Does anyone have a metal allergy?

[february2003bride]

I''ve had constant eczema for the past few years and after numerous steroid creams working and then the eczema coming back, I finally went for allergy testing. I''m not allergic to anything food or environment related (that''s testable anyway) and the allergist and my dermatologist think I have a metal allergy. Before we do any further testing (the metal allergy tests last 3 days) I agreed to not wear any jewelry. Guess what? My eczema is clearing up by itself

My e-ring and anniversary band (which are at the jewelers getting soldered together) are 950 platinum as is the plain 2mm Signed Pieces wedding band I wear (or rather, wore). My pendant is a half bezel set in 14K white gold and I did get eczema on my chest, neck and collar bone. I''ve had eczema on my hands pretty much since we got engaged and remember going to a friend''s engagement party and wouldn''t show anyone my e-ring because there was a horrible patch of eczema right on my finger around the ring.

The allergist thinks its the 5% mix that''s in the platinum and my dermatologist somewhat agrees.

Now what? I''m not wearing ANY jewelry at all and I really miss wearing my wedding band

and I''m not ready to admit that my wedding set may have to be reset in yellow gold (I don''t wear ANYthing yellow gold).

Does anyone else have a metal allergy??

Thanks!

Carrie

 

[MelissaSue]

I have some kind of metal allergy.. Not exactly sure what metals..I have no trouble with gold or white gold.. I THINK I am okay with sterling silver, although I don''t have any to really test it out..
I can NOT wear watches with stainless steel backs.. or any "faux" jewlery.. I get red itchy bumps whereever it touches me with in a matter of hours.. I have a name tag for work that is magnetic and the back is metal and sure enough I got the rash right on my boob where the back of the name tag touched.. So they got me a plastic back.. which was nice of them.. or i just have to be careful to keep the nametag where my bra is.. Its a pain finding watches though. Luckily those cuff ones have been in style.. I actually wore them a lot before they were in style because that is all I can really wear.. I NEED to get a really nice watch.. because I don''t have a dressy watch.. because of the whole metal issue.

 

[Starset]

I do - and specifically it''s nickel, but there are others. Basically I''ve limited myself to gold only. Anything with remote traces of nickle give me a rash and dry skin. If it''s earing then they become like there are hard rocks inside my earlobes and they turn bright red and if I wear the earrings all day - puss.

 

[MelissaSue]

ooh starset! I get that too! Its GREEEAT!

 

[flopkins]

I have a horrible allergy to nickel, like Starset - it gets itchy w/in minutes!

I have not had a problem w/gold, SS, or platinum, however, although I believe some ppl are allergic to platinum or the metals that are mixed with it??

I''m so sorry you are w/o jewelry.. is there some way they can test your skin?

 

[Munchkin]

Simply coat the metal surface of all your jewelry with clear nail polish so it doesn''t come in direct contact wih your skin. Periodically re-coat it.

Also, coat the inside of any metal snaps/button of clothes (especially jeans) as nickel erruptions on the abdomen can be particularly difficult to resolve.

Metal allergies are very common, but are a definite PITA!

Munchkin

 

[monarch64]

Hee hee, when I got my ears pierced when I was in 2nd grade I developed swelling of the lymph nodes all over my neck and back of my head...I had to go through all kinds of tests and they thought I had Hodgkins'' disease (cancer of the lymph nodes). It turned out that I was allergic to nickel, and I just had to get rid of the earrings. When I was 14 I got them re-pierced, wore only 14k gold earrings and was fine. I used to be ok with even sterling silver earrings, but lately (maybe due to hormonal changes in the last few years) I can''t wear those for very long without itching like crazy. My e-ring and WB are platinum, so I don''t have a problem there, and I wear a stainless steel Tag watch. I can wear costume jewelry in my ears or on my neck or wrists for about 2 hours before I have to take it off because I get itchy.

