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Nickel allergy and nose piercing

I have an allergy to nickel and want to get my nose pierced. I am aware that I can use titanium. There isn't a very wide selection of titanium jewelry to my liking. It seems that some nickel-free jewelry still seems to break me out. What other type of metal can I use?

Heather L [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
student - Plainfield, New Jersey
2003

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2003

Excuse me while I cringe. Nose piercings: a sure-fire way for young women to dispel unwanted attention from old men

I am intrigued by your observation that even some nickel-free jewelry breaks you out. I wonder whether it is accidentally or deliberately mislabeled? Have you tried places like NoNickel who offer only nickel-free hypoallergenic jewelry? Does any reader know if it is possible to have an allergy to the substitutes like cobalt?

You might consider a nickel test kit to determine if the jewelry that breaks you out, but is labeled "nickel-free", actually is nickel-free ⇨
Nickel allergy only gets worse with time and exposure to nickel, so you definitely don't want to use any piercing jewelry that has nickel in it.

While nickel allergy is a very real thing, a jeweler recently reported on another thread that detergents used on jewelry can cause allergies too. So if you don't want to test the offending jewelry, you can try boiling it in vinegar ⇦in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and hydrogen peroxide as described in thread 33777.

Best of luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Nickel sensitivity is a very thorny issue. In Europe it is illegal to sell jewelry (especially the type you refer to) that contains nickel, so you should specify European quality parts.

As far as cobalt is concerned, there are mixed reports about it. Officially there is some evidence for allergies caused by cobalt, BUT the conventional tests for allergies (i.e. skin patch tests etc) use pharmaceutical quality cobalt salts that can contain sufficient nickel as a trace element to give a positive test.

The lowest nickel impurity level that I have seen that gives a positive allergy test is only 40 ppm - well below the quality of the vast majority of cobalt salts. I am therefore very skeptical about cobalt causing skin allergies and would just like to point out that cobalt is an essential trace element required by man.

If you buy "nickel free" jewelry that brings you out in a rash, I would strongly suggest you get it analyzed.

If it is found to contain nickel, take the supplier to court and/or report them to the local Trading Standards Office.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2003

I just want to add to these postings that I have tested positive to both cobalt and chromate allergies (commonly associated with nickel allergies) but the patch tests indicated that I am NOT allergic to nickel. I had the tests conducted twice with the same results. It is possible to be allergic to cobalt and other metals used in alloys. Usually nickel-containing jewelry also includes cobalt so without patch testing it is hard to differentiate which metals are causing a reaction.

Amy Bachhuber
- Hancock, Michigan
2005