amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

CountryGirl · 09-05-2005, 11:08 PM

I was diagnosed last week with severe allergies to many things. One of them is dust mites. The allergist gave me an informational brochure made by a company that also sells, among other things, the mattress/pillow encasings. He also told me that I can get the same items cheaper at Kohl's and other stores.
I noticed that there's a huge difference in prices between stores & between the different types out there. What do I look for to make sure I have a good quality product? I definitely don't want that vinyl stuff I've seen, I know that. There's other softer, breathable fabric.
I'm totally lost about all of this and the information I got is good but it's also confusing. On one hand it's telling me that an encasing should have a pore size of 2 microns, and then another page says that 6 microns is sufficient. Is this kind of like SPF in sunscreen...30 is better than 15 but 60 isn't necessarily better than 30? KWIM? Is 6 all that's necessary because anything less than that is actually just a waste of money? Or is 2 microns reallly that much better that it's worth the $20-30 difference?
Where have you bought yours, what would you recommend I look for, what is essential?
I don't want sufficient, I want something that is going to keep me from suffocating in my sleep (yes, that's what he meant by severe allergies).
There's also bedskirts to replace dust ruffles. They're easier to take care of because of the way they go under the mattress and they're made of the same fabric as the encasings, so that dust mites can't live in them. Would you recommend them? Or just no dust ruffle at all? Right now we don't have one because the kids stepped on it and ripped it to shreds, and now I'm wondering if they're even a good idea at all.
TIA!

IBelieveInFae · 09-05-2005, 11:20 PM

Well, if you don't have a dust ruffle don't get one. Find out how large the microns are on a dust mite and then think about the encasings.

Momof6 · 09-10-2005, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryGirl

I was diagnosed last week with severe allergies to many things. One of them is dust mites. The allergist gave me an informational brochure made by a company that also sells, among other things, the mattress/pillow encasings. He also told me that I can get the same items cheaper at Kohl's and other stores.
I noticed that there's a huge difference in prices between stores & between the different types out there. What do I look for to make sure I have a good quality product? I definitely don't want that vinyl stuff I've seen, I know that. There's other softer, breathable fabric.
I'm totally lost about all of this and the information I got is good but it's also confusing. On one hand it's telling me that an encasing should have a pore size of 2 microns, and then another page says that 6 microns is sufficient. Is this kind of like SPF in sunscreen...30 is better than 15 but 60 isn't necessarily better than 30? KWIM? Is 6 all that's necessary because anything less than that is actually just a waste of money? Or is 2 microns reallly that much better that it's worth the $20-30 difference?
Where have you bought yours, what would you recommend I look for, what is essential?
I don't want sufficient, I want something that is going to keep me from suffocating in my sleep (yes, that's what he meant by severe allergies).
There's also bedskirts to replace dust ruffles. They're easier to take care of because of the way they go under the mattress and they're made of the same fabric as the encasings, so that dust mites can't live in them. Would you recommend them? Or just no dust ruffle at all? Right now we don't have one because the kids stepped on it and ripped it to shreds, and now I'm wondering if they're even a good idea at all.
TIA!

I'm not much help on those items..however I also have severe allergies and asthma.

I understand the sleep issues. I guess my main question is how old is your mattress set? That is what made sleep possible for me. It is wonderful to be able to sleep now! We did get a new mattress that is largely made from the rubber tree. However, we also moved to a desert climate where it is not dust mite friendly. However, our old mattress was from when we lived in a humid area and was full of mites. Getting rid of it was the best thing we did. We also did get rid of the carpet in the bedroom which also helped a lot. Pillows are encased in allergen covers (just the ones you can get at K-mart) and new pillows are also mostly rubber.

Making these changes made a huge difference. That and my two injections that I give myself every 4 days and the other medications I'm on.

I feel for you....I really really do. I was miserable and unable to sleep or breathe properly in our bedroom due to the mites and their droppings.

Michelle
ps. there are some older threads here about allergies and mattresses....I posted a bit asking for help before we made our changes.

CountryGirl · 09-12-2005, 10:58 AM

Thank you so, so much for your help!
I got the encasings at K-Mart--way cheaper than any other place I found. I'm glad you said they work.
We're moving into our new house in (hopefully) 6 weeks, and we have all hard wood floors. Whoo hoo. I cannot wait to move out of this house and not have carpet in the bedroom anymore!
Our mattress is 7 years old. We're talking about getting a new one when we move (I have health problems related to my spine and it's not supportive enough), so now I'll look up info on the rubber mattresses. We live in WI (can you say HUMID?) so I'm sure ours is infested with the nasty critters and their waste.
I'll look up your old posts. Thanks for letting me know about them and answering my questions.