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ASTHMA SUFFERERS: FEATHER OR SYNTHETIC PILLOWS?

It is commonplace for physicians to advise asthma or allergy sufferers to avoid feather pillows, on the assumption that such pillows may exacerbate their symptoms. The evidence supporting this recommendation is not very strong, however. These New Zealand researchers assessed the allergenic potential of both feather and polyester fiber pillows.

Since the house dust mite allergen (Der p I) is a major cause of allergic symptoms, investigators measured the amount of this allergen in nine pairs of pillows--each pair consisting of one feather-filled pillow and one polyester fiber-filled pillow. All pairs had been in use for at least six months. Overall analysis showed that polyester fiber pillows contained over 8 times more total weight of Der p I and 3.57 times more micrograms of Der p I per gram of fine dust than feather pillows.

Comment: At least one case-control study has shown that synthetic pillows are a risk factor for severe asthma. This study indicates that polyester fiber pillows are better at harboring house dust mites than feather pillows. For now, it may not be so wise to discourage the use of feather pillows in allergic or asthmatic subjects.

— KI Marton

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine November 12, 1996

Citation(s):

Kemp TJ et al. House dust mite allergen in pillows. BMJ 1996 Oct 12 313 916-916.

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