Rubber sheets do double duty: reduce allergies and bedwetting

New research suggests that asthmatic children who have mite impermeable bedcovers have significantly less asthma exacerbations and less emergency room visits.

The researchers found that 42% of the children given the placebo bedcover had a severe asthma attack which required a hospital visit, whereas only 29% of the children with the mite-proof covers had to visit the hospital due to an asthma attack.

The average family with children who stay dry at night may not have considered putting fluid and dust mite covers on their child's mattress. However, parents of children with bedwetting know how important it is to have a waterproof cover on their child's mattress.

The good news is that most of the waterproof covers are also dust mite impermeable, thus helping both asthmatic and bedwetting children.

For the best dust mite coverage, the cover should be zippered around the mattress, not just placed on top of it. The entire mattress, box springs and pillows should be encased. Dust mites, bedbugs and other potential allergens can be prevented from coming in contact with you or your child.

Ideally, new mattresses should be encased when they are brought into your home. Since most families don't think about doing this, zippering an encasement on the mattress can be done at any time to enclose any dust mites or allergens that have already developed.

The least expensive encasement is the vinyl zippered cover. These are zipped in place and left there. If wetting or soiling occurs, they can be wiped off with a disinfectant. Vinyl covers fit any size bed or pillow and are impermeable to dust mites.

Another style of encasement is the Breathable Waterproof Cover. As the name suggests, this cover is comfortable to sleep on, breathes, but is impermeable to fluids and dust mites.

Breathable covers are cleaned by machine washing and drying. It is especially nice to cover pillows with this type of cover. It can be laundered in warm water once a week to prevent any dust from accumulating on top. It is comfortable to sleep on and does not make a crinkling sound when you move.

Both bedwetting and dust mite allergies/asthma are common in children. Do your family a favor and cover all mattresses and pillows with waterproof and dustproof encasements!