So I think I might have acquired a latex allergy based on the following story:
I bought a queen latex mattress with medium, firm, and extra firm layers and the medium and firm layers were glued together but cut in half down the middle like having two twin mattresses side by side. They also had a tight layer cover surrounding the layers. I wanted to play around with the different firmness levels to make an ideal combination (e.g. firm as a top layer, extra firm as a middle layer, etc.), so I took the layer covers off of the 2 layers wrapped together, and now I have latex that’s uncovered and only covered by the 6-sided bamboo mattress cover I have. I threw out the original layer covers. In the process of figuring out which combinations I liked, I began sleeping directly on the latex layers b/c I was too lazy to put the bamboo cover back on. Dumb. Really dumb.
Well now for the last 10 times or more, whenever I fall asleep on the bed I will wake up not more than an hour or two later with my heart racing or my heartbeat stopping. I remember vividly not having a heart beat when I woke up the last time it happened. Sometimes I can’t even fall asleep on the mattress. I just get lightheaded, my heart rate increases, and I have to get off.
I know this has to be the mattress because I’ve been sleeping on my couch without any heartbeat problems. I’ve owned this mattress for 3 years and didn’t start having this problem until I took the layer covers off.
I know I’m probably floating around with possibly a type 1 allergic reaction, but would some type of mattress encasement work to block any latex particles? I’m guessing it might since I never had a problem before I uncovered the layers. I’ve seen several posts about using encasements with a low micron density.