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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Asthma / October 2003inflatable mattress HDM allergen avoidance
I'm strongly positive for HDM allergy - I got the highest possible score on the RAST test. As an experiment, I've tried sleeping on an inflatable mattress for the last three weeks, and I've noticed a definite improvement in nighttime bronchospasm, the number of times I wake up and need to take albuterol has dropped, sleep quality has improved, and nighttime peak flow is up from around 340 to around 380, no change to daytime peak-flow. I think this is because the inflatable mattress contains absolutely no dust mites. This was a really cheap thing to try - the inflatable mattress cost me 30 UK pounds (about 45 US dollars). It's not as comfortable as a real mattress, though (made of PVC - smells a bit plasticky), and you have to keep pumping it up as it seems to leak a bit! They seem to be fairly widely available through the large mail-order companies or department stores, sold as temporary overnight-stay bedding. I've previously tried a number of different allergen barrier covers on a normal mattress, pillows, duvet, but didn't have anywhere near as much success as with this. I'm still using allergen barrier covers on the pillows and duvet with the inflatable mattress. Has anyone else had any experience with inflatable mattresses? -- gumbo > I'm strongly positive for HDM allergy - I got the highest possible score > on the RAST test. As an experiment, I've tried sleeping on an inflatable [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > -- gumbo Should have pointed out, HDM means "house dust mite". And I've no connection with any airbed manufacturers. -- gumbo > I'm strongly positive for HDM allergy - I got the highest possible score > on the RAST test. As an experiment, I've tried sleeping on an inflatable [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > -- gumbo After posting this I realised that three weeks is a very small period to report success over, although it's initially encouraging. I'll report back after 3 months to let people know if the improvement is sustained. -- gumbo I think the use of an inflatable mattress is a great idea. Do you sleep on it without any sheets? If you do, it must get kind of sticky! > I think the use of an inflatable mattress is a great idea. > > Do you sleep on it without any sheets? If you do, it must get kind of > sticky! Definately need the sheets. The top surface isn't flat, though - it's sort of up-and-down which is probably to make sure it ventilates OK. I think these things are intended to be used just a few nights at a time, I don't know how well it's going to stand up to constant use. It hasn't popped yet... -- gumbo I sleep on foam two inches thick with at least two sheets covering it. Used to use a thicker pad (four inches) but like the firmer one just as well. No mites visible. > I sleep on foam two inches thick with at least two sheets covering it. > Used to use a thicker pad (four inches) but like the firmer one just as > well. > > No mites visible. The mites are invisible to the naked eye, the only way to detect them is to vacuum the surface and send the dust off to a medical laboratory to be analysed for the presence of mite allergen. I haven't done this for the air mattress, I'm just guessing that my improved symptoms are due to it providing less habitat for mites than a normal mattress. I started feeling a benefit about a week after starting to use the air mattress. I've read that the mites can live fine in synthetic fibre-filled pillows (labelled "hypo-allergenic"), I don't know how well they'd survive in foam. Is that a latex mattress or did you just buy some furniture foam? Closed-cell or open-cell? Did you get an improvment in night-time symptoms when you switched to the foam from a normal mattress? -- gumbo >No mites visible. Those aren't mites you aren't seeing... House dust mites, due to their very small size (250 to 300 microns in length) and translucent bodies, are not visible to the unaided eye. For accurate identification, one needs at least 10X magnification. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2157.html > I'm strongly positive for HDM allergy - I got the highest possible score > on the RAST test. As an experiment, I've tried sleeping on an inflatable [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > -- gumbo Another option is some of the hypoallergenic matress covers. My wife doesn't do well with dust mites and we have a matress cover from a local store. It is a fairly thick cover with a terry cloth backing....still comfy, but does about the same job. Maybe another option, Michael Halliwell  Signature*************************************** Michael Halliwell temple2some@shaw.nospam.ca To Reply: remove the "nospam" *************************************** > Another option is some of the hypoallergenic matress covers. My wife > doesn't do well with dust mites and we have a matress cover from a local [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Michael Halliwell I've tried a number of these in the past, they do provide some improvement, but in my case the airbed works better than mattress+allergen cover. |
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