Sickness and Mattresses

[Chinchilla]

My poor little ds was sick in his cot last night, all over his mattress. Can you please advise if we need to buy a new one (it's from Ikea, so a bit of a hassle!) or whether we can wash it. I am aware that all children are sick at times, am I'm sure that people don't buy new mattresses every time! It's just that I have read a link with SIDS and sicky mattresses, plus, I'm sure that the smell would be awful for him. Please help. Thanks!

[happydays]

Can't you give it a good clean and turn it over. That's what I did. Also you could invest in a protective cover for the mattress.

[janh]

Presumably the mattress has a fabric cover, not a plastic one?

A good scrub with disinfectant should get rid of any bacteria, then as happydays says you can turn it over and still use it. Then when it's dry scrub it again with a paste of bicarb of soda and water, then brush it out, and that will get rid of any lingering smell of sick or disinfectant.

You can get small waterproof sheets with a fabric coating on one side, you could put one of those under the sheet for future use, or buy a big one and cut it up - La Redoute do them, theirs have stitched-down hems but I think that's just to support the elasticated corners; the cotton is bonded to the plastic (I'm almost sure) and they can be washed at 95 degrees.

Just reading the label on one of mine - "Bio-Pruf treated, to resist the growth of mould, mildew and odour-causing germs". A single-bed sized one costs £14 I think and would probably easily make 4 small cot sized ones, then you would always have a clean one for future accidents.

Poor little boy, it's awful when they're sick, hope he's better soon.

[gosh2]

Chinchilla, I dont know I am pretty paranoid about these things. I WOULD buy a new one and then get a plastic sheet to avoid things like this again. I'm sorry I just feel, "what if" something happened, and yes I read about the link with SIDS and sick on mattresses.

I hope you dont mind this, I know buying a new mattress is not a cheap option. If the sick was just a little bit, what about turning it over AND around so that the sick bit is under DS feet or at least away from breathing?

[janh]

gosh2 - and Chinchilla - I hadn't heard about the SIDS thing but do understand your concerns.

However my 4 kids all used the same mattress - plastic covered and with an inner-spring + horsehair, not foam (it is American) but still, it was vomited on regularly as you can imagine. We still have it in the attic along with the cot and my DH intends to use it for grandchildren at some point (I keep wanting to get rid and he won't let me!)

Anyway, Chinchilla, best go with your instincts - if I were in your postion I would be concerned too. (But you can certainly turn it and head-to-tail it until you can get to IKEA!)

[Lindy]

Chinchilla - I am sure a good scrub with disinfectant will be fine ..... I tend to be a bit blase about these things but when you think what goes on in hospitals ......... they certainly don't replace mattresses all the time.

[Chinchilla]

My dh gave it a good clean with baby bubble bath, but now it is still soaking wet, as it is very dense foam! Ds is currently asleep in his travel cot, which has a plastic base thank goodness, although the vomiting seems to haver stopped. He managed about half a bagel this evening, and ate this with gusto, so hopefully his tum is slightly better. He had a temperature of 38.9 this afternoon, poor sausage.

[Tigger2]

You can buy plastic, covers for beds and cots out of either Mothercare or Boots, can't remember. I've got them on my 2 kids beds, as they stop any accidents like being sick or maybe wetting the bed or cot making it wet.

[willum]

Chinchilla - I'm gutted I'm to late. I was going to say do not soak it right through! We have the same mattress and when this happend to us I washed it in the bath. Unfortunaly it took weeks to dry due to the foam being so dense. We had to have the radiators on permanently and it stood up against them. We also had to wet it again a few times.The first time we put it over the rotery dryer out side and it started to dry a funny shape with lumps and bumps and the only way to re-shape it was to wet it. After that it would not dry quick enough and we kept having to squeeze it and sponge the outside as the trapped water kept going slightly mouldy.

It did finnaly dry and we now use it with a water proof/material cover (Boots £15), but it was hard work. We would of been better off getting a new one and certainly will for baby number 2. If you do decide to keep it beware that even when you think it is dry it probably won't be, so put towels above and below it when you put it back in the cot!

Sorry to give you such a bad account but if I had known in the begining how hard it was I would of just gone and got another one. To add insult to injury I do not live any where near an Ikea any more so geting another one next time will be even harder!!!

Good luck it you try to dry it

[lisaj]

I bought a new mattress for dd, although I did use ds's old one for a while. I bought a new foam one from Mothercare for £35, although they seem to have changed slightly since I bought my first one. My original Mamas & Papas one had a foam top, then the rest was plastic covered, whereas the new one I have is completely plastic covered, so is much easier to clean the sick away.

I have read the stuff about possible links with SIDS (seem to remember from reading on the internet that it is a New Zealand man who strongly believes in this), and this was the main reason that I decided to buy a new mattress for dd, because the old mattress had several sick stains on it.

[janh]

They do make them with plastic covers then? I had assumed that if they're still selling fabric-covered mattresses there must be a concern about plastic mattress covers and SIDS (getting overheated etc?) which was why I was suggesting a smallish cotton-covered plastic sheet.

If it isn't a problem I would definitely get a plastic-covered mattress - much easier to keep clean!

[Chinchilla]

Well, the foam is still not dry! Ds has been really sick since Saturday night - 3 times yesterday . I thought that he was a bit better today, and then he chundered all over me! Poor love, he has been really tired and clingy. It is lovely to get so many cuddles, but not under those circumstances.

[janh]

You will appreciate the poorly cuddles more as he gets older, Chinchilla!

My DS2 was off school for 3 days with some kind of bug a few weeks ago, he is 9, and we spent quite a lot of time snuggled on the sofa watching videos, he never does that normally now but we both appreciated it and when he was feeling better he made me a thank you card for being such a kind caring mum - awwww! (Not that I'm not usually of course but he doesn't notice when he's well...)

Anyway hope yours is his usual self soon. (Mine is and I hardly see him again now!)

[Chinchilla]

Oh, I DO appreciate the cuddles Jan, I just meant that I didn't want him to have to be ill for me to get them!

[janh]

Course you did, Chinchilla, sorry, I really meant you will appreciate them EVEN more when he's older (even though it'a awful when they're not themselves)!

Have you decided to get a new mattress, BTW?

[Chinchilla]

I think so. It just means a 50 minute journey, with the additional fuel costs, to spend a few pounds on a mattress! Having said that, it does mean a trip round Ikea, and the possibilty of some other things slipping into the trolley! Why oh why do Ikea not do standard size anything? It is our own fault I suppose, for buying a cheap cot (£30 can you believe!!!), which has been brilliant I must admit.

[janh]

I think they don't do standard size anything so that you have to go there when you need something else! (You know you want to...) Our nearest one is about 50 minutes away too - Warrington - and because it's such an expedition we always end up spending at least twice what we intended while we're there!

[chrissy85]

Just a comment on the Janh's "pitch" for Bio-Pruf above. A word of advice: DO NOT use anything treated with this stuff. It is a classified pesticide, intended mainly to preserve plastics from microbial deterioration, and NOT intended to protect your child's health. This is nasty stuff, really. Search bio-pruf and oxybisphenoxarsine on the net, plus go to bio-pruf's website www.biopruf.com to see what this junk is really intended for. Nature's way is best, not the chemical industry way!