I purchased a Tuft and Needle mattress. Super comfortable and loved it except I had a horrible number of allergic reactions to it and ended up with COPD. It is made from polyurethane. My question is are all mattresses that say polyurethane or memory foam or foam likely to cause the same reactions or are they all really the same thing with just a few other features added?. Which leaves me with latex and I know I am not allergic to latex.
Hi raelin, welcome to The Mattress Underground 
Glad to have you here.
Sorry to hear you have had a severe reaction to the Tuft and Needle mattress. While there are some chemicals that are used commonly in the production of mattress foams, there are also a myriad of different
Chemicals used as additives, hardeners and such. Tuft and Needle, like most ābig boxā retailers, are less than transparent about the specific composition of their mattresses; they tend to use the proprietary āadaptive foamā and similar in their descriptions. You should be able to see the full list of chemicals on the mattress tag for this specific polyfoam; unfortunately you would really need to have a health provider administer a full panel of allergy tests for all these to isolate what specific chemical or combination of chemicals, is causing the reaction to be absolutely sure. You may be perfectly fine on another foam component from a different mattress, or manufacturer.
The issue of āchemicalsā 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. You can take a look at the information inpost #2 hereabout organic, natural, green, chemical free, and āsafeā materials and claims and the more detailed information in post #2 here and the posts it links to, may be helpful. The same goes for any memory foam - there are so many different chemicals and materials used in modern manufacturing processes you would really need to isolate which you are having the allergic reaction to, to be sure. You may be better off just avoiding these types of materials altogether; as you say you are certain latex is not causing a reaction, so you could try to find an all latex which you find comfortable.
It also canāt hurt to contact Tuft And Needle directly to see if they can provide any infoā¦are you able to return it? I hope you can find an alternative solution for the polyfoam mattress you are using which provides the same comfort as the one you have.
Hope this helps,
~ Basilio
Thank you so much for the comprehensive response. My reactions were so intense, not just coughing, but hot and cold flashes, total inability to sleep on it at all despite complete exhaustion, anxiety attacks, etc. After my research, I found that I had to totally remove the mattress from the house and sold it without ever spending an entire night on itā¦!! Latex is so expensive but Tuft and Needle would not give me any info on chemical components. Iāve been sleeping on my couch for almost 2 years. For sure it is some form of poly but perhaps the leather covering (or the perhaps different type of poly?) has made it possible to sleep on it and not have reactions. After reading your response, even tho Iām tempted to try a different poly mattress, I just canāt take a chance of worsening the asthma and COPD. I do appreciate your response and I previously read Post 2 and 2 before contacting you. Maybe a futon with a latex topper would be a way to go. Or start a Go Fund Meā¦!