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| |  DG DISPATCH - BTS: Synthetic Pillows May Not Be Best For Allergies By: Mark Pownall Special to DG News LONDON, U.K. -- December 13, 1999 -- Doctors may have to proffer new advice to patients with allergies, including asthmatics, in the wake of a new study which has found more allergens on synthetic pillows than on feather ones. It seems that it is not so much what is inside the pillow that matters, than it is the fabric that covers the pillow.
Traditionally, physicians have advised asthma sufferers and others with atopic disease to avoid feather pillows because of possible sensitisation from feather particles. The research, from the North West Lung Centre in Manchester, England, presented to the winter meeting of the British Thoracic Society in London today (December 13), found much higher levels of pet allergens on synthetic pillows than feather pillows which had been on the same bed for more than two years. Patients in the study were not pet owners. The allergens are easily brought into the home on clothing and can be picked up when patients come into contact with animals in other homes. For the cat allergen, Fel d 1, there was seven times more allergen on synthetic as on feather pillows - 9.14 nanograms compared to 1.37 nanograms. For the dog allergen, Can f 1, the difference was eight-fold: 18.48 nanograms compared to 2.31 nanograms. In a previous study, the same researchers found that synthetic pillows contained much higher levels of dust mite allergens (another major trigger for asthma) than feather pillows. Researchers say the difference between the two types of pillow could be explained by the material cover. Feather pillows are encased in a densely woven fabric meant to stop feathers pushing through. More research is needed to identify the best pillows for asthmatics. One of the researchers, Dr Adrian Custovic, said: "Tightly woven or allergen proof materials should be used to encase both synthetic and feather filling in pillows to provide an effective barrier against allergens. It is possible this could be of real benefit to asthma sufferers."
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