Woman orders dresser, Nectar mattress off Amazon. Now she’s blaming them for making her family sick for months: ‘Me watching this on our new Nectar’
A woman ordered a Nectar mattress and a dresser from Amazon. For months, her entire family felt sick, and now, she’s realized what might be the likely culprit.
“This dresser and this mattress caused a ton of unexplained symptoms that even doctors couldn’t figure out why,” said TikToker Mireya (@mireyaunfiltered) in a video with over 220,000 views. “We only figured out that it was a dresser and the mattress after we left on a 10-day trip [and] all of our symptoms [got] better.”
In her video, she also described extremely concerning symptoms—her skin turned yellow, and she had aches and headaches that wouldn’t go away. Mireya later claimed that these aches and pains her family experienced were a direct result of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and organic toxins in her mattress and dresser.
What was making her sick?
For months, Mireya and her family have experienced an unexplained sickness. Her son had extreme night sweats, overheating, breathing problems and a persistent runny nose. Her husband had unexplained congestion, sneezing and random aches and pains. Mireya experienced some of the worst symptoms, getting diagnosed with non-allergic rhinitis. She had frequent body aches, hives, brittle nails, hair loss and general inflammation that made her incredibly sick.
Mireya, her son, and her husband went on a trip to see family and noticed that their symptoms improved almost immediately. Her son’s runny nose cleared, and they generally felt better than they did before. When they got back, they decided to hire a professional cleaner to clean their home.
Despite this, Mireya still felt sick whenever she was around a lone dresser in her home. Whenever she wore clothes from the dresser, her skin would break out. She struggled to lose weight and constantly felt sick. Eventually, she realized that the dresser might be giving her symptoms, so they threw it out. But, when she went to bed that night, she noticed her sickness returning again. That’s when she realized that the bed, too, was making her feel ill.
After doing some research, Mireya concluded that her mattress may have soaked up some dangerous compounds from the dresser. So, for her family’s safety, she threw away the mattress and booked an appointment for her son to see an ear, nose, and allergy specialist (ENT).
Why did her family get sick?
Some furniture has the potential to get families sick due to the ingredients and compounds used in it. Typically, cheaper furniture, like some items purchased on Amazon, is made with cheaper materials. Sometimes, these materials are toxic to people.
Formaldehyde is a compound commonly used to build furniture. Furniture builders use it as a bonding agent when forming plywood and particleboard. They also sometimes add it as a preservative for various textiles.
But, formaldehyde can cause severe symptoms such as coughing, nausea, general weakness, wheezing and skin irritation.
While Mireya concluded her mattress may have soaked up some air-borne formaldehyde, there’s also another possibility. Many mattresses are made with fiberglass, which acts as a flame retardant. While it’s generally considered safe in undamaged mattresses, a mattress that’s uncovered or damaged could expose homeowners to airborne fiberglass. The symptoms match what Mireya described, giving mattress users breathing issues, stomach pains, and rashes or hives.
It’s also difficult to tell which mattress brands use fiberglass. Technically, mattress brands can use all sorts of names for fiberglass. Most cheap mattresses have fiberglass in them due to the material being extremely inexpensive, and it’s listed under names like “glass wool.” Mattresses at varying price points have fiberglass in them, from Tempurpedic to Zinus brand beds.
Notably, the mattress brand Mireya purchased from uses fiberglass in its beds.
Commenters weigh in on the family’s situation
Commenters agreed with Mireya’s assessment—the family had essentially been poisoned in their home by furniture purchased online. There was no apparent recourse from the companies that Mireya bought her furniture from, either. But there were recommendations for different natural brands.
Viewers preferred mattresses from Avocado, Sleep On Latex, and Novafoam over those from Nectar or Casper. Some viewers recommended that homeowners stay away from Amazon entirely, considering how many fiberglass mattresses they carry.
Customers had similar experiences with other products. “Ordered some shoes from Amazon and it came with fiberglass all over it,” one commenter said. “I noticed the sparkles immediately thankfully before touching them and was so frustrated and threw the whole thing in a bag and put them in the trash. I’m so sorry you and your baby experienced that!!”
Green Guard mattresses are generally certified fiberglass-free and safer when it comes to indoor pollutants. The EPA estimates that pollutants can be two to five times stronger indoors, thus making it more dangerous to have furniture items with harmful chemicals in them.
@mireyaunfiltered Be aware of what you buy! #amazon #mattress #furniture #fypツ #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ♬ original sound – Mireya
The Mary Sue reached out to Mireya via TikTok direct message and Amazon via email for comment. We’ll let you know if either party responds.
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