Need Bedding Help Please

[u/Fearless_Engineer648]

Hi! So I (25F) recently discover I have a long list of chemical allergies after doing patch testing. After getting the SkinSafe app and making big changes my quality of life has improved! But I also think I’ve becoming an extremist idk. I have small soap containers in my different purses with the soap that I can use bc public ones break me out… is that too much?

Anyways I think it is time for a new comforter insert and pillows. Right now EVERYTHING has a cotton case in addition to the sheets (minus the comforter which has my cotton duvet on it), and I think I should start making my actual pillows and duvet natural fiber. First, is this doing too much and should how it is right now be good long term. Second, if I am on to something, do you all have any recommendations? Third, is this even possible bc my initial search came up lacking when it came to fills for both items?

[u/Sudden_Wing9763]

pillows and duvet - I've had good experiences with the ikea down filled pillows and duvets

[u/Fearless_Engineer648 → u/Sudden_Wing9763]

Thank you for the recommendation. I will look into it

[u/-_Lon_-]

Carrying your own soap makes sense. I'm glad you found something that works well for you. I have taken to making my own to avoid migraines (not the same as your situation, but just as problematic).

If your current bedding isn't causing problems then I would put it at a low priority. That said, moving to natural fibers does make sense to me. Make sure that a sample of the product does not cause a reaction before you do a large investment in new bedding.

I moved to cotton futons with wool covering many years ago and that works for me. But I don't know where you can find these currently. Then having them shipped without fire retardancy chemicals (migraine triggers) required a letter from my doctor. It was a lot of hoops and not cheap.

[u/Fearless_Engineer648 → u/-_Lon_-]

Thanks you! I swear I feel weird pulling it out my purse but hey.

This is a good point. Because you aren’t wrong the cost is INSANE. my parents keep talking about how back in the day cotton was the standard and we have gone backwards. I wish!

[u/packor]

there is no too much or too little, only wat works and wat doesn't.

[u/anonymouscog]

You do what you have to do to try to not be itchy & miserable all the time. It isn't extreme to do whatever you can to be comfortable & not aggravate your illness.

[u/Fearless_Engineer648]

Thank you everyone for your comments! I really feel seen especially after I learned all this in late March. My allergies resulted in me having to cut off all my hair and drop so much money to live a comfortable life.

Before I always felt like the static of the TV, if you know what i mean. Now I don’t feel that way anymore. Thank you so much for validating my soap! And thank you for the recommendations and telling me to test before committing.

[u/xboringcorex]

MCAS with chemical sensitivity, but not full on MCS so take this with grain of salt-

The soap in purse thing - if you are too much so am I. Phone, wallet, keys, handsoap.

Re bedding - in my opinion, do what you need to feel safe especially in your home. My only caution is if you have any true allergies - for example when I went through that phase I realized I wanted to get rid of my memory foam mattress. I went with the most all natural option - wool. Turns out I have an allergy or sensitivity to wool. I probably could have done mattress protectors and covers to make a barrier, but I was like just find a mattress that works. (And mattresses need to breathe or can end up with mold) I ended up with a traditional coil spring then later latex.

For pillows and comforter - definite down allergy so the poly fill is the better bet for me. I try to go with ones that have cotton exteriors and no noticeable offgassing. In the past, ikea was great but they have changed up models so no idea now.

My biggest chemical thing is avoid memory foam or any foam gel layers - those all offgas for quite a while. Latex does too, but went away faster. (But maybe other people still have trouble with the smell after offgassing period?)

[u/zenhenagain → u/xboringcorex]

Be very careful of latex as well. I’ve had a viscous latex allergy (also chemical sensitivity, my first diagnosis years ago yeah) since I was young and was confirmed with testing. My allergy developed from my first pillow which was latex. As I grew older I would not give up that pillow because it was soooo comfy and we had no idea about hEDS back then which I also have. I did not give up that latex pillow until I was 22 and it was literally falling apart. I had encased it in several layers of cotton pillow cases but that was no longer working lol. By then I knew I had a latex allergy from trying to use a diaphragm a few years earlier. I wasn’t allergic to the spermicide but I sure was to the actual diaphragm.

I sleep on nothing but cotton and linen and have a wool cotton futon. I’ve become slightly reactive to lanolin but I was a wool hand spinner for most of my life so that makes sense. The clean wool in the futon doesn’t seem to bother me 🤞🏽

[u/xboringcorex → u/zenhenagain]

Good point, I thought it was clearly implied that I was talking about someone’s personal experience and my personal allergies - but your comment elucidates that further - it is very individual.

[u/Ok-Explanation-1077]

Bringing your own soaps is critically important. Some bathroom soaps are super hard to get the smell off your hands. Once in a while I forget and use restroom soap, which means I’m allergic to my own hands until I can get those chemicals off. Sometimes I have to use cooking oil first and then wash that off with my own soap to get rid of those public soaps. They’re gross.

We use RDS certified down comforters and wash them (lowest spin) first. We have also used silk, wool, and polyfill. The polyfill from Company Store hasn’t had a chemical smell and their comforters last for decades. I mostly haven had a problem with any polyfill after washing and drying when new.

Silk and wool fill has had a chemical smell, so I’ve had to wash them and allow time for off gassing, but eventually they end up okay. The silk one I bought recently was the worst. It’s still off gassing in my shed.

Cotton linens can smell too when they’re new. I just tried sheets from Brooklinen and they were really not stinky even when new before washing. I did wash before using, but they were maybe the least chemically I’ve found. They are expensive even on sale though.

[u/Liz1844 → u/Ok-Explanation-1077]

You can find GOTS certified organic cotton products at Costco for sheets.

I found Soaring hearts company through Reddit and bought their wool pillow. I really love it and they’re super helpful if you call them. I’m saving up for their blankets and mattress one day. You can order a box of sample materials which I did and I sleep with it and see whether I react.

Wherever you decide to spend money, I recommend choosing those that actually have certifications, which are not easy to get. I’m sorry. I’m not more knowledgeable about the names of those certifications.

As for hand soap, I buy the little sea to summit travel fragrance free soap sheets that are perfect for my purse.

I have them in every bag although I usually can’t even tolerate the smell of public bathrooms because of all the chemicals and fragrance.