Filling

Materialkunde

Filling

Recently visited pages

Filling
Federn Daunen Füllung Vorteile von Daunen- und Federbetten

What blends of down and feathers are most suitable?

The appropriate blend depends in particular on the individual need for warmth when asleep. Nowadays, most people usually prefer a high percentage of down.
 
Lightweight down provide best fill power values and a high degree of thermal insulation. With a higher percentage of feathers, the weight of the duvets increases, because feathers are heavier than down.
 
Due to large fill power values down are capable of being able to keep the body warm without much weight, that is to say the bulking capacity.
The appropriate blend depends in particular on the individual need for warmth when asleep. Nowadays, most people usually prefer a high percentage of down.
 
Lightweight down provide best fill power values and a high degree of thermal insulation. With a higher percentage of feathers, the weight of the duvets increases, because feathers are heavier than down.
 
Due to large fill power values down are capable of being able to keep the body warm without much weight, that is to say the bulking capacity. A down-filled duvet always contains a blend of down and insulating air-filled pockets. The air-pockets among the single down make the duvet lightweight in relation to its volume. Thus, a down-filled duvet can keep the body warm and comfortable with very little weight.
 
Therefore, down satisfy all requirements for a perfect sleeping comfort: They are light and assure an excellent climate regulation. Pleasant warmth is quickly created and the perspiration absorbed is steadily being eliminated.
 
There are different types of down-filled duvets available. Depending on the filling weight they are manufactured for summer or winter.
Especially, a duvet containing 100 % of down keeps the sleeper pleasantly warm and cosy with very little weight at the same time. Another favoured blend consists of 90 % down and 10 % feathers.
Pillows, however, require a filling material which is able to support the head. In this case, feather-down blends are preferred, but more and more people, however, prefer a soft down-filled pillow.

 

Further information at :

 

Füllung Hausstaubmilbenallergie

Do house-dust-mite allergy patients have to replace their down- and feather-filled quilts and pillows by those with different filling materials?

It is still a widespread misconception that down- and feather-filled bedding articles are not suitable for house-dust-mite allergy sufferers.
It is still a widespread misconception that down- and feather-filled bedding articles are not suitable for house-dust-mite allergy sufferers. Sometimes it is recommended to replace down- and feather-filled quilts and pillows by those with different filling materials, which is quite misleading.
 
This recommendation is definitely outdated, as scientific studies have proven.
 
The Medical Association of German Allergologists (Ärzteverband Deutscher Allergologen e. V.) recommends the following for house-dust-mite allergy patients:
Contrary to the recommendations given so far, synthetic bedding articles are not beneficial; natural materials, such as down and feathers are preferable.“
 

As early as 1992, Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Jürgens, director of the Institute for Industrial Anthropology at the Kiel University, carried out a survey which included 700 field tests. He researched to which degree down- and feather-filled bedding articles were infested with house-dust-mite. He found out that pillows and quilts which are filled with down and feathers are not a source of mite infestation.
 
Out of the 192 samples collected from used pillows, which were included in the tests, 78% resulted completely negative regarding the mite allergen concentration. The remaining 22% of test specimens displayed mite concentrations so low that they qualified to be harmless to health from an allergological point of view (less than 10 mites per 0.1 g of dust).

Samples taken from 41 down- and feather-filled quilts showed similar results as well. Only 6 of the tested quilts were infested (mite concentrations were no hazard to health from an allergological standpoint, however), although the tests were carried out on a selection of quilts, that were particularly soiled. It was evident, that they had not been cleaned for at least 15 years, in many cases even for a much longer time.

Jürgens attributes the testing results to the fact that the shells (ticking) are mite-proof as well as to the microclimate in down- and feather-filled bedding articles which is detrimental to mites.
  • If the fabric of the bedding is down-proof, it represents a proper “mite barrier”. It is very tightly woven, in order to prevent the down and feathers from leaking out. Neither house-dust-mites nor the scales of human skin which the mites feed on, can enter through the shell fabric.
  • In addition, the thermal conditions and the climate of down- and feather-filled bedding are highly unfavourable to mites. They depend on humidity to survive, whereas the quick creation of warmth in one’s sleep and the quick reduction of humidity when the bedding is aired make for an environment which is detrimental to mites.
 
