Bed in a Plastic Bagby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 18 May 2008 12:22 PM When I was little, I had a very hard time with allergies. I was five (and my brother was three) when we first started scratch tests to figure out what we were allergic to. Among the laundry list of allergens were dust mites. Dust mites are pervasive little critters. These microscopic mites live in upholstery, pillows, mattresses, bedding, curtains, and carpets. Back in the early 1980s when we were first diagnosed with allergies, the way to deal with dust mites was to either get rid of them or block them. Most of the carpet in the house had to go. We got plastic shades in our bedrooms instead of curtains. And we got plastic covers for our mattresses and pillows. It took some getting used to -- the plastic covers crinkled at the slightest movement. We used to put two pillowcases on each pillow to try to disguise the slippery feel of the plastic. But as annoying as it was, it did help. The dust mites stayed in the mattress and pillows and my brother and I slowly grew out of our allergies. (In my case, it took the better part of twenty years.) Nowadays, you don't necessarily have to coat your life in plastic if dust mites are an allergy issue. A company called CleanRest has developed a breathable fabric that can actually block dust mites and other allergens (like animal dander) in your mattress and pillow from wandering. The fabric is called MicronOne -- and it is based on military technology. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has checked out the CleanRest pillow and mattress covers and given them a certificate of approval. For a kid who spent a lot of her life sleeping on plastic, this is a pretty exciting development! If you are interested in checking them out, the pillow and mattress covers are available at some Bed Bath and Beyond stores. You can also find them online at www.cleanrest.com. Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevanthealth tags User Comments jeffbirns (67) 29 Nov 2008 10:09 AMI gave this advice to a member in the travel section. try this product when traveling or for your kids when they sleep at a friends house, it's called Allersac. I suffer from dust mite allergies, or at least to a protein in dust mite by-products. my wife and son also suffer the same allergy. The problem with dust mites is they are impossible to eradicate completely. http://allersac.com/ Community Tags allergies, allersac allergies dust mites, cleanrest, dust mites, Plastic, plastic bedding Discuss this article
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