The upholstered furniture and mattresses I had as a child nearly 70 years ago presented no known health problems or allergens. But, now, everything has changed. My husband and I had a dry hacking cough presumably from the upholstery materials or the flame retardants used today.
Reading the book, I googled some of the ingredients which make up the polyurethane foam widely used in petrochemical created cushions and mattresses. No wonder my eyes smarted and my sleeping was constantly awakened with a hacking dry cough leading to hoarseness every morning. I don't want to continue living with these toxins in my ambient environment.
Because of what I've read, I'm now searching for a mattress made from natural materials from trees, certified organic cotton which is not laden with tons of toxic pest controls or treated with other petrochemical poisons; preferably certified organic wool not grown, produced, or treated with synthetics or petrochemicals. These are more expensive, but so health and prevention is the key to disease.
I'm not alone. Over 2/3 consumers are especially concerned about petrochemicals in products they purchase. Petrochemicals, come from petroleum, and are agents of war and violence in our bodies. Of the 84,000 chemicals used in commerce today, 64,000 were grandfathered-in in with the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. Many disrupt the hormones in our body, the inflammatory process is provoked, and often our bodies are dump sites for these chemicals that we inhale or that enter our skin day and night through indoor air pollution of unregulated and often untested petrochemical poisons.
We are naive to think all latex comes from the rubber tree. Be it Dunlop or Talalay latex, it may come from the tree, or it may be made from synthetic petrochemical plants, the same as the memory foam in mattresses and cushions, which are highly inflammable and are then treated with equally toxic fire retardants, which themselves present serious damage to public health. They were not tested for human safety and have made many people seriously ill. Wool from sheep is a natural insulator and a natural flame retardant.
Having health care does not guarantee good health. Sleep without drugs is necessary for a healthy immune system. Personal responsibility must be taken along with wisely researched purchases. I thank Walter Bader for his research and bringing the information to us. Now, it's up to me to find and purchase a far safer mattress.
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