How to Treat Rash Caused by Nickel or Stainless Steel Jewelry?

A. Your daughter may have experienced nickel immunosensitivity. I would treat it with a 1% Hydrocortisone cream which you should be able to purchase without too many problems.

A. Sounds like nickel immunosensitivity. Most belt buckles and studs at the back of jeans buttons contain it. Also 9k gold jewelry, watches, etc. Hydrocortisyl 1% should clear it up and if it's particularly nasty, with a betnovate booster ointment.
There are nickel free belts available, but doubt if you'd find them in Next, probably a mail order job from the states.
Nothing can be done about the allergy apart from avoiding the metal itself.
Easier said than done, most metals are plated in it.
Go to a dermatologist just to be on the safe side.

Hope this of some use.

A. I am very nickel sensitive and want to share some tips that have helped me.

I find that applying clear fingernail polish to the button on my jeans (and reapplying when it begins to wear off) helps. I also place a makeup application pad between the hooks on my bras and my skin. I glued a suede like fabric to the back of my watch (which has a cloth band) so I can wear a watch. For years I wore my watch clipped to my purse. I also bought a box of nickel free earring hooks so I can replace them for the ones I'm sensitive to. As someone noted, even the ones marked for sensitive ears can be mislabeled. Hope this helps.

A. The problem of nickel autoimmune sensitivity in jewelry is more far reaching than most people realize.

Up to 15% of the population has at least some sensitivity to elemental jewelry(jewelry that has Gold, Silver, or other metals that do not break down into other elements), alloys, and nickel in particular.

A good example is sterling silver. Most people believe that sterling silver is 100% pure silver. It is NOT. Sterling silver, at least in the us, is defined as 92.5% pure.

Most manufacturers use copper in the remaining 7.5% in order to add strength and reduce malleability in jewelry applications.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers also use nickel in sterling jewelry for the same reasons, and also because it is less costly than copper.

The only 100% way to protect oneself if you choose to continue wearing silver is to buy from a vendor that will give you a written guarantee that his/her jewelry is 100% nickel free. There are vendors out there that will do just that. It will cost more, but if the dealer is found to be using nickel, you can sue.

I really liked all the tips the last poster used to continue to be able to wear her jewelry. The clear glue idea is a real winner!

Sincerely,

Thanks, Chris. I think the allergy problem is actually even more serious than your "up to 15% of the population" implies -- because it is an acquired allergy. Of the subset of the population who are more heavily exposed, the allergy rate is higher.

For example, the allergy rate for young women (probably due to a high rate of piercings in that demographic) is estimated at 30 to 40%.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
February , 2010

A. Stainless steel jewelry usually contains approx. 10% nickel.
No raw metals should ever be inside the body or even in contact with the skin.
Remove the source of poisoning:
Remove all metal earrings, rings, bracelets etc, and ensure that any dental amalgam is immediately removed by an experienced dentist.
Take daily doses of pollutant free Vitamin C powder - 3 g/day,
Histidine 500 mg/day,(as a nickel chelator) for 3 weeks, Zinc 60 mg 2 times/day for a month, Thioctic Acid (alpa-lipoic acid) 100 mg/ 3 - 8 times /day.
Expect to see results after the first week..

Stop eating with stainless cutlery.. Use only hardened plastic. Nickel stores in fat and is prone to affect the prostate.. Stay away from pharmaceutical toxin of any kind.
The answer is to remove all possible sources of the pollutant and use vitamins and herbs to cleanse the body.

A. It's a nickel Allergy, no need for steroids, or cortisone.

Just avoid nickel on your skin. I ended up with a steroid addiction that's a nightmare.

If you must use cortisone, only a few days, 5 to 10 days and then stop.

Either way be careful in your use of cortisone. You end can end up with red skin syndrome and I am telling you, you don't want that.

A. I too have been having that rash on my stomach from the belt buckle. What I've been doing to prevent it is to thread the belt so the buckle is at the back of my pants.

Hi Jeremy. That's probably a very good tip.

Unfortunately, it's hard to trust advice from someone who looks like they don't know whether they're coming or going :-)

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
July 30, 2012

A. I have found the best solution for any mild itchy rash or insect bite is a natural ointment made with beeswax. The beeswax stops the itch and if you are not scratching the irritation it will get better on its own.

A. This is a very common issue and interesting enough I did not have trouble with it until about 4 years ago, but it randomly started one day from a cheap pair of cubic and Sterling earrings and from that point on anything from a necklace to my belt and pants/jeans buttons would cause a reaction... and ever since dependent on what causes it and where it's located it has become very severe at times. The only thing I have found that really helps is a mixture of vitamin E oil and One Small/finger dab of tea tree oil and apply directly to the effected area! I've tried basically everything you could think of -- cortisone cream did not help, lotions, cleansers you name it; everything just seemed to worsen the situation! But vitamin E Oil and tea tree oil has been my go-to remedy for many skin ailments and has proven to be very effective! Hope this helps!