Been lurking on this board for months now and we about to take the plunge in purchasing a 100% natural Dunlop mattress. My wife and I both work in health care and are expecting our first child in October. She brought up a very good question regarding latex allergies as she has seen extreme cases of latex allergies in her hospital.
I did a few searches on the board and read that unless you have a true type 1 latex allergy, a latex mattress is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction (i.e. type IV) because the foam is heated and washed and most of the antigens have been removed. Also, the foam is encased in a mattress cover and protector so you are not being exposed directly to the latex.
I also read that exposure to a latex mattress in an adult is unlikely to cause sensitization to latex later on in life for the same reasons above (i.e. an adult should not become allergic to latex later in life if you have a latex mattress).
But our question is, could exposure of our newborn to a latex mattress cause a latex allergy for the child later in life? I understand that a child’s immune system is undeveloped until around age one, so should a newborn be kept away from a latex mattress until after age one?
I suspect you’ve read it but for the sake of others that read your post there is more information and links to some very good resources about latex allergies in post #2 here.
While I’m not qualified to provide medical advice … I have read a great deal about latex allergies and I haven’t seen anything in what I’ve read that would cause me any undue concern with a newborn and latex allergies or any evidence that exposure to latex can lead to allergies later in life. As far as I know a true latex type IV allergy (or any true allergy) can get worse if you already have it and you are repeatedly exposed to the allergen (someone who is allergic to bee venom for example may not react strongly at first but the reactions can become worse and even lead to an anaphylactic reaction with repeated exposure) but my understanding is that the allergy needs to be pre-existing for this to happen and is not “caused” by exposure.
Of course it would also be a good idea to discuss this with your doctor because he may have access to studies or information that I haven’t read and they would certainly know more than I do but there aren’t any contraindications that I’m aware of other than normal precautions such as any other indications that would increase the risk of a latex allergy (such as spina bifida for example).