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You can develop allergies as an adult. I didn't used to be allergic to latex, but now I am.
I would go to the doctor on that one. Rashes like that are funny. At the age of 20 I suddenly became allergic to everything with scents in it. Detergents, lotions, bodywash, everything. A doctor might have an idea of what it is.
me! I don't think mine is an allergy though because mine are platinum. Stuff probably just gets stuck in it. It just started happening this year even though I've worn the rings for awhile now. Over two years for the engagement ring and 1+for the wedding ring. As a matter of fact, I was just sitting here scratching. Mine gets really dry and scaly looking too. I just try to keep it off at night after I shower and apply cortozone 10 at the very first sign of itching and that helps. I carry a tube around with me in my purse. I don't get the bumps much now, but it still is red and itchy. One thing I read is to clean the rings reeeeally well incase there is bacteria or buildup in them causing the problem. They said to boil it with amonia and I think vinegar? It didn't make a difference for me though.
It sounds like you're allergic to gold. Most white gold rings are (yellow) gold, plated in rhodium. The rhodium makes it look white and shiny. You've worn the rings for a while with no problem, but now the rhodium is starting to wear off, exposing the gold, which is why you've suddenly developed a rash to the ring.
This happened to a friend of mine and the jeweller just replated in it rhodium - problem solved. You're supposed to have white gold replated every few years, and if you're allergic to gold you might want to think about having it replated every 12months. I would take it to your jeweller for replating and hopefully that cures the rash!
I hope it is not an allergy! My husband paid so much money for my ring it would be heartbreaking for me to be able to not wear it again.
I was reading some more and some people say it could be a fungal thing caused by bacteria being trapped and i have heard it could be a yeast Infection which seems wierd though can u just get one on your hands? bc I havent have one in years!
My finger under there does stay wet alot where I am constantly shampooing peoples hair and washing my hands, so as gross as it sounds i guess it could be either of those!
And now that I think about it... there for a while we were getting my ring cleaned professionally every month sometimes more often and I havent had it cleaned in a while. I did have it recoated when they sodered it all together I want to say that was in August. I have worn gold before though with no problems
I have also read you can coat it with clear nail polish inside if it is an allergy but that makes me nervous because I definately do not want to ruin it.
Have your rings rhodium plated. That should help if it is an alergy. Tell the jeweler that you're having an alergic reaction and request double plating.
When you're wearing your rings, make sure your finger is always dry under your rings. Don't put them on when your lotion is fresh, wait for the lotion to soak in, and then dust your finger with a powder like Gold Bond. Don't use anything with perfumes in it. Moisture can cause rashes under thick rings, and if you have several rings soldered together, this might be what's causing it.
If these things don't help, then definitely see a doctor about it.
Good luck!
I had problems like that before with the ring my FI got me before we were engaged. Wore it for years with out taking it off and never had problem but then one day I got a red line under it. It was really itchy and had a bump or two, puffy, and would get dry and flaky. I finally pin pointed that it was due to a eucalyptus scrub I would use on my feet. It would get trapped under it and irritate my finger. Nothing else ever bothered me just that one thing. I have taking my rings off now when using it and washed them thoroughly and have not had the problem again in the past year. So I would say something is probably getting under your ring to cause the irritation, not an allergy to the metal, since you have never had a problem before. Good luck.
This is just my experience... I developed a nickel allergy with age (and repeated exposure to the substance). It got so bad that my face/neck swelled up when I had braces because of the nickel in the wire. My class ring was white gold and I couldn't wear it in HS until they redid it in plantinum. If the rhodium plating is starting to wear off, you may be in contact with the nickel in the white gold. I can't wear white gold due to the same reason. Unfortunately, allergies can develop at any point in time in life, not just as a child.
the same exact thing happened to me with my rings. But I've always been allergic to something or another. The only metal i'm not allergic to is sterling silver for some odd reason so we're looking to get an everyday set made for me in silver and re plating my white gold set for i guess special occ. Right now my fingers have a red ring that is dry and scaly.