H. W. Jürgens, Ökologische Untersuchungen zu Hausstaubmilben [Ecological research on house-dust-mites] (1992), Der Kinderarzt 23 [The pediatrician 23], 1884-1889

www.nomite.de/juerg_de.htm

Jürgens claims: “The temperatures in down- and feather-filled duvets rapidly exceed the value where mites thrive, after you tucked yourself in. It gets too hot for the mites. In the restitution phase the humidity absorbed before by the duvet will quickly be released, due to the favourable climate dynamics of the filling. As a result the humidity level drops swiftly below the critical value where mites comfortably survive: it gets too dry for the mites.”
 

In 1998, Prof. Dr. med. Dietrich Hofmann, from the Center for Pediatrics of the Clinical Center of the Frankfurt Johann Wolfgang Goethe University refused to give a recommendation to generally eliminate feather-filled pillows and duvets from the sleeping rooms of patients which suffer from ailments of the respiratory system. This recommendation should rather be banned from the textbooks for specialist medical training. In saying this, Hofmann referred to the survey performed by Jürgens as well as to the results of a number of other studies on the topic.
 
D. Hofmann, Gutachten zur Einschätzung der Relevanz der Bettfedern-(Keratin-)Allergie [Expert opinion on the relevance of bed-feather-(keratin) allergy]
Among others, he referred to the observation by D.P. Strachan that the asthma prevalence is lower among children from households, where feather bedding is used than among children sleeping on synthetic pillows. Hoffmann stated, that it had unambiguously been established that eliminating down- and feather-filled pillows and duvets from the bedrooms would not diminish asthma occurrence.
Strachan, D. P., Home environment and severe asthma in adolescence: a population based case-control study, British Medical Journal 1995; 311(7012) 1053-1056
 
Hofmann considers to be noteworthy an observation by Strachan from a different survey: Particularly severe asthmatic shortness of breath was substantially reduced among children who used down- and feather-filled bedding.
Strachan, D. P. et al.: The risk of wheezing in children using feather pillows, British Medical Journal, 1997
 
T. J. Kemp et al. finally had determined that polyester-filled bedding displayed a significantly higher content of Der p 1 – the main substance contained in mite allergen – than pillows with feather fillings. The quotient was 3.5 to 8.5 feather-filled to polyester-filled pillows.
Kemp,T. J./Siebers, R. W./Fishwick, D./O’Grady, G. B./Fitzharris, P./Crane, J. (Wellington Asthma Research Group), House dust mite allergen in pillows.British Medical Journal 313, 1996

www.nomite.de/wellingt.htm 

In the aftermath of this study, a number of surveys on the subject of “the relevance of synthetic and feather-filled bedding in reference to house-dust-mites” have been conducted.
 

In 2004 the German Allergy Prevention Action Alliance (Aktionsbündnis Allergieprävention, abap) issued a guideline on allergy prevention, which referred to a number of differing surveys.
 
The guideline focuses on the one hand on primary prevention, that is, particularly the elimination or, respectively, the reduction of allergy triggers.
On the other hand, it is aimed at patients who show early symptoms of the condition, who are sensitized or who belong genetically to the at-risk population group (secondary prevention). The recommendations gathered in the guideline, which are aimed at prevention, not at therapy – are directed towards those patients who do not already suffer from asthma or an allergy.
 
The Allergy Prevention Action Alliance represents almost all relevant German institutions and organisations concerned with allergy prevention, such as “allergy-related professional associations, self-help organisations, medical umbrella associations, head organisations of the health insurance companies, the public health system, sciences and research as well as the national health care policy”.

