Hi 5150evh,
I haven’t seen anything anywhere on the internet or elsewhere (and I have done a great deal of research including medical articles) about latex being a source of concern for type IV latex allergies which are a contact allergy and usually indicate an allergy not to latex itself but to the substances that are used to manufacture it or to the surface proteins on some type of latex. Most “latex allergies” are to gloves and condoms and with latex foam these substances (and the surface proteins that may also be part of the cause) are washed out and with the latex in a mattress there is no contact so allergies are not generally an issue. Type 1 latex allergies on the other hand are true latex allergies and are much more serious and fortunately much more rare and don’t depend on contact. You can read more about latex allergies in post #2 here and the information and post it links to. Post #47 here may also be worth reading and the symptoms could also be from other types of particles in the air.
The only type of foam that has any type of organic certification is latex. Polyfoam and memory foam are all made from chemicals that are synthetic and can be a bigger cause of reactions or sensitivities than latex (although they are not necessarily allergic reactions) and of course any particular chemical could be an allergen for some people. The most common allergy issue as it relates to mattresses is to dust mites in a mattress and latex can actually help with this because it is a very breathable material that helps control moisture and humidity that can in turn help control the dust mite population (see post #2 here)
Synthetic latex doesn’t have any type 1 allergy issues but it can be very difficult to find (most latex mattresses have some natural latex in the material).
Outside of latex … if you are looking for a mattress that uses more natural materials and no foam then you would be limited to a mattress that uses innersprings and natural fibers such as cotton and wool (made without any chemicals and preferable organic) which can be very costly. If you do decide to look at synthetic foams such as polyfoam or memory foam … then outside of allergy issues which are individual to each person (and she may be allergic to other materials or chemicals in mattresses as well) … I would focus on making sure that any foam in your mattress (polyfoam or memory foam) is at least “safe” and has been Certipur certified and that the fabrics have some certification as well such as GOTS (organic) or Oeko-Tex (testing for harmful substances and VOC’s) although none of these are connected with actual allergies.
So I personally don’t know of any materials (other than latex) which I would call “hypoallergenic” because allergies are very individua and I would make these types of choices on an individual “material by material” basis based on any known allergies to materials that may be used in a mattress. While it is not connected to allergies … post #2 here has much more information that can help each person answer the very difficult question of “how safe is safe enough for me?” but this is mostly concerned with issues such as safety, green, natural, organic, and ecofriendly materials and people who may be sensitive to many chemicals or who place more importance on green or environmental issues and not so much to allergies.
Post #2 here has some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Los Angeles area.
Phoenix