@ls18: I agree that the problem is probably only starting to surface because the rhodium plating has likely begun to wear way, however, the idea that white gold is simply yellow gold plated in rhodium is not accurate at all. White gold is white because the gold, which yes, is yellow, is mixed with white metals (mostly nickel, most commonly) to "bleach" the color of the metal, causing the yellow color to be lessened significantly. Unplated white gold still looks white, but has an almost creamy, faint golden hue to it, which is why it's plated in rhodium (a shiny, white metal that's a member of the platinum "family") so that any trace of the golden color is hidden. True, some people are allergic to gold, but its far more common to have a nickel allergy. A 14k white gold alloy will have sufficient nickel in it to cause a reaction.
Sorry to sound like such an obnoxious know-it-all, but I'm kind of a jewelry nerd and I just had to set the record straight. :P lol
I do still think there's a chance that it might be some other kind of fungal infection like you mentioned, Mrs. H, since it's only been a few months since your last replating, but I would try to have it plated again, and see if that helps things. You could also go to a dermatologist to get allergy tested, to be sure. Another idea would be to look into getting the ring actually dipped in platinum, it's not very common but I have heard of it done before. And, as a last resort, the nail polish shouldn't harm your rings. Sorry you have to deal with this! :(
I agree that it sounds like a nickel allergy...I have one too, but discovered it when I was younger. If hydrocortisone is making it better, its probably an allergy and not a fungal infection. Hydrocortisone would do nothing for a fungal infection. I had my ring ordered in platinum for this reason...its more expensive but it might be worth it to have it reset in a platinum setting to avoid having to maintain your ring and continually have it plated for the rest of your life. As a hair dresser you probably wear down the metal faster than most people with all of the chemicals you come in contact with. I have a friend who is a nurse who wears white gold rings, and she says that all the purell she is constantly putting on makes her rings yellow much faster. Good luck!
I have a friend who is allergic to nickle - she can't wear most earrings (her lobes swell up and fill with pus - it's disgusting and I've seen it, blehk!), she can't wear most necklaces (get rashes on the back of her neck), she can't even wear most belts because the buckles make her stomach break out in a rash!
She has found that painting her earrings with clear nail polish helps a lot; it does wear off though and she has to periodically re-paint them. I'm not sure you would want to do that to your wedding rings though, unless replating them was not even a remote option.
Sorry to hear about this. :(
Go to a dermatologist and get a professional opinion. It could be a lot of the things that were mentioned above or something no one has thought of yet.
My skin is very sensitive and I'm allergic to a lot of different metals, so I understand what you're going through.
I'm a dental hygienist, and our entire office had the same problem with wearing gloves and washing our hands both before and after seeing patients. In our case, the gloves we used were powdered, and that along with the constant washing caused contact dermatitis. There's a cream on the market you can buy if your hands are constantly in water (with all the shampooing...my daughter's hands are the same,same profession). It's called Glove 'N Care...it essentially coats your hands so that water beads up on it and doesn't cause them to dry out and split/crack. It's a miracle cream.
I had the same thing happen to me. I don't have an allergy, it was because I wasn't drying under the ring when I washed my hands. Now I take off my ring after washing my hands and dry my finger and the inside of the ring before putting it back on and I don't get irritation anymore.
If it is a nickel allergy, some of the cells in your body will "remember" the allergy for about 10 years, and if you put nickel somewhere else on your body (e.g. nickel earrings) you will develop a rash on your finger (or wherever the first rash was).
@littlemissmango: I'm nerding out too, and thanks for explaining white gold composition :)
Sounds like a nickel allergy to me. I'm allergic to nickel, and I always get a rash on my stomach because of my belt buckle. It's red, and sort of scaly (gross!), and it itches like crazy! I was worried about my rings because my engagement and wedding band are both white gold, and my engagement ring actually isn't rhodium-coated. Thankfully, the nickel in my rings has never bothered me. Maybe the water and chemicals from your job are irritating your skin and making it more susceptible to the nickel. I know this isn't ideal, but maybe you could take your rings off at work and wear them on a necklace (so you don't forget them) or put them in a special pouch in your purse. Then you can put them back on as soon as you leave. You could also get a cheap replacement ring made out of sterling silver or something to wear when you're not wearing your real rings.