(Borowski, C., Schäfer, T., Allergieprävention. Evidenzbasierte und konsentierte Leitlinie [Evidence-based and consented guideline on allergy prevention]. München 2005, S. 9 [p.9])

The guideline is based upon allergy research from the years 1995 to 2002. The related studies were compiled and evaluated. Then, recommendations were commonly agreed upon and approved.
Such recommendations are of great significance in the field of allergy.
"Evidence-based and consented recommendations on the prevention of diseases are of immediate relevance for the general health, because they contribute to standardization, are promptly applicable on a national scale and increase effectiveness, as they are based on scientific evidence.“
(Borowski, C., Schäfer, T., Allergieprävention. Evidenzbasierte und konsentierte Leitlinie [Evidence-based and consented guideline on allergy prevention]. München 2005, S. 9 [p.9])
 
The Allergy Prevention Action Alliance arrives at the following conclusion:
A synopsis of the studies “showed that a protective effect emerged when natural materials were used, whereas an allergenic effect was likely to occur when synthetic materials were applied“.
(Borowski, C., Schäfer, T., Allergieprävention. Evidenzbasierte und konsentierte Leitlinie [Evidence-based and consented guideline on allergy prevention]. München 2005, S. 9 [p.111]).
 
In conclusion the Allergy Prevention Action Allianceissues the following recommendation for preventing house-dust-mite allergy (p. 124):
“Reducing the exposure to house-dust-mite allergens may lower the allergy risk for the at-risk population groups. An effective measure in terms of secondary prevention would be to encase mattresses, that is, to provide them with mite-proof covering“.
 
The guideline on allergy prevention in short:

www.uni-duesseldorf.de/AWMF/ll/061-016.htm

Based on the studies regarding house-dust-mite allergy, which had been evaluated, two recommendations were put up for discussion:
“We can, for methodical reasons, only develop recommendations, which are substantive to a limited extent. However, it is probable that reducing the patient’s exposure to house dust as a measure of secondary prevention may lower the risk of disease.”
 
and
 
“If even we cannot exclude selective reactions, the use of synthetic materials for pillows and duvets cannot be recommended, nor for primary neither for secondary prevention, according to the evaluated studies.“
 
Finally, the following recommendation was unanimously approved:
“The reduction of exposure to house-dust-mite allergens can lower the risk of allergy for at-risk population groups. An effective measure in terms of secondary prevention would be to encase the mattresses, that is, to provide them with mite-proof covering.“
(Borowski, C., Schäfer, T., Allergieprävention. Evidenzbasierte und konsentierte Leitlinie [Evidence-based and consented guideline on allergy prevention]. München 2005, S. 9 [p.124])

In the following you will find the list of studies on house-dust-mite allergy which have been evaluated by the Allergy Prevention Action Alliance for the guideline on pages 64 to 66 (Wheeze or wheezing is the term used to describe the laboured breathing):
 

  • Risk factor

    Ponsonby, A. L./Dwyer, T./Kemp, A./Cochrane, J./Couper, D./Carmichael, A., Synthetic bedding and wheeze in childhood. Epidemiology 2003; 14: 37-44
    "When synthetic pillows were used during the first month of life or when synthetic bed linen was still used at the moment when the study was carried out, seven-year-olds displayed a significantly increased risk of developing wheezing symptoms. Children who suffered from asthma and who slept on synthetic pillows at an early age displayed symptoms earlier. The transferability of the results of this birth cohort study by Ponsonby et al. could be limited by the country of Tasmania."

    Zacharasiewicz, A./Zidek, T./Haidinger, G./Waldhor, T./Suess, G./Vutuc, C., Indoor factors and their association to respiratory symptoms suggestive of asthma in Austrian children aged 6-9 years. Wien Klin Wochenschr 1999; 111(21): 882-886
    "A trial by Zacharasiewicz et al. also included testing concerning the use of synthetic bed linen and the consequences on 6- to 9-years-olds. This study shows that using synthetic bedding represents a significant risk factor for the development of wheezing symptoms. Patients who had been diagnosed with asthma were excluded from the testing, but people who displayed wheezing symptoms throughout the preceding 12 months might have been part of the control group and might therefore distort the effect. "

 

  • Negative and/or protective effect

    Strachan, D. P., Home environment and severe asthma in adolescence: a population based case-control study. British Medical Journal 1995; 311(7012): 1053-1056
    and
    Butland, B. K./Strachan, D. P./Anderson, H. R., The home environment and asthma symptoms in childhood: Two population based case-control studies 13 years apart. Thorax 1997; 52(7): 618-624

    "The use of feather duvets and feather pillows or synthetic pillows, respectively, showed a protective effect on the development of wheezing symptoms in children and adolescents aged between 11 and 16 years."
 
