Polyurethane Foam Allergies

Many people today exhibit a state where they create an allergic reaction to their surroundings when many other folks don’t. These individuals are believed to have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Among numerous products which appear to trigger their reaction is that the fumes in polyurethane foam.

polyurethane foam is everywhere — it’s under your carpet, in your furniture and your bed, in your walls, on the soles of your shoes and in your athletic helmet. Prolonged exposure to petroleum-based chemicals in products like urethane foam may affect the nervous and immune system and cause illnesses including cancer, neurological disorders, autoimmune weakness, asthma and allergies, infertility, miscarriage and child behavior disorders. Although chemicals in urethane foam are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be tested for major health effects, the tests do not assess subtle neurological damage to the brain or effects on the developing fetus.

Polyurethane foam, which is essentially petroleum, is the predominant filling for baby mattresses and often contains dangerous chemical ingredients made of formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and other toxins. Because young children are very vulnerable and may spend over 50 percent of their early life on a baby mattress, there is a concern about the health effects of this product. Some crib mattresses emit mixtures of chemicals capable of causing cardiac arrhythmias, difficulty breathing, chest discomfort, irritation of mucous membranes, headache, coughing, asthma and allergic reaction, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, nausea, blurred vision, and reduced pulmonary function,

Possible Causes

Polyurethane foam contains 61 toxic chemicals which emit fumes into the air, according to researchers from Duke University. Some foam mattresses are also treated with chemical flame retardants.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a state by which some people develop allergic reactions to their surroundings. MCS sufferers react to materials such as the poisonous chemicals in bedding including polyurethane foam and the fire retardants which they’re treated with.

Polyurethane Foam Symptoms

Usually, people with MCS have weakened immune systems and they exhibit symptoms that include dizziness, nausea, memory problems, hives, rashes, flu-like symptoms and difficulty breathing after being exposed to polyurethane foam bedding and pillows.

Prevention/Solution

Chem-Tox.com suggests that you, air out your room, wash out your sheets and blankets, sleep in another place, replace the polyurethane foam bedding and pillows with organic cotton bedding and invest in an air purifier in order to eliminate the toxic fumes.