Sleep is something that many allergy sufferers, without an allergy free pillow, find extremely difficult to do. This is particularly true for those with dust and dust mite allergies which will affect them more at night. This isn’t surprising when you consider that when you go to sleep, your pillow is the closest thing to your head and face. The pillow you choose to sleep on for the next two or three years (after which it is recommended that you change it) is an important decision. After all, your head is likely to have been against the same pillow for around 8800 hours. While you sleep, oils from your skin, hair, and dead skin cells become ingrained in your pillow, attracting dust mites.
For allergy suffers, allergy free pillows can be a godsend. Due to its allergen repellent qualities and its psychological effect of calming the sufferer’s worries, allergy free pillows, particularly when used in conjunction with hypoallergenic bedding do ensure a better nights’ sleep.
Allergy free pillows, or ‘hypoallergenic’ pillows as they are also known, are constructed with an extremely tight weave of fabric which stops dust mites being able to get into and live inside your pillow. When you think that the size of the average dust mites is only around 250microns and their faeces around 10microns, you realise just how tight this weave needs to be to keep them out.
They are also made so as to be extremely easy to clean. In fact, you can put them in your washing machine and wash on a low temperature. Some hypoallergenic pillows are treated with an antimicrobial substance. This has the effect of killing dust mites by dehydrating them. These substances are obviously not at all harmful to humans or animals such as pets..
So why are these allergy free pillows hypoallergenic? These pillows are made during a manufacturing process that is free of the usual allergens used when making normal pillows. There are also many eco friendly and organic options to choose from. When manufacturing allergy free pillows, there are a number of materials that are commonly used. Polyester fibre fill, for example, can be used as a hypoallergenic option in place of the traditional down pillow filling.
Cotton is used to encase the whole pillow. Hypoallergenic down is also available, this is whereby the feathers are treated to remove all allergens but unfortunately of course these pillows cannot be put in the washing machine. Soy is also used as an alternative filling, the soy being made into a foam as an alternative to polyester or down.
Although more expensive due to the cost of the materials used in manufacture, allergy free pillows are worth the investment. As with normal pillows, allergy free pillows are available in all shapes, sizes, and filling. The internet provides a plethora of different hypoallergenic pillows available to buy so shop around until you find the right allergy free pillow for you to ensure allergy free nights.