  • No association and protective effect

    Ponsonby, A. L., Feather bedding and house dust mite sensitization and airway desease in childhood. J Clin Epidemiol 2002; 55(6): 556-562

    "Ponsonby et al. could not establish any effect for the use of feather pillows and feather duvets on the development of asthma in 8-year-old children from Tasmania. The frequency of wheezing symptoms (> 12 episodes), however, was associated inversely to feather bedding."

     

     Ponsonby, A. L./Gatenby, P./Glasgow, N./Mullins, R./Hurwitz, M./McDonald, T., The association between synthetic bedding and adverse respiratory outcomes among skinprick test positive and skin-prick negative children. Allergy 2002; 57(3): 247-253

     

    "Dividing the participants into SPT-negative and SPT-positive patient groups led to the result that SPT-negative patients did not display any association with the use of synthetic bedding. On the other hand, the use of synthetic bedding led to an increased risk of asthma and allergic rhinoconjuctivits among SPT-positive patients. In the case-control study conducted among 8- to 10-year-old children by Ponsonby et al. the group of controls was not clearly defined and the chronological factor was not discussed."

     

     Rylander, E./Pershagen, Parental smoking and other risk factors for wheezing bronchitis in children. Eur J Epidemiol 1993; 9(5): 517-526

     

    "The use of feather-/down-bed linen in the parents’ beds seemed to have a protective effect concerning the development of wheezing symptoms among the children. This was tested by Rylander et al. among children aged > 18 months. Younger children did not display this effect. A distortion of the results cannot be excluded, as the tested patients were hospital cases."
 
  • Protective effect

    Nafstad, P./Nystad, W./Jaakkola, J. J. K., The use of a feather quilt, childhood asthma and allergic rhinitis: A prospective cohort study. Clin Exp Allergy 2002; 32(8): 1150-1154

     

    "A birth cohort study carried out by Nafstad et al. showed a protective effect when the feather bedding was used until the age of 24 months. The longer the feather bedding was used, the lower the risk to contract asthma at the age of 4. One could raise the question, whether the time frame for the diagnosis was adequate, as asthmatic symptoms during childhood may disappear by themselves."

     

     Moscato, G./Perfetti, L./Galdi, E./Pozzi, V./Minoia, C., Levels of house-dust-mite allergen in homes of nonallergic people in Pavia, Italy. Allergy 2000; 55:873-878

    "Mattresses display a significantly higher content of Der p 1, when synthetic pillows are being used instead of pillows made of wool or feathers."
     
    Hallam, C./Custovic, A./Simpson, B./Houghton, N./Simpson, A./Woodcock, A., Mite allergens in feather and synthetic pillows. Allergy 1999; 54: 401-408

    "By replacing synthetic pillows with pillows made of different materials or by encasing pillows, the prevalence or the severity of asthma symptoms could be reduced."

    On the basis of the evaluated studies the Allergy Prevention Action Alliance stated the following:

    "In conclusion, the so called encasing [the protection of the bedding with mite-proof covers] is an effective method to reduce the concentrations of house-dust-mites. Furthermore, regularly changing and washing the bed linen at a temperature of at least 55 oC/131 oF as well as the use of feather bedding show a rather protective effect on the development of asthma and allergy symptoms.“(Borowski, C., Schäfer, T., Allergieprävention. Evidenzbasierte und konsentierte Leitlinie [Evidence-based and consented guideline on allergy prevention]. München 2005, S. 66 [p.66])

    The Medical Association of German Allergologists (Ärzteverband Deutscher Allergologen e. V.) applies the results of the evaluated trials not only to prevention. Referring to the guideline on allergy prevention the Association even issues the above mentioned recommendation for house-dust-mite sufferers, that – contrary to the recommendations given so far – synthetic bedding is not beneficial, using natural materials such as down and feathers would be better.