Question from Jennifer
I just purchased a Vivetique innerspring, organic cotton/pure grow wool mattress. (I am MCS and react strongly to chemicals.) The first morning after sleeping on the mattress I felt bad. All my usual chemical exposure symptoms came on: fatigue, stiff joints, nausea, lung pain, headache, pain under my arms, anxiety.
I can’t possibly understand why this is happening. These mattresses are promoted as chemical-free, nontoxic, okay for MCS, and clean. The mattress has a smell, but it smells like natural wool to me (the smell reminds me of a wool/cotton futon I once had).
Can anyone help? I have no idea why this would be and I’m seriously upset and depressed.
Thank you,
Jennifer
Debra’s Answer
Being MCS, you are in a different situation than people who are not MCS.
For a normal healthy person, one can assess the purity or toxicity of materials and choose accordingly, and not have a TOXIC exposure.
People with MCS can react to all sorts of safe, natural materials that are NOT TOXIC. This is an individual sensitivity. The material itself can be perfectly safe, yet you can still react to it.
In my opinion, people with MCS need to be extremely cautious about any claim that something is “safe for MCS”. There is no such thing that is safe for every person with MCS. Just read the posts on this blog. One person will recommend something they can tolerate and another person will say they couldn’t tolerate it at all. Instead of saying “safe for MCS” retailers should say, “We know many people with MCS tolerate this, but individual sensitivities vary and you may not tolerate it.”
I know it’s a challenge for MCS people to find products they can tolerate. You can get some clues from this blog regarding products others have tolerated, and I’ve marked entries on Debra’s List with an “MCS” for websites that are familiar with MCS and carry products that are likely to be tolerated.