I think it''s hereditary with me...my mom can''t even wear 14k gold without turning greenish/black where the jewelry touches! People used to accuse her of wearing fake jewelry, but she''d show them the stamp on the back of her solid pieces...even her 18k WB has caused her probs over the years. It''s weird...sometimes she can wear pieces and be fine, but other times she''ll have a horrible reaction. She''s also the type with very sensitive skin to makeup--she''s gone to the ER a few times with allergic reactions to makeup on her face.

 

[justjulia]

I thought I did, but it turned out to be the width of the ring I was wearing. I had a wide yg band which I had a reaction to, so I got a wide platinum band and got the same reaction. I traded it for a knife edge set and the problem went away. I have to have a lot of air getting behind the piece, or I react. Simple as that.

 

[JCJD]

YES! If you do a search for allergies you'll find several threads about nickel.

My mom can't wear metal anywhere except on her fingers or she breaks out in hives. Her wedding set is wg, don't know the karats. She has to search and search for watches that have plastic, not metal, on the back of the face.

My sister recently discovered she can wear platinum - bought platinum plated cz studs from ebay - although she takes the earrings out every night to be safe. An allergy patch test was very conclusive that she has a severe reaction to nickel - all other allergens were negative. Basically, her entire back was red, itchy, and swollen, centered around the location where the nickel was on the patch, and only after 1.5 days rather than the full 3 days you're supposed to have the test patch on - was still red and itchy for the next week. Diagnosed with eczema related to the nickel allergy, can't wear necklaces, bracelets, earrings (except for the plat plated ones now), but also can wear rings of any kind, strangely enough.

I had my ears pierced in 4th grade (or so) and once they healed I tried some of my mom's old yellow gold earrings (when she tried to keep the piercings in before I was born). Ugh... red, pus, itchy, swollen, had to let the piercings close and can only wear the hypo-allergenic earrings from Claire's or nickel-free wg. My wedding set is plat, and I can wear cheap necklaces without incident (my allergy is not nearly as sensitive, seems to be earrings only).

Metal allergies suck, hopefully you'll get to the bottom of this soon and can wear your jewelry again! See if you can have your rings plated or reset in guaranteed nickel-free wg. Unless your allergy is to rhodium, you should be able to wear plated jewelry, I would think.

 

[Fancy605]

I am allergic to nickle, and I agree that the nail polish coating that Munchkin mentioned can work well (I do it with the buttons on my jeans). If you don''t like the idea of coating your rings/necklace in nail polish, I believe there''s a new product on the market that is specifically for coating jewlery so that the nickle doesn''t come in contact with your skin.

 

[codex57]

My sister. She can wear 24K gold and only some of that hypoallergic stuff. I can put a 14K ring or something on her arm or something and about 1 hour later, you''ll see a circular rash growing. Kinda cool in a weird way. Plus, her lips will puff up.

 

[february2003bride]

Wow, more replies than I thought!

I am going to go ahead and have the allergy patch test done to see if the metals are really causing my eczema. I was starting to plan having all my jewelry switched over the yellow gold when I stopped because I felt like I was really jumping the gun. After all, my allergist and my dermatologist just THINK my eczema is caused by my platinum but they don''t know for sure until I do the patch test. So tomorrow I get to go through another round of allergy test. Oh yay!

I love love love platinum and white metals and I need to know absolutely I can''t wear them before I change anything.

 

[divergrrl]

Wow! Starset I get that too! I wear plastic sheaths on my posts (kinda like earring condoms..lol) I get them at Claires.

Feb Bride...That SUCKS! I was really upset that my new ring (in white gold) is giving me an itchy eczema rash, but I''ve been using cortaid & painting Jeweler''s friend inside of it (get that from those Cookie Lee gals). I was starting to get worried that I''d have to reset in platinum, but if its possible to have an alloy reaction to anything...well crap. I have to remember to take my ring off when it gets hot. Its not a problem in the winter.


Jeannine