The sponsorship is part of The Mattress Doctors programme to support charitable organisations involved with the education and support of allergy sufferers in Ireland. About half a million people in Ireland suffer from asthma alone, and thousands more suffer from other allergies including eczema, hay fever, and a whole host of other types of allergies.

Allergies are now a major chronic disease for large numbers of people of any age particularly in children 18 years and younger. A study conducted by the researchers at the International Study of Asthma and Allergies states that over the past six years, all over the world, the cases of childhood allergies have rocketed. Over 56 countries are currently facing this emerging crisis including well developed countries such as Ireland and the UK. An evaluation carried out from 2001 to 2003 reveals that nearly 20.9per cent are affected by asthma, 16 per cent from eczema and 10.1 percent from hay fever.

Allergies worldwide are on the rise. In Europe, over 80 million people have some form of allergic disease and the figure is climbing. In fact, an increase in allergies has been noted over the past 20-30 years. A recent study showed that symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema are increasing, reflecting a change in the morbidity of these conditions in our population.

Steven Ekpenyong, Managing Director of the Mattress Doctor, announcing the sponsorship said: Ireland has the fourth largest population of asthma suffers in the world and by sponsoring the Asthma Society of Ireland we are directly helping those who suffer from this debilitating condition by helping the Society to continue its work on behalf of asthmatics generally. We are also extending our sponsorship to The Irish Eczema Society which has recently set up in Dublin.

Many asthma and eczema sufferers are particularly sensitive to house dust mite, tiny insects that live in dust faeces. This sponsorship is part of the companys awareness programme to educate asthma & eczema sufferers, particularly those for whom dust mites are a trigger allergen, to the benefits of maintaining a clean mattress that is free from dust mite faeces.

During sleep your mattress acts like a bellows as you move around. Contaminants such as dust mite skeletons, faeces, dead human skin, fungi, and bacteria are expelled in to the air, which you breathe in. Some of these allergens cause sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and ears, and sore throats  typical allergy symptoms.

The Mattress Doctor offers a unique system for removing dust mites and their waste, which can be a common trigger for asthma, eczema and allergy sufferers as well as other allergens. With this system the Mattress Doctor can render a mattress clean and hygienic in less than half an hour. The treatment is totally chemical free.

As part of its sponsorship programme the Mattress Doctor will make a donation to the Asthma Society for every mattress that they clean.

About the Mattress Doctor
The Mattress Doctor is a franchised mobile mattress cleaning service provided by a network of franchisees who deliver the cleaning at peoples homes. Franchisees operate under The Mattress Doctor brand and have liveried vans with all the equipment they need to give a quick and efficient service. Each franchisee undergoes a full training programme before they can begin offering the service. The Mattress Doctor monitors each franchisee to ensure that they provide the highest standards of service to our customers and are kept up to date with the latest improvements in the system. The service was originally established in the UK in 2002 and has since expanded operations into Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Norway, South Africa and the USA.

To view lists of franchises available in Ireland, please click the Home link above