THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF ALLERGIES: SPONGE RUBBER
Sponge rubber is another “modern miracle” with unexpected drawbacks. Sponge-rubber pillows, mattresses, upholstery, seat cushions, rug backings, typewriter pads, and certain noise-reducing devices have all been identified as the sources of chronic illness.
Some allergy patients, having substituted sponge rubber for other bedding in order to reduce exposure to household dust, find to their dismay that the rubber fumes are even more troublesome. More commonly the effects of the rubber go undetected.
Frequently, a susceptible person will experience flushing of the face, irritability, and “air hunger,” upon first entering a room with rubber rug-pads, upholstery, or rubber-tiled floors. At night, he may suffer from insomnia, restlessness, night sweats, or fatigue, in reaction to rubber pillows, mattresses, or the rubber insulation of electric blankets. Natural fiber substitutes for all of these things are available, however, and their use is essentially the solution to this aspect of the chemical-susceptibility problem
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