Ultra-Fresh™

  • Ultra-Fresh™ is an antimicrobial, anti dust-mite treatment. It is built into the product at time of manufacture and thus retains durability
  • Ultra-Fresh™ provides built in protection against bacteria, fungi, and dust-mites
  • Ultra-Fresh™ helps protect against asthma and allergies through effective, safe and hygienic dust-mite control
  • Ultra-Fresh™ antimicrobials are manufactured and marketed by Thomson Research Associates Inc. Canada

The Ultra-Fresh™ story - Mattress Ticking, Bedding and Dust Mites

Dust mites are closely related to spiders and ticks. They inhabit and live in textile products such as mattresses, mattress ticking, pillows, bed linens, blankets etc and feed on shed human skin cells. Their presence is inevitable unless steps are taken to eradicate them.

The dust-mites themselves are harmless. They do not bite and they are not parasitic, however they are a serious concern as they produce powerful allergens through their excreted waste products. These allergens can give rise to allergic reactions and have also been directly linked to the onset of asthma, a serious lung disease responsible for chronic illness and many deaths in society today.

 

Ultra-Fresh™ antimicrobial and anti dust-mite treatment is used in the production of mumbaiuk mattress tickings. It has been tested over many years and proven effective in eradicating the house dustmite from treated mattresses and bedding materials. Independent studies have confirmed its effectiveness

Incorporating Ultra-Fresh™ into mattress ticking, mattresses, beds, pillows, bedding etc ensures that dust-mite colonisation does not take place and thus ensures that dust-mite allergens are not produced

Ultra-Fresh™ - what does it do and how does it work

  • Provides antibacterial, antifungal and anti dust mite protection
  • Anti dust-mite properties help in fight against asthma & allergies
  • It works against dust-mites by interrupting the feeding cycle so the dust-mites cannot feed. By preventing the bacterial and fungal breakdown of shed skin, the skin is rendered inedible to the dust-mite. Independent studies have confirmed the effectiveness of Ultra-Fresh™. The action is not insecticidal. Ultra-Fresh™ does not contain insecticides
  • Antibacterial & Antifungal action provide durable hygienic freshness and odour prevention

Facts About The House Dustmite

  • They thrive in conditions of warmth and humidity. The same conditions in which modern people live today
  • They produce powerful allergens through their excreted waste products. These allergens which remain airborne can give rise to allergic reactions and have also been directly linked to the onset of asthma, a serious lung disease responsible for chronic illness and many deaths in society today.
  • Dust-mites colonise areas that have optimal conditions of heat, humidity and food resource, and also suitable textile habitat.
  • Mattresses, beds, bedding, upholstered furniture are thus an ideal environment for house dust-mites because they provide warmth (from the human body) and the high humidity, (from human sweat) conditions under which microbes and dust-mites thrive.
  • They exist by feeding on shed human skin cells. (the average adult person sheds between 0.5 - 1.0 grams of skin per week, enough to feed many dust-mites for months)
  • The greatest concentration of dust-mites and their allergens are usually found in the bedroom ie mattresses, beds and bedding, and carpetsFacts About Asthma

Asthma is defined as "a lung disease", characterized by:

1, variable and reversible airway obstruction;

2, airway inflammation; and

3, bronchial hyper-responsiveness "(2).

Common symptoms of this chronic disease include (2):

  • Episodes of wheezing with difficulty in breathing;
  • A contraction of muscles around the air passages, swelling of the airway lining due to inflammation and excessive mucus in the airways, all resulting in a narrowing of the air passages and an increased resistance to airflow;
  • Rapid and considerable changes in airway obstruction;
  • Frequent nocturnal episodes;
  • Significant reversibility with drugs; and
  • Symptom-free periods.

Most asthma attacks last from 30 minutes to several hours and can often be treated by inhaling a vapour of epinephrine (adrenaline) that helps widen the bronchi thereby improving airflow. The severity of the symptoms will vary from person to person and for individual episodes of asthma.

According to The Allergy and Asthma Network (3):

  • 15 people die of asthma every day in the United States
  • About one in five - 40 to 50 million Americans - suffer from allergies
  • More than 17 million Americans suffer from asthma
  • Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disorder
  • Children with asthma miss more than 10 million school days per year in the US
  • American children with asthma visit hospital emergency rooms 1.9 million times a year.

The financial cost of asthma to society is enormous and growing. Asthma often results in urgent visits to the doctor, hospital emergency room visits, hospitalizations, treatment with oral steroids and other drugs, time off work. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States estimates the cost of asthma for the year 2000 as $14.5 billion US (1). More than 5000 Americans died from asthma in 1995 according to the CDC.

References:

1. Asthma - a speaker's kit for public health professionals: epidemiology, 12 March, 2001, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/asthma/speakit/epi.htm. 51

2. Asthma-The Basics and a little bit more, 26 February 2001, Asthma and Allergy Information and Research, http://users.globalnet.co.uk/~aair/asthma.htm.

3. Facts on allergies and asthma, 3 March, 2001, Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics, Inc., http://www.aanma.org/mikey-factsheet.htm.

4. Korsgaard, J.; Epidemiology of house dust mites, Allergy, 53(48), 36-40, 1998.

Thomson Research Associates, Toronto, Canada

The Company was founded 50 years ago to develop and market antibacterial and antifungal compounds (antimicrobials) for use in various textile products. Focused and continuing research and development has resulted in Thomson Research developing into a highly successful and respected international manufacturer and marketer on antimicrobial products under the Ultra-Fresh™ trade name.

In addition to textiles Thomson Research has expanded Ultra-Fresh™ into new and diverse end uses such as polymeric systems, adhesives, latexes, plastics, foams (including polyurethane foam for beds) and many others

Thomson Research maintains fully equipped chemical and microbiological laboratories at its Canadian headquarters in Toronto and places major emphasis on customer service to ensure

  • The effectiveness of the Ultra-Fresh™ antimicrobial treatment
  • Ongoing quality assurance program testing