Nickel Allergy and help for eczema please!

[february2003bride]

Hello all!

Does anyone else have a nickel allergy? I was just diagnosed this week by my dermatologist. I''ve had off and on eczema for years and even my family doctor thought I had a platinum allergy a few years ago, but my dermatologist had nixed that. I''ve always just been given a prescription to stop the eczema and that had been fine until recently. I just bought a few items from Whiteflash and had all of them made in whitegold. I developed a small patch of eczema on my jawline which has never happened to me before. Then I got a small spot on my left pinky where my wedding band was rubbing. Once I got my two other rings the eczema got out of control

Now both palms are covered in eczema and my left palm has a few blisters on top of the eczema. I went to my dermatologist who prescibeed 2 different creams, one for my face (since the skin is thinner) and one for my hands. He said no jewelry containing any nickle, even trace amounts, at all for me. I''m extremely upset over this but DH is supportive about my getting platinum rings and earrings. I''m wearing an 18K yellow gold ring for a weddng band today so I have atleast one to wear!

But for right now, does anyone have any suggestions on helping eczema pain subside besides the creams that I''m using? I went grocery shopping today and I grabbed the cart the wrong way with my left hand and part of the eczema on my hand split open and stung horribly! Are there any at home remedies that have worked? I''ve been researching online and it looks like Aveeno oatmeal packets work well. Anything else? I''ll seriously try anything at this point!

Thank you so much!!

Carrie

 

[mia1181]

Aw I am so sorry. I have eczema and a nickel allergy too but not as bad as your so I am not going to be very helpful.

I use Tac Cream .1% and it works well for me. Platinum jewelry should be okay though but as you know it''s more $.

Anyway, I''m so sorry.

 

[february2003bride]

Thanks Mia! Is the cream you use over the counter or a prescription?

 

[mia1181]

It''s prescription. It seems to keep it at bay when I feel a flare-up coming on.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Feb, I''m sorry you''re dealing with this! I have a nickel allergy too, and it really sucks.

My allergy isn''t nearly as bad as yours. All of my jewelry is 14k yellow gold, except for my e-ring and wedding band which are 18k yellow gold. I have only ever had trouble with rings, since they are worn tight against the skin. (Necklaces, earrings and bracelets don''t bother me at all . . . and I don''t even have a reaction to my belly button ring, which is 14k yellow gold.) If I''m wearing a ring with too much nickel in it, my finger will break out under the ring. It gets itchy and red, and sometimes it blisters or breaks open and bleeds. My old wedding band from XH was a thick band made of 10k yellow gold, and that REALLY caused a reaction!

The only rings I currently wear are my wedding band and e-ring, and they don''t bother me at all since they''re both 18k yellow gold. However, when DH and I first got engaged, I broke out from my e-ring, even though it is 18k! That really surprised me! But, eventually I guess my body just got "used to it" or something and the rash went away. I haven''t had a problem since. I''ve noticed that it helps if I don''t wear my rings 24/7. I always take them off before I go to bed, and put them back on before I leave the house in the morning. If I wear them overnight, my finger usually starts to get itchy and swollen. Also, hydrocortisone cream was helpful to me. I would just rub a small amount into my finger at bedtime, and that seemed to really help clear up the rash. Good luck! I hope it clears up soon!

 

[pinkelephant]

Hi there!
I have pretty bad excema on my hands as well. Try to not wash your hands too often, the water can dry them out and make the cracks worse. I have switched to using L''Occitance Shea Butter Milk Soap as it is super gentle and moisturizing. As well, lavender soap helps soothe the excema. I also use Aveeno lotion a lot as I don''t want to use prescription creams too often because they do thin your skin. When the cracks get really bad, I use polysporin in the cracks to help them heal and then once they are a bit closed I use the excema cream. Just try and keep your skin hydrated. I know how painful the cracks can be and how long they can take to heal! Try not to itch, especially the blisters, for me it just makes them spread. Good luck. I totally feel for you, I have had excema since I was five years old. I used to get it all over my face, so much that I did not want to go out in public because of my scaly face. Luckily those days have passed.

