My husband and I bought an expensive, "Disco Solution" Tempurpedic mattress from a Sleep Country Canada store in January 2011 after being assured that it wouldn't off-gas for more than a few days, if that. The receipt said "As is. May be cosmetically imperfect." I am now wondering if this indicates they sold us a reclaimed mattress.
Anyway, after about two weeks with the new mattress, my eyes began to be sore, dried out, bloodshot, and painful. My husband's eyes also got more bloodshot but not as bad as mine, plus he started to get itchy ears.
At the time, there were four different factors which could have caused my eye problems: the new mattress, an allergy to my aging kitty, a project I was working on which required many, many hours infront of my computer, and furnace ducts which were in need of cleaning.
In February my cat passed away. My eyes worsened and I was barely able to keep them open. I went to see my family doctor who ruled out infection. In March I went to see a naturopath who was unable to determine the cause of my red, irritated eyes. I went to see some optical professionals, who were also unable to determine the cause, but who sold me drops and products which were intended to provide relief but didn't.
My prescription kept changing hourly. One professional noticed that my corneas were swollen, and said it was probably the cause of my changing prescription. When we patients see an optometrist regarding a medical issue, the cost is covered by Alberta Health. But unfortunately if you say the word "prescription", it is automatically deemed to be non-medical, and the customer must pay out of their own pocket. Therefore, I had to pay for these visits myself.
In May I finished my computer project. My eyes did not improve. In the late summer we had our furnace ducts cleaned. Still no improvement. Just after Christmas I developed a lung problem which caused horrendous, uncontrollable coughing. I went downstairs to sleep so I wouldn't disturb my husband. By this time I had a case of bronchitis, but my eyes had improved remarkably, with hardly any trace of redness.
When my cough abated somewhat, I went back upstairs to sleep, but after two days my cough was back and so were my red, swollen, bloodshot eyes, so downstairs I went. Again my eyes improved after about three or four days.
By this time I knew the mattress was the problem, so my husband and I bought a different one from a different store, and put the Tempurpedic one out in the garage. I called Sleep Country and explained the medical problems and described the process of elimination I undertook to identify the correct cause. A year had passed since we bought the mattress, and they insisted they would not give me a refund for the mattress because the 90-day warranty had expired, nor would they reimburse me for my medical expenses incurred as a direct result of the off-gassing mattress.
I think a class-action lawsuit against Sleep Country and Tempurpedic would be a reasonable solution to this problem, and would prevent others from getting duped.