Hi there foamey,
I do remember this question. I'm glad crabcakes could help you out,
and hopefully I can too.
What the foam is on that pillow is Memory Foam, like the mattresses,
you see advertised on TV sometimes. The memory foam works great,
because it contours to your head and neck, so that you don't get the
discomfort you get with the donut pillows. No hard places, no large
humps. On top of that, the Memory Foam retains it?s shape over time,
so you don?t get any worn down pillow fluff like with most polyester
fiber filled pillows and even some of the down filled ones. Here are
some links to the kind of pillows I?m talking about.
http://www.myrest.com/itemMatrix.asp?ic=IMP%2DSTD%2D4IN&eq=&Tp=&MatrixType=2
http://www.memoryfoamfactory.com/products/productDetails.asp?prodid=8
http://www.stuffseenontv.com/sleep_eze_pillow_82_prd1.htm?roiid=460
http://www.foampillows.com/MemoryFoamDetail.asp
And, a google search with many more sites that sell them online.
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=memory%20foam%20pillows&btnG=Google+Search
Now, what we did was remove the cover from the pillow, and we had my
friend lie down on the pillow like they would sleep on it. We then
took a marker, and traced around where their ear was lying on the
pillow. Make a trace mark about 2x as big as your ear, by the way.
(Make sure your gel ball, which I mention later, will also fit!)
Using an
X-acto knife http://www.hunt-corp.com/office/xacto/officeframe.html
and some patience, we carved out that spot we had traced a circle
around with a blade, making a place scooped out of the pillow.
Now you have a pillow, that has a place for your head to lie on, that
would contour around your face and neck, with a hole for the ear so
there is no pressure. We then went and got a small gel ball and
inserted it into the bottom of the cutout. This provides a soft, cool
cushion at the bottom of the hole in case the ear would come in to
contact with it.
Here is a link to the kind of ball I?m talking about. You can get them
at most toy or novelty stores.
http://www.barebonesstore.com/products/default.asp?Prod=187&SubDept=46&Sect=1
These would also work great, but I would seal them in a Ziploc bag or
something first, because they are sticky. However, they are probably
softer than the 1st one I showed you.
This solution worked great. Very rarely does the ear bump the ball, it
provides a cool sensation, and the neck and face pain they were having
with regular and donut pillows stopped. I can?t promise this will work
for everyone, but it worked for my friend. I hope this helps you out,
and I?m glad I could explain further with you.
If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
nenna-ga
on
06 May 2004 20:13 PDT
foamey,
I do not have access to your email address, and it's against Google
Answers policy to do so even if I did. Though you may have provided it
when you signed up, as i am just a contractor/reseacher here, I do not
have access to any of your personal information.
It was made for an elderly family member who is no longer with me.
The density of the foam does not matter, though I would reccomend the
thicker the pillow, the better, so that you have room for the hole and
gel insert. The softer the gel the better. Whatever you think or feel
is most comfortable, same with the gel. We made this pillow 5 or 6
years ago, and I could not tell you where we got the stuff. I'm
orginally from a pretty small town in the midwest, so I would have to
say we got these items somewhere like a healthcare store or retail
store. Sadly enough, 6 years ago, I didn't have the internet back
home, so I couldn't order anything off line.
But, other than that, I really have no more to offer than the
information above. It was just a homeade solution made out of pieces
and dreams from the local drugstore or Target. I'm sure the online
solutions I've provided will allow you to make a better one than we
did.
Nenna-GA
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