The Secret to Living with Allergies Part 6 – Allergy Relief Bed Liners – Tips for a Healthier Night’s Sleep

If you’ve ever wondered why you regularly wake up sneezing, watery-eyed, or feeling stuffy, you may have a dust mite allergy. More than a million dust mites can live in a single bed, and throughout the night while you sleep you can breathe in dust mite allergens that cause allergy symptoms. Dust mites are microscopic and, unlike bed bugs, cannot be seen with the naked eye. Dust mites thrive in warm, dark, and humid environments, such as pillows, mattresses, blankets, rugs, and upholstered furniture. Allergies are not caused by inhaling the mite.

Instead, it’s reacting to allergens created by dust mite debris particles and their carcass fragments. The large number of dust mites in the bed creates a high concentration of dust mite allergens, which in turn cause symptoms in allergy sufferers. Allergy covers act as a barrier to trap allergens inside the bed and prevent you from inhaling these troublesome allergens while you sleep.

Step 1: How are allergy-friendly bed covers designed to help you?

If you suffer from allergies, you may be one of the many people who doesn’t start the morning off right after inhaling allergens all night from bed. A stuffy nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, and congestion are some of the allergy symptoms that can regularly occur when allergens are inhaled from the bed. Zipping an allergy bed that completely covers the pillow, mattress, box spring, or other filled bedding can protect you from these allergens, as the cover traps the allergens within the bedding.

Allergens cannot become airborne, creating a healthier sleep environment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) outlines “Guidelines for Allergy and Asthma Prevention,” and these guidelines recommend covering your pillow and mattress as one of the most important steps in avoiding allergens.

Step 2: Understand the basics of bed covers for people with allergies

The covers are easy to use on your bed, although many people may not understand the basics of how allergy bed covers work. Today’s sleeves are no longer the plastic or vinyl sleeves many people may think of. Quality covers are made from highly effective and comfortable materials that may result in a loss of sleeping comfort.

Membrane vs. Non-Membrane Covers: Options for allergy-friendly bed covers include membrane covers, which feature a urethane membrane liner and a fabric top layer, or non-membrane covers, which are made from specialty, high-performance fabrics that they are tightly woven to block allergen particles.

Pore ​​Size: The pore size of an allergy cover is important as it indicates the size of the space between the tightly woven strands of fabric. A higher pore size means that the cover can only block larger allergen particles, while a smaller pore size provides more effective protection against much smaller allergen particles. Dust mite allergens can be as small as 10 microns in size and therefore a wrap should have a pore size of less than 10 microns for effective relief. Pet dander is a much smaller allergen particle, and a pore size less than approximately 5-6 microns is essential for effective protection against pet dander allergens and dust mite allergens.

Membrane covers with a full urethane skin have no pinholes as the membrane is “monolithic” or uniform on every surface. Although membrane covers are very effective at blocking out allergens, they lack the breathability, superior comfort, and easy care of non-membrane covers. High Performance Allergy Control Non-Membrane Covers are made from tightly woven fabrics with small pores to keep allergen particles contained within the bedding.

Durable Construction: Not all liners are created equal. Many are mass produced and poorly made. Covers made with superior quality features include high quality zippers for durability and allergen leak prevention. Flaps on the zipper trap allergen particles and bonded seams reinforce the edges for long-term durability.

Comfort and easy care: Allergen covers made from specialty cotton or polyester fabrics offer superior comfort and often have the feel of fine linen. With no loss of sleeping comfort, these anti-allergy bed covers are easy to slip onto your bed and offer powerful allergy protection. For added convenience, the allergy-friendly covers only need to be washed once a year or when they get dirty, and these fabric covers can be easily washed and dried in the washing machine.

Anti-allergy bed covers offer one of the most effective steps to allergy relief and a healthier night’s sleep. Understanding the allergy aspects of covers can help you make an informed decision about selecting the right cover for you.