Are There Any Nontoxic Wedge Pillows?

Update September, 2020:  Here are some options;

https://www.theorganicmattress.com/products/organic-cotton-pregnancy-wedge

https://www.sleepdesign.com/Talalay-Latex-Sleep-Wedge

https://www.beyondbeds.com/latex-bed-wedge.aspx#

September 22, 2015, by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Barry

Hi Debra,

I just want to write to inform you of what has recently transpired (at least somewhat of a surprise to me) and perhaps ask a question.

I’m a caregiver for my mother. I brought her home from Life Care Center (where she had been “rehabbing” from breaking two bones on January 1 of this year) on April 29.

Due to an unbelievably complicated set of events, she is on a PEG (feeding) tube, and at this time I do not see evidence it is going away soon.

When she is getting 4 cans, that is 13 hours and 20 minutes. We both prefer for most of that time to be while she is sleeping, overnight. That way she can be disconnected from “that pole” more during the day, when she might want to go somewhere and do something without “that pole”. (She can’t stand or walk for very long, but she does make brief trips through the house for various things.)

She was laying flat, overnight, while feeding. I was aware of some warnings about don’t feed people while laying flat. I had — at that time — presumed that it was because a lot of people can’t eat right before bed, and if they lay down having recently eaten, various stomach problems, acid reflux, whatever, might develop. And, she didn’t have that.

But, early in August, I discovered that indeed, I don’t want Mom to feed while laying flat, because there is a risk that she may aspirate, whether she had ever had that problem occur yet or not!

I was talking about getting a hospital-like bed, so that bed frame itself could raise the upper body to about 30 degrees. But, she really didn’t want to.

As I was doing research, I found an article that was quite intriguing to me. The URL is: [link no longer available]

Reading that article, I know about gravity, and can affirm that many things talked about regarding that is true! I was convinced enough that I decided I also wanted to sleep with my upper body around 30 degrees, and I also got the ortho bed wedge so my legs/feet would also be raised!

I thought “it’s worth a try!”

Online, I found a foam bed wedge pillow. I got two! One for Mom and one for myself! They were delivered on August 20.

Well, fast forward, Mom loves hers, and she is now sleeping with her upper body at least close to 30 degrees (she doesn’t lay on it at the right spot, it is so hard for her to scoot herself in bed when she lays down). At least her upper body is raised now.

Well, within a week, I had absolutely concluded that I will sleep that way for the rest of my life! I no longer had morning congestion AT ALL! I did awake slightly more alert, most days! It was — as the article indicates, amazing!

But, two days ago, I stopped using mine. 

Now, first of all, it DIDN’T EVEN OCCUR TO ME (!) things like “wait, so what is it made of”! 

(It WAS appropriate for Mom, and having just read something that convinced me to try sleeping that way myself, hey! Let’s just get two!)

It was just late February of this year I discovered that I can’t have ANYTHING synthetic touch me. After replacing 99% of my clothes, all of my bedding, bathroom/kitchen rugs, towels, oven mitts, table clothes, etc., my
body got SO MUCH BETTER! That, too, was “amazing”.

That’s also when I discovered your web site. At first I didn’t believe you enough to act upon what you said, but I continued to “check you out” and concluded you DID know what you were talking about! (And THANK YOU!)

(I now get ALL of my clothes from cottonique, rawganic, faeriesdance, two wool-filled pillows and a wool-filled comforter from Shepherd’s Dream, etc.!)

So, back to August 20…

My itch came on.

Since February of this year, I am quite adamant in seeking to find “okay, this rash… this itch… what is causing it?” (I had given up trying to find out what I was eating nearly two years ago, because I couldn’t! I was quite disappointed in myself when I finally concluded that hey! Clothing and bedding and things touching me 24/7, if it touches my skin,
it enters my body! I’ve known for YEARS that I can’t have anything not natural, no processed foods, no preservatives, etc.!)

I have been successful in tracking down the cause, really, I believe every time, until this time, at least the first couple of weeks!

I SO LIKED SLEEPING THIS WAY! The covers are 100% polyester. Okay. I wear silk glove liners if I have to touch them, when I’m changing/removing the pillowcases I have for both of them. Both pillowcases are 100%
Egyptian cotton. I have washed them at least 8 times.

I possibly was HOPING more than anything else that this itch and rash was something else! Maybe I got a tad of gluten or dairy, and didn’t realize it! (Both of those are absolutely HORRIBLE at bringing on this itch and
rashes! Not a crumb!)

It goes away slowly. If it’s bad, it will get noticeably better within a couple of days, but it is a couple of weeks before it completely goes away.

During the time since then, I’ve had more and more places itching. Even worse at night (while I was laying on them). Getting up for itch cream up to three times a night!

(Raw, almost bleeding again, which I hadn’t experienced since the middle months of 2013!)

With it getting no better, and I haven’t found anything else that I know of that would be causing it, now for the last two nights, I haven’t slept on them.

Both nights, I didn’t get up once for itch cream. Oh, it’s not gone yet, but the SEVERITY of it is so much better again. At this time, those pillows, my “chief suspect”, appears to be the cause.

This is a WONDERFUL and AWFUL discovery! 

The wonderful part is my itch and rashes aren’t that bad any more! 

The AWFUL part is I WANT TO SLEEP THIS WAY!

The last two mornings, I’ve had a full share of morning congestion again and a couple of other though not as significant things.

I’m kind of wondering what the cause of this is…

After they arrived, the out gassing gave me a headache. Three days in our hot garage (I’m also in Florida) got rid of that.

I know the “100% Egyptian Cotton” pillowcases may very well have something
synthetic in the trim (there is a zipper on both, though that is on the bottom, I’m not laying against that).

Is it possible the 100% polyester covers — even though covered by the “cotton” pillowcase (and again, the “up” part, the part I touch, I believe that part would be all cotton) — might (what’s the word?) “seep” through, with the increased heat of my legs and back laying against them for hours?

Well, anyway…

I have told Mom that I WILL FIND A WAY to sleep this way again, and soon!

The problem is I’m existing on her savings account!  (I was last a software engineer on the SLRSC contract, which ended in April when RGNext took over. I was laid off, as were many others. I haven’t worked since. I haven’t even had time to THINK ABOUT “where might I go to look for work”, because Mom, my #1 priority, has needed me.)

I don’t know whether anyone else has even tried to sleep this way. (I hadn’t even heard of it until I was researching some things when I realized that Mom’s upper body had to be 30 degrees, and since she wasn’t open to a new bed, what else is there!)

If anyone has any suggestions: I’m open! (And this time, I most definitely do need to consider “what is it made from” before the next thing I try!) :-O 

Thank you!

Debra’s Answer

So I think you are looking for wedge pillows made of better materials. Here’s one made from latex foam: www.thesleepstoreusa.com/catalog/oxygen-bed-wedge/

I see there are others, like one is made from soy foam, which is the same polyurethane foam with a little soy.

You know, what you want them to be made from is polyethylene foam, which is very nontoxic. You could get some from a local foam store or online and cut it to whatever shape you want. Use your smelly wedges for a pattern.

And then you could start a business making them!