ARE ELECTRIC HEATED BLANKETS AND ELECTRIC MATTRESS PADS SAFE OR DANGEROUS?On this page you will find information about safety and danger related to heated blankets and heated mattress pads:
Just as with any electrical appliance, things do occasionally go wrong with electric blankets or electric mattress pads. For example, a control may not work properly, a blanket may become bunched up which might cause an overheated condition or a heater wire might break. Therefore it is foolish to allow infants or small children to use these products. Likewise for the same reasons, anyone who is helpless, paralyzed, insensitive to heat, or who cannot understand the control’s operation should never be allowed to use these appliances. Some elderly people with one or more of these conditions sometimes insist on having their electric blanket. Be strong and refuse them. Show “tough love” or you may regret it. PREGNANCY and ELECTRIC BLANKETS OR PADS Medical websites differ about the use of electric bedding during pregnancy. Some say: “Absolutely no problem”. Some say: “Never use”. Many say: “Ask your doctor”. We always tell people that in the absence of conclusive proof about EMF’s and to avoid possible overheating of the fetus, it’s better to err on the side of caution and forgo the warming bedding for nine months. If desirable, automatic bedding products could still be used to warm the bed and then turned off prior to getting in. ARTIFICIAL PACEMAKERS and ELECTRIC BLANKETS OR PADS Numerous well known associations, hospitals and doctors (see The American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic) advise that electric blankets have not been shown to damage pacemakers or interfere with their functions. Although we personally have never heard of any pacemaker problems due to electric bedding, we always recommend that the person should check with his or her doctor AND the manufacturer of the pacemaker (e.g. Medtronic, St Jude Medical, etc). DIABETES and ELECTRIC BLANKETS OR PADS One frequently sees comments that electric blankets or pads should not be used by people with diabetes. The reason for this goes back to the warning about insensitivity to heat. Diabetics often lose some feeling in their legs or arms and could sustain a burn if they cannot feel that a blanket or pad has become too warm. Of course, if the diabetic wishes only to warm the bed and then turn off the electric blanket or electric mattress pad when getting into it, this restriction would not apply. ELECTRIC BLANKET EMF’S (60 Hz Electromagnetic Frequency Waves) In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, some scientists and others began to be concerned over the safety of electromagnetic fields (EMF’s). Various studies in that timeframe had raised concerns over the possibility that the EMF’s generated by power companies’ overhead transmission lines and some appliances could cause cancer especially in children. The United States government became involved and studied over 500 peer reviewed papers written on this potential problem. The National Research Council spent around 65 million dollars and finally stated that there was no conclusive evidence that residential EMF’s play any role in the development of cancer, in reproductive issues or in learning/behavioral issues. Nevertheless Sunbeam, which was then the only major United States manufacturer of electric blankets, altered the design of its products to reduce EMF’s. Redesigned blankets produced after 1992 had much weaker electrical fields than their predecessors. The argument over EMF’s has never gone away completely although very few scientists and medical experts continue to believe that they can cause problems. GENERAL SAFETY RULES for ELECTRIC BEDDING All brands of warming bedding contain recommendations for safe use of their product. Many of them are quite similar to those found below because a rather extensive list of safety recommendations must be issued with each product in order to conform to the UL standard.
There may seem to be many rules for using these appliances but they are mostly common sense. If you follow these general rules, there will be little chance of anything going wrong with your product. |
Copyright 2008/9 Electric Blanket Institute™ All Rights Reserved. You may cite any part of this article without prior permission as long as you maintain its accuracy and give proper credit to the Electric Blanket Institute™. This information has been developed over many years of testing and is presented freely for educational use only and without any warranty of any kind. It is not a substitute for the safe usage practices of your individual product.