 

[CrownJewel]

oh no feb! your reaction sounds pretty bad. i am quite allergic to nickel and i also have bouts of eczema. i usually get eczema flare ups in the winter. my doc prescribes a stronger hydrocortisone cream or i''ll just use an OTC version. on top of the hydrocortisone cream, i apply eucerin original moisturizing cream (it comes in a tub and is so thick that it feels like rubbing shortening on your body. it''s a workout just to spread the cream on).

this summer i developed eczema patches around my eyes and on my upper lip. so my doc prescribed elidel cream 2x a day. it''s also a steroid cream so i don''t like using it for many days in a row, but everytime i take a day or two off from using it, the itchy patches come right back. so my doc says i may need to take an antihistamine.

for contact dermatitis, like the nickel rashes, i just apply OTC hydrocortisone cream. i rarely wear my white gold engagement ring these days. if i do, i don''t wear it for the full day. i just wear my platinum wedding band.

i hope your hands get better soon! it sounds miserable!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 12/26/2008 2:30:16 AM
Author: CrownJewel
oh no feb! your reaction sounds pretty bad. i am quite allergic to nickel and i also have bouts of eczema. i usually get eczema flare ups in the winter. my doc prescribes a stronger hydrocortisone cream or i''ll just use an OTC version. on top of the hydrocortisone cream, i apply eucerin original moisturizing cream (it comes in a tub and is so thick that it feels like rubbing shortening on your body. it''s a workout just to spread the cream on).

this summer i developed eczema patches around my eyes and on my upper lip. so my doc prescribed elidel cream 2x a day. it''s also a steroid cream so i don''t like using it for many days in a row, but everytime i take a day or two off from using it, the itchy patches come right back. so my doc says i may need to take an antihistamine.

for contact dermatitis, like the nickel rashes, i just apply OTC hydrocortisone cream. i rarely wear my white gold engagement ring these days. if i do, i don''t wear it for the full day. i just wear my platinum wedding band.

i hope your hands get better soon! it sounds miserable!

CJ, I''ve had patches on my eyelids! Is that part of the nickel allergy? If/when I get these, it''s usually in the spring, just as the weather starts to warm up. I guess I always assumed I was allergic to something that''s blooming at that time of year, but I guess it could be a different symptom of the nickel allergy??? I usually just use a really thick eye cream (All About Eyes Rich by Clinique) and that helps to get rid of it.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I occasionally get eczema on my fingers and use hydrocortizone (Cortaid or something like that) cream. Everything else I''ve tried aggravates/worsens the condition.

Good luck!

 

[JulieN]

sorry about your eczema. I have it, non allergy related. My sister is allergic, though.

You said you have it on your hands. I would be really careful about cooking, which causes me the most pain. Washing your hands a lot, washing veggies, chopping/prepping veggies, and lemon juice can all cause pain.

 

[february2003bride]

Thanks everyone for all of your tips! I bought a pair of spa gloves to wear and at night have been cating my hands in cetaphil moisturizer and then the med. cream on top of the eczema. It''s slowly helping. What sucks is not being able to wear my e-ring!

Julie- I squeezed a lemon into gucamole to make a layered bean dip on Christmas Eve and holy crap, did it hurt!

The lemon juice went right into the cracks of my eczema!

 

[lover in athens]

sounds like you''re doing better...that''s great!

i wholeheartedly recommend the gloves like you''re doing, but if you can handle the greasiness, vaseline (plain old petroleum jelly) is even better than cetaphil. and be sure it put the prescription cream on FIRST and then the vaseline or cetaphil. something else that can help is to actually dampen the gloves before putting them on...helps drive the medicine into the rash.

also, just as an aside, if you have a true nickel allergy, be careful of polysporin and ESPECIALLY neosporin. they are both common contact allergens (and even if you''re not allergic now, you can certainly develop an allergy)...

last, there is a test sold online that you can use to determine if jewelry has nickel in it. do a google search for "nickel allergy test kit" and just make sure the one you buy has dimethylglyoxime in it. basically it''s a solution that you paint on anything metal (including buttons, snaps, zippers, jewelry, etc) to determine if it is a potential allergen. i think things that have nickel turn purple. and it doesn''t damage the metal at all (safe to use in stores prior to purchasing items).

hope this helps (i''m a dermatologist)...

 

[ucdcows]

I''ve had eczema all my life and just had a flareup recently. I''ve discovered that certain foods either brings it on or make it worse. Even touching foods I''m sensative to can make my hands crack and peel. But now that I''m avoiding foods I know bother me, it''s under control and when it does flare up, I just use a light steroid oimtment ( i think ointments work better than creams)

 

[steph72276]

I also had a nickel allergy to 14k wg, but 18k wg doesn''t bother me. The jeweler said the 18k has less nickel in it. Sorry you are having such a hard time with it and hopefully you will have better luck with platinum.