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Avoiding Jewelry Allergies

By Rachael Stone

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 04Jul2009
Word count: 606
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I had an aunt that insisted that my uncle buy her only "pure gold" jewelry, due to the fact she was "allergic" to any other jewelry. My poor uncle had to discover, to his chagrin, that there really isn't any "pure gold" jewelry, which would be too soft to use in any practical sense, and that my aunt's allergies cropped up even when he bought the "purest" he could find.

After a doctor's visit, my aunt discovered she was allergic to nickel, a tough elemental metal that is mixed with the gold, with some copper, zinc and silver for good measure, to stiffen the end product and make it easier to shape due to the increased tensile strength of the metal. This has been a common practice for centuries after it was discovered that even 85% pure gold was very soft and would wear out quickly. 24K (or Karat) gold is 100% pure, and would wear away in no time.

Copper is naturally occurring in the body, as is silver and zinc, but not nickel. So, it makes sense that nickel-containing jewelry is the culprit of the allergic reaction. This reaction is called Contact Dermatitis and can show up at any age. After the dermatitis appears, and your physician has pinpointed that it is indeed from the nickel alloys in the jewelry, you may be stuck with the allergy for the rest of your life.

So how can you treat this allergy without losing your precious gold? Sorrowfully, white gold always has nickel. However, you can buy 18 Kt yellow gold (and sometimes 14 Kt yellow gold) if it is nickel free. Here are some tips that may help: For gold rings, coat the inside with clear nail polish, about three coats. This should keep the metal off your skin, but will eventually wear off, and it may damage the ring itself. It is not recommended for the backsides of your gold earrings, use plastic covers, and use only hypoallergenic or platinum posts.

The more practical approach to all of this is to sell your white gold and gold-filled jewelry. Then, purchase items that do not contain nickel, but are just as attractive. Copper, although a very base metal to wear, can be worked into beautiful pieces. They have to be well taken care of, though, and tarnish, especially when exposed to acids in the sweat. This can often result in a green stain on the skin where the jewelry was. Some ingenious copper jewelry designers have clear coated the areas that touch the skin with a non-toxic barrier to prevent this.

Sterling silver can be a wonderful and beautiful replacement when it is made nickel free. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. Though copper is usually used as the "other metals", it is not guaranteed unless the sterling is marked nickel free.

Platinum, although expensive, can hold pendants and be shaped into rings and necklaces, and resembles white gold.

Titanium is a very tough metal, but highly recommended for nickel-allergy sufferers. Jewelry made of Titanium can last almost forever.

Try to avoid "surgical stainless steel" as they may contain nickel, but there are reports from nickel allergy sufferers that they get no reaction from it.

Do not trust "German silver" as it nearly pure nickel mixed with other base shiny metals.

All in all, you do have great choices over white gold jewelry. If you really want gold jewelry, 18 Kt yellow gold jewelry (not filled or electroplate) will work great. Affordable alternatives exist that you can truly enjoy. You should have no regrets for improving your health and quality of life by making a change from white gold.

Being allergic to earrings is painful. Find useful solutions to earring allergies - so you can enjoy wearing all types of jewelry.

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