattress warehouse for $100. You can imagine the quality we got and unfortunately, the price we paid in our health was far greater than the money we spent. In the past 2 years I had begun to have back and hip pain of my own that greatly reduced my sleep from 8 hours to 5-6 hours each night. My husband's health suffered, my health suffered all in the name of saving a few dollars!

Now that I have your mattress things have changed. My husband and I both gett a better nights rest. One of the most notable things that let me know I'm getting a more restful sleep is that I actually dream now. Before, I would not be comfortable enough to drift off into what is called the Dream state. Not it's a regular occurrence.

I recommend anyone who is looking for a better, healthier night's rest to think about purchasing one of these beds. I cannot say enough about how wonderful it is to get a good night's sleep. It's an investment in your health that is priceless!

Thank you,
Lisa Scott
9/24/2002

Dear Lee,

Thank you for helping us find the perfect mattress! I can't believe how much better I'm sleeping with the latex foam mattress than with my innerspring mattress. I wake up without the stiffness and most of the back pain I've been living with for over 5 years. On top of that, being pregnant has brought on a whole new set of symptoms for restless nights - until now. I'm sleeping great and thanks for your great service.

Sincerely,

Dianne Melia
9/30/2002

For years I spent many nights tossing and turning. I would sleep, but awaken without feeling rested. Since my husband and I bought our new mattress I find myself more rested. The mattress has also helped by giving the support necessary to alleviate my back problems. We are very pleased with our new mattress.

Sherri Kelly

Dear Mr. Carter,

I have been considering buying a new mattress set for a while now. I just saw an advertisement for a state wide furniture chain (Art Van) that is having what I considered a fantastic Veteran's Day sale for a mattress set choice from 3 different major manufacturers for $1,599 with a 42" Panasonic plasma HDTV thrown in for the deal. How could I possibly turn down such a seemingly GREAT deal?

I'm a soon-to-be 57 year old male with a history of severe, chronic lower back pain caused by 2 compressed discs and 3 adjoining lumbar vertebrae disfigured by arthritic protuberances pressing onto trunk nerves running out from my spinal column. (I apologize if this seems like too much information, but I'm just trying to relate how important mattress comfort is to me.) I must go to a pain clinic for epidural steroid spinal infusions every 2 months to alleviate the pain so that I'm able to walk pain free and without using my cane.

At any rate, when I saw the ad for the sale I immediately logged onto their website to learn more about the mattress choices. Since I subscribe to Consumer Reports, I logged onto their website to get ratings for the mattresses involved in the sale. Without fail, the people who had logged negative opinions of all the mattress choices complained of the same problem: severe sagging after as little as 2 years.

I ended up following one link to another and inadvertently found one of your YouTube videos of your "Complete Mattress Education". That led me to your website and at that point I watched the entire series in chronological order. I learned MUCH from them, but the most important thing I learned was that I was about to throw away more than $1600 for the simple reason of getting a new TV! As a result, I probably would've wound up inflicting more pain to my back because of the support issues you described in your videos, and most likely would've had to purchase yet another mattress set in a short period of time.

Additionally, I never would have known of the fire retardant issues in which you enlightened me. That, in and of itself concerns me to the point I no longer wish to purchase any mattress with fire retardants used in the manufacturing process.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! My only issue now is: since you're in Virginia and I'm in Michigan how would I possibly be able to decide which of your mattresses would be most suitable for me? I suspect there aren't any local showrooms that carry your mattresses or that information would've been posted on your website. Since I rarely travel (in order to do the Goldilocks comparison test in person), I seem to be in a pickle.

Any feedback or suggestions would be most helpful and greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my email. It's nice to know that in these difficult times when a buck must be watched like a hawk, a consumer has the ear, not to mention the complete attention of, the head of a company. Kudos to you just for that!

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Jodie Priest

Belleville, Michigan

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