Our Recommended Pillows and Duvets at a Glance

Pillows for allergies:

• FeatherFresh - Allergy-free, boilable feather & down pillows
• Child's Soft Support Pillow - Suitable for adults too
• Spundown - Washable pillows, available in medium or firm support

Duvets for allergies:

• Spundown Duvets - Home washable and hygienic
• Fossflakes Thermo-regulating Duvets

Dust mites in your bedding - #1 allergen for asthma and rhinitis

Dust mite allergen, found within dust mite droppings, is one of the most common triggers for asthma, eczema and rhinitis. Dust mites thrive in dark, humid areas where there is a ready food supply of dead skin scales. Pillows and duvets provide an ideal environment in which they thrive.

If you are sensitised to dust mite allergen and your allergy is triggered by inhaling it, getting rid of them and their droppings from your bedding is essential.

Hypoallergenic or Anti-allergy?

There is now a bewildering array of bedding on the market that claims to be hypoallergenic or anti-allergy. For anyone with an allergic condition, making the wrong choice is not only an expensive mistake but could pose a health risk.

"Hypoallergenic" means that the pillow or duvet is less likely to trigger allergies. "Anti-allergy" means that the pillow or duvet has been treated or manufactured in some specific way to combat the development of dust mites or offer protection against their allergen.

Synthetic or natural-fill

Since the dust mites don't care what your pillow is filled with, the choice of a natural fill or synthetic is entirely personal, although recent studies at St George's Hospital, London and elsewhere have shown that synthetic pillows harbour more house dust mites than those filled with traditional feather and down.

Whichever filling is used, dust mites can be killed and their allergen denatured and destroyed when bedding is washed at temperatures of 60°C and above. It is essential, therefore, that any pillows and duvets you buy can endure repeated washing at this temperature or higher, or that Fabricleanse is used in each wash. 

Natural-fill Pillows

FeatherFresh Pillows. We are very impressed with FeatherFresh boil-washable natural feather & down pillows that have been specifically created for those with asthma, eczema, rhinitis or allergies to dust mite or feathers. 

Originally made for use in hospitals where they were autoclaved and boiled for infection control, FeatherFresh Pillows can be washed at home at 60°C without going lumpy or losing their shape. You can even boil-wash Featherfresh pillows at up to 90°C (200°F) to sterilise them.

Because the Featherfresh pillows have been created for those with chronic medical conditions, qualifying individuals can buy them free of VAT.

Learn More About FeatherFresh Pillows

What about feather allergy?

For many years people thought that if you had asthma or allergies you were automatically allergic to feathers. True feather allergy is extremely rare. It has been identified only as a reaction either to quill mites in live feathers, to the protein in the droppings of pigeons, or to pigeon bloom, a waxy powder which coats the feathers of racing pigeons and that is implicated in the disease Pigeon Fanciers' Lung.

Today we know that the trigger for night-time asthma attacks, eczema flare-ups and rhinitis symptoms routinely described as "feather allergy" is generally an allergic reaction to the dust mite allergen in a pillow that has not been washed after several months' use. .

Spundown Home-washable Duvets. There are an awful lot of man-made duvets on the market that describe themselves as hypoallergenic.The Spundown fibre-filled duvet has been made with smartfil® technology that makes it compress well into a domestic washing machine. It can be washed at 60°C and tumble dried and is a good choice if you are going to wash your bedding frequently to keep it free of dust mite or pet allergen. We recommend it if you can tolerate synthetics.

Learn More About the Spundown Duvet

Fossflakes Thermo-regulating Duvet is the latest bedding to make it on to our recommended list. The feel of these beautifully made duvets is really soft and luxurious, like natural down but without the price tag. However, unlike down-filled bedding which has to be dry-cleaned, you can wash a Fossflakes duvet at 60°C to keep it hypoallergenic. For sleepers sharing a bed, differing body temperatures can mean one partner is boiling hot and the other pretty chilly. The special filling in a Fossflakes duvet responds to the body temperature of each sleeper, so both you and your partner can enjoy the temperature that suits.

Learn More About the Fossflakes Duvet