I am going to let it heal up completely for a while and I plan to take my ring back and have it professionally cleaned and possibly replated again. Because I know it does get pretty gross. As much as I hate to I am also going to possibly stop wearing it to work so that way my finger isnt staying wet all the time under there and I am not always getting the products and the hair and all of that stuff trapped under my ring.
I am thinking about trying it on another finger because if it is an allergy it will do the same thing but If I have it all cleaned and do better at keeping it dry under there it shouldnt and I know it was something else.
@smyley: I will look into that lotion. Yeah my hands are definately a wreck some with you.... between the shampooing and the products and the chemicals like perms and colors and the gloves (we have powdered too in our shop) and the constant washing or sanitizing after every client. Not to mention the cleaning products and stuff i use to clean my station and my brushes and combs and such ...Yeah sometimes they are a mess
@littlemissmango: As a jewelry nerd, you might be interested in this...
24K gold is pure gold, and you can tell how much gold is in jewelry by the karats. 14K gold is 14 parts gold and 10 parts another alloy. So 10K gold is 10 parts gold and 14 parts another alloy... 18K gold, 18 parts gold, 6 parts another alloy.
The lower the karat weight, the stronger the metal. However, for people with nickel allergies, you probably want something with a high karat weight. But remember, you won't find rings made of 24K gold because it's just too soft.
@Loribeth: Oh I already knew all that!! <== (see? So obnoxious!! hahaha! ;)
@FutureMrs.Harless: Oh i am SO GLAD YOU POSTED THIS!!!! (not glad this happening to you though) I just had a bee meetup and showed them my finger that is all read and dry..it almost looks like a burn....Its ONLY my wedding band though, which is so odd. I have worn the engagement ring for over a year now...nothing......put on the wedding band after were married and argghhhhh irritation all over....
Does the other gold jewelry you wear bother you as well? If not, it may not be a nickel allergy. Generally if you have a nickel allergy, you'll notice irritation in your ears from earrings as well.
Another cause of the itchy, redness may be from dermatitis which is worsened when you put you rings on (aka trapping moisture in an already irratated place)
Here's a website I found describing dermatitis that hairdressers often get.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/dermatitis-from-hairdressing-1865124.html
@MissAsB: This same thing happened to me. I used to wear a sterling silver ring from Tiffany's on my middle finger for about 2 1/2 years until I started to develop the red itchy rash. My dermatologist said that I developed eczema due the water that would get trapped under my ring when I would wash my hands. I was worried this would happen with my e-ring but the platinum doesn't seem to affect it as much as I make sure to dry the ring as well as my hands after I wash them. Otherwise, I have a sort of steroid cream if I get a flair up.
Yeah, this happened to me, too. I wore my (white gold) ring with no problems for almost two years, and then I suddenly developped a rash; I let it heal completely, and then started wearing my ring again, but the rash returned. Turned out I have a nickel allergy, and, like many allergies, it worsens with exposure. There's good news, though; any jeweler should be able to put a ceramic coat on the inside of your ring, which will allow you to wear the ring without being exposed to the nickel.
Also have the setting checked if you have any diamonds in your band. I had a similar problem and it turns out the setting had cracked (no idea how, clearly i don't know my own hulk strength!) and the bottoms of two of the stones were rubbing against my skin causing an irritation. I had to have it reset.
I have this same problem and I'm allergic to nickel. :( It always acted up the worst when I would get water under my ring. You can get a clear coating over your ring to help solve the problem. :)
@littlemissmango: See what happens when two jewelry geeks start talking!!! LOL!
I was not allergic to bananas as a child and used to eat them all the time. When I was about 18 I developed a mild allergy to them. It is possible to develop an allergy.
I am also allergic to metals (although I have been for as long as I can remember) and I cannot wear white gold either because I react much like what you described.
I had this problem with my class ring. It was white gold and I used to paint the inside with clear coat nail polish. Probably not a good solution for your ering but I bet having it replated would help.
Any MD will tell you "hmm, looks like a dermatitis" and give you some kind of steroidal cream to apply and tell you to keep it dry. So save the copay. ;-)
I have heard of women having this problem from just washing the dishes every night. I full suspect that it's irritation from moisture getting caught under your ring. You have bacteria on their skin, your clients have bacteria on their skin (and therefore their scalp) and when you give it a nice, dark, moist environment to hang out in all day, your skin is bound to get crabby about it. I hate to say it, but you may want to consider not wearing your ring(s) when you wash hair. The ladies I knew who had problems with dishes just take their rings off when they wash now and they no longer have any problems. :-\ Good luck.
@FutureMrs.Harless: I read through all these posts as I have a white gold set of rings that are rhodium plated. I had the same problem, and was trying to find out what to do. I would take them off, clean them good, put triple antibiotic on my finger until it seemed to heal, then put the rings back on and the same thing would happen (a reddish rash under where the rings touched my skin). I have a ring on my right hand that this did not happen with, and I noticed that the rash was confined to the area where the diamonds were (so bacteria could have accumulated there due to moisture and caused a form of athletes foot). To test this possibility, I took off my rings (cleaned them and put them on the dresser to dry all night), put Lotrimin (athletes foot medication) around my ring finger, and put a band aid on it overnight. The next morning the rash was gone, I put my clean and dry rings, and haven't had a problem since. I hope people read this and I hope it helps.
Kristi
Incase yours isn't an allergy, just thought I'd share.
Over my Christmas vacation, I barely wore my rings but when I put them back on, my finger flared up again and even looked like it was spreading. So I tried something a bit different. I've been putting a bit of vaseline on my finger and it has really really helped! It's nearly 100% now. I take my rings off either before or after I shower (sometimes I forget to take them off before) and put it on at night and again before I put my rings back on the next day. It's not red or itchy anymore and only a tiny bit dry. Maybe see if that helps for you!
Mine do this too from time to time! I have sensitive skin and have allergies to all kinds of metal (it makes buying/wearing jewelry really difficult) and get it not only from my rings but from bracelets/watch bands that are metal, earring posts... everything! The only solution I've found is I just have to stop wearing the ring for a few days to let the skin "breathe." It DOES seem that it flares up particularly badly in the winter months because the dry cool air makes my skin that much more sensitive- it could be that this is why you're noticing it now.
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So i have a 14kt White Gold Wedding Ring and Engagement Ring. It is a set of 3 bands we had sodered together. I typically Never take my rings off unless it is to clean them or apply lotion to my hands and I never had any problems with it before. So just recently in the past month and a half I have been having problems with wearing my ring. After wearing my ring for a couple of days it creates this itchy red ring around my finger and it almost seems to swell up in one spot and create a bump that you cant see but you can feel it. It itches so bad but hurts to scratch it. I have been applying hydrocortisone cream and not wearing my ring and after a few days it the red area will go away and looks scaly like it is peeling.
I am a hair dresser so I originally thought that I might have just gotten some sort of chemical trapped underneath it or something that might have just caused irritation, but I cleaned my ring and didnt wear it for a while while it healed up but this has happened 2 other times. After about 2 days of wearing my ring it causes the same irritation.
I tried to google this and everything I read is claiming a nickel "allergy" but I don't understand why it would flare up all of a sudden.
Has anyone else had this problem? If so what did you do what helped?
It is just upsetting me alot that I cant wear my beautiful rings without them causing this irritation. It is starting to bother my husband too even though he understands. I just wanna be able to wear my rings again :(