Hi amym,
The issue of “chemicals” in a mattress is a complex one with a lot of contradictory, misleading, and exaggerated information all over the web on all sides of the argument. In the end there are really no definitive answers to the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?” that would apply to every person but post #2 here about organic, natural, green, chemical free, and “safe” materials and claims and the more detailed information in post #2 here and the posts it links to may be helpful in sorting out all the information that you will be exposed to in your research so you can make more informed choices about the materials you are most comfortable with.
I would also be aware that the issue is not so much about chemicals in your mattress (every mattress material whether it is natural or synthetic has some type of natural or synthetic chemicals) but whether any chemicals that are harmful to you are present in amounts that you may be sensitive to for one reason or another.
There are three main types of foam used in mattresses which are memory foam, polyfoam, and latex foam and out of these … based on anecdotal information at least … memory foam is certainly the most frequently mentioned as the source of unpleasant reactions. This is made even more complicated by the fact that each memory foam manufacturer makes their memory foam with a different formulation and some people may be sensitive to one type of memory foam but not another or even one batch of memory foam and not another. This is also true of other types of foam materials such as polyfoam or even latex which is generally regarded as the “safest” of all the foam materials. I am an example of this and reacted to a memory foam topper made by Novaform but have not had any reactions to any other types of memory foam (at least to the degree that I was immediately aware of). Post #2 here has more about my “memory foam reaction”.
There are certifications for harmful substances and VOC’s (some of which have a smell and some which don’t) such as CertiPur (mainly for polyfoam and memory foam) and Oeko-Tex (mainly for fabrics/fibers and latex) and Eco-Institut (also mainly for fabrics/fibers and latex) that for most people would be “safe enough” but for those who are more sensitive to some chemicals even these may not be enough to guarantee that they will have no reactions to a specific material that would be fine for the majority of others.
In most cases … “best judgement” along with “preponderance of the evidence” and your own personal or health history would be the best approach which in your case (given the timing of your symptoms) may mean that avoiding memory foam completely may be the most prudent course of action. Tempurpedic isn’t one of the memory foams that are certified and while most people seem to be fine with it … there are also a number of people who report that they have symptoms when they sleep on it.
Other sources of “chemicals” that some people could be sensitive to in a mattress include various fabrics or fibers or the chemicals used to make them antimicrobial, antifungal, or water resistant, any fire retardant chemicals or fillers infused into the foam or fibers, or glues used to bond the layers together (or used in the foundation).
In general though … the use of more natural materials or components, materials that have more stringent certifications (such as Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut), or that are known to have a very low risk of reactions in most people would generally be the most effective approach.
Most mattresses use inherent fabrics as a fire barrier and it’s not nearly as common that chemicals are added to the mattress afterwards for fire retardancy (although in some cases boric acid is added to cotton or viscose fibers) but some of these inherent fabrics may also have harmful substances or VOC’s that are part of the fiber itself. The “safest” of the fire barrier methods would be wool or an inherent viscose/silica fire barrier both of which are very safe. Of course some manufacturers will also make a mattress that has no fire barrier at all but this can restrict your choice of mattress and it wouldn’t necessarily eliminate all the potential sources of chemicals in your sleeping system that some people may be sensitive to. Even organic latex uses some chemicals in its manufacturing (such as foaming agents, curing agents, gelling agents, accelerators, antidegradants, and others) that some people may be sensitive to and the GOLS organic latex certification only requires that a mattress uses 95% natural latex and the rest can be the compounding or curing substances that are used to make it (see post #2 here)
Outside of researching chemicals and mattress safety … the first place to start your research is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best choices.
Once you get to step 3 … the better options in the Birmingham area that I’m aware of are listed in post #57 here. If you do choose to travel to Atlanta … then the better options and possibilities I’m aware of there are listed in post #2 here.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix