But get this. It isn’t so much the inhalable spider that you’re allergic to. It’s their byproducts. Dust mites produce waste matter and then die off in a shor time. Their corpses and excrement are what stay in your mattress, and it’s that stuff that prompts the worst allergies.

I’m going in for allergy tests in a few weeks to see if they’re on my list of allergens.

Dust mites don’t live where humidity goes below 50% and they don’t live in waterbeds, aerobeds, or foam mattresses.

I could hardly sleep the first night. Apparently, I am allergic to feather-filled pillows. I actually suffer from a variety of allergies and since I don’t normally put my face into a big nest of feathers, I did not realize that down was one of them. I managed to create a sort of fake pillow using the terry bath robe the hotel provided, but that did not solve the comforter problem. By this time, the comforter was now a dis-comforter. I cranked up the heat and slept under the sheet.

This, plus an allergy pill, solved some of my problems. Then I got up and had terrible lower back pain. I could not even bend over. I figured that I had sprained my back dragging my behemoth of a suitcase around the hotel or something. By mid-morning, the aches had worked themselves out.

Fast forward. The hotel has graciously provided foam-filled pillows. But for some reason, I switch beds. Not only do I sleep better, but I have no back pain at all.

The other mattress was much firmer. They appeared to be identical, but I suspect that the first mattress got more wear-and-tear. Standing at the foot of the beds, it was the right-hand mattress and the clock-radio in the room faced it. I suspect it might be the “default” mattress that gets more use.

It’s easy to think that mattresses aren’t such a big deal, but they contribute massively to the quality of our sleep. In my case, the first bed in its first downy incarnation literally made me sick!