We are getting close to buying a 100% natural Dunlop bed. We liked the feel of Dunlop better than Talalay. I do not have a latex allergy that I know of but I recently have bought a couple of Dunlop latex pillows which I developed slight nasal congestion from when I sniffed the new pillow out of the package (never slept on the pillow due to the congestion). The pillows that gave me congestion are these:
I have several Talalay latex pillows from Latex International and the Z Malouf (linenspa) zoned latex pillows which do not give me allergies.
My question is should I be cautious about purchasing a Dunlop bed given the congestion I had from the pillows? Would airing out of the Dunlop pillows (or a Dunlop bed for that matter) resolve the allergy issue?
Is the Dunlop from the 2 pillow I tried a lower quality foam that could cause allergy issues?
Would it be safer for me to go with a blended talalay latex bed given I can tolerate blended talalay pillows?
Also, would most suppliers send me a sample of Dunlop so I can “allergy test”
[quote]I have several Talalay latex pillows from Latex International and the Z Malouf (linenspa) zoned latex pillows which do not give me allergies.
My question is should I be cautious about purchasing a Dunlop bed given the congestion I had from the pillows? Would airing out of the Dunlop pillows (or a Dunlop bed for that matter) resolve the allergy issue?[/quote]
There is more about latex allergies in post #2 here but I don’t know whether your nasal congestion would be connected to the latex or not (it’s also possible that it could be a sensitivity to something in the cover). It’s also possible that you have some sensitivity to the latex used in the pillows and while it’s “most likely” that it wouldn’t bother you after it airs out for a while, there is no way for me to know that for certain.
If I was in your shoes I would spend some time (say 30 minutes or so) lying down on a 100% natural Dunlop latex mattress to see if it has any effect on you and if it and two pillows that all used 100% natural Dunlop had the same effect then I would tend to stick with what you know works best for you.
No … they both appear to use 100% natural Dunlop so neither one appears to use lower quality latex.
Some will and some won’t. You would need to ask each of the ones you are considering individually but along with testing a 100% natural Dunlop mattress locally if you aren’t certain how you will react to a 100% natural Dunlop latex mattress then it would be a good idea to get a sample to test so you can reassure yourself that the particular type of latex in your mattress or pillow will be OK for you. Different latex foam manufacturers can use different curing packages to make the foam so if it’s connected to the latex than it’s possible that you may be more sensitive to one than another.
It’s possible but I would think it’s unlikely. Cotton seems to be very well tolerated for almost all people. With nasal congestion it could be connected to some type of dust which would normally be something that dissipated over time.
Yes … while these are all low probability situations … I have heard of this in both directions. I have also seen situations where someone is sensitive to one type of Dunlop and not another so this would probably be something connected to the curing package or compounding formula that they use. Talalay latex also goes through more washing cycles than Dunlop so it may have less surface proteins or other substances that you may be sensitive to remaining on the surface of the latex than some Dunlop.
There could also be a difference between the amount of natural rubber or synthetic rubber in the latex because if you are sensitive to natural rubber proteins themselves (rather than the chemicals that are used in the curing package) then it’s also possible that you may better tolerate latex with a higher synthetic content but if it’s the natural latex itself I would be cautious because as rare as it may be this could be an indication of a type I latex allergy and in this case it would be a good idea to be tested for a latex allergy. All of this is really speculation though because there are so many possibilities that testing the specific material itself that you are considering and a process of elimination may be the only way to know for certain.