metal allergies?

[jessica31876]

So I am allergic to certain metals. They make me break out really bad. I reacted really weird when I had my tongue pierced and it was supposed to be safe even for people with allergies. Well I noticed certain pants where they button/snap is metal makes me break out now too. Aside from not wearing pants with metal buttons/snaps is there something that I could do to keep from breaking out when wearing them? I already have to be careful what jewelry I wear (earrings, rings, watches & bracelets) and dont tend to break out as long as its real silver/gold and not costume. Im not sure what metal exactly Im allergic to though.

[lauren grier]

high waisted unders? lol. super sexxy.

barbells come in lots of different materials.. so who knows which one it was... def different ones than pants buttons though.

[jessica31876]

yea Lauren I have reacted to earrings, necklaces, the barbells when I had my tongue pierced, bracelets. Even when the only metal on it is the clasp it will make me break out in a rash wherever the metal touches. The jeans I wore today were the only ones Ive ever notice made my stomach break out though. It is just where the metal touches my skin like two circles the size of a quarter. Gets all itchy. With my tongue though it just caused swelling and like scar tissue around it and never really healed right. When I talked to the guy who did the piercing and told him I do have metal allergies he suggested taking it out and leaving it out.

[Leila]

I'm no help on the piercings. I have none. The buttons on your pants though, it sounds like you need a buffer between you and the metal. Devin has similar reactions to metals, so with each new pair of jeans, I'll glue a piece of fabric to the back of the button so that it doesn't touch his skin. I only buy him watches that have the fabric sport style band since they pass under the watch face and create that buffer between his skin and the metal backing. And if he ever asks for a piercing, he'll get medical grade plastic to avoid the metal altogether.

[jessica31876]

Ill probably try that Leila. I didnt think about the fabric in between. My daughter unfortunately inherited my allergies and she loves those little surfer style necklaces but most come with a metal clasp so she wears ones made out of hemp instead and it is good for her. Im not sure if her pants bother her or not. It might just be something in certain metals. The barbells I wore were supposed to be surgical steel I think. Its been awhile since I took it out. I had it done when I was like 27 maybe 28.

[lovely1m]

What a fabulous idea, Leila! I thought like La and was like, high waisted undies. lol

I also have a metal allergy, but not as severe as yours.

[jessica31876]

Mari my best friend has one so bad that she could not even get staples when she had a c-section.

[Leila]

Have you tried nickel-free metals? Many metals for jewelry have nickel in them. It's probably the most common metal allergy there is. D's definitely got the nickel allergy and possibly copper too (I'm allergic to copper--I can't wear any colored golds because of it.)

[carriesmom]

I have reactions to pewter and oddly enough, platinum. I just seal my ring with clear nail polish and avoid that kind of jewelry, I'm not a big jewelry person to beginning with so it's not a big deal except for my wedding band.

[Megan Turnidge]

That sounds like a nickel allergy to me. I'm very allergic to nickel... I can't wear hardly any jewelry. For belts and the metal on the back of buttons on pants I would just paint them with clear nail polish. I also only buy bras with plastic links on them and no metal.

Since I don't like yellow gold, my hubby had to get me a platinum engagement ring since there is nickel in white gold.... lol. I have a very small diamond because of it.

[lauren grier]

yeh, piercings are usually done with surgical steel -- which has nickel

[Jengerbread88]

As was mentioned above, I paint mine with clear nail polish.

[Julie Billingsley]

I'm allergic to nickel too. A lot of metals have a finish of nickel on them and I have allergy issues to all metals except 14K and 18K gold. I love silver jewelry but can't wear it or even 10K gold.

My oldest son is even worse than I am. In fact when he had braces he had to have titanium braces instead of the typical. Oy. The snap on jeans always bugged him (and the rivets too) so I learned that for a unnoticeable fix you can coat the back of the snap in clear nail polish. The big downside is that it does need regular touch up. The best solutions I've found are putting a small patch over the back of the snap, or putting first aid tape over it.

Hope one of the solutions works for you! It's a bummer to have a metal allergy

[mariewilcox]

I'm allergic to nickel also, but not too severe. I have to wear earrings that are made from 18 K gold or better, and I have to be careful with rings. I don't have the problem with pants, though someone I know does, and she paints a few coats of fingernail polish on the back of the buttons/snaps. She uses colored polish so she can tell when it's wearing off and reapplies when needed.

[4noisyboys]

I was going to suggest what Leila did.

My dh is super allergic too, but for some reason, buttons on his pants don't bother him. He can wear belts too.

He can't wear gold though...if he puts on his wedding ring his hand breaks out in a rash...same with watches, although not quite as bad.

Look for nickel free though, although for people with extreme sensitivies, it won't work.

I work for a company that makes jewelry, and I was having lunch with one of the designers. She can't wear ANY jewelry at all. Her husband is also a jeweler (fine jewelry). She can feel it within minutes of putting something on...even say a long necklace over a turtleneck shirt. It's like it starts pulsing and makes her sick. Thankfully, she doesn't have to touch the jewelry much when she's designing. It's all on paper what she does, and then the craftsmen carve the wood and then make it from there. Still...that's the most extreme case I've ever seen.

[glumirk]

Ugh! Those belly rashes are the worst! I just started wearing undershirts tucked in. Clear nail polish never lasted long enough. Sewing fabric sounds like a good idea. I can pretty much wear earrings that are just the wire ones, none with backs, and necklaces are better if only the clasp is metal, but I tend to have an itchy neck. I've also found that once irritated, I'm even more susceptible so that anything will irritate. If I've already got a rash, ANY metal will make it worse, so the best thing is to take a complete break for a month or 2 until it's 100% healed.

[sari55]

Also highly allergic to nickel. BUT mine also includes eating foods with nickel in them. LIke Lettuce, chocolate (cocoa processed with alkali makes me totally break out and I get hives... UGH) there are other foods but those are the worst for me so far.....

[cbettua]

My neice has the same problem, all of her pants have to have fabric attached to cover the button. Otherwise she gets a hell of a rash that spreads in that area and has to put cream on it.

She also can only wear certain earrings and necklaces.

[lovely1m]

I was just thinking of this thread and realized something! I had this gorgeous engagement ring, bought a really expensive one at a store that was going out of business for next to nothing. After a couple of years, the yellow gold on it started to scratch away. We found a place that would fix it for free based on the old store that was gone, but they took forever to do it. Seriously, months. When I got it back it was white gold. I was peaved cause my wedding ring was yellow, but after how long they took I just took it and didn't have it fixed (it had been shipped away as the store was in another town even which had worried me enough cause I am pretty sure the post office won't replace a $15,000 ring). After a short while, the ring started to cause me to break out. I thought they had used cheap metal and fooled me. I was pretty pissed. This morning I just realized, they probably did use white gold, but someone mentioned in here that their metal allergy included white gold. I hadn't even realized I had a metal allergy until I got a crown put in my mouth a few years ago and my dentist realized the metal base was causing an allergic reaction in my mouth. Good to know the gold isn't fake after all. lol

[Megan Turnidge]

Yeah, a lot of the white gold alloys contain nickel... at least they did 6 years ago when we got engaged. Some (more expensive) alloys use palladium in the alloy instead. Pretty much when DH went ring shopping none of the jewelers he visited could guarantee their white gold was nickel-free. I hope jewelers are better about this now and offer more nickel-free white gold pieces because some day I'd like to own some nice jewelry. lol

Originally Posted by lovely1m

I was just thinking of this thread and realized something! I had this gorgeous engagement ring, bought a really expensive one at a store that was going out of business for next to nothing. After a couple of years, the yellow gold on it started to scratch away. We found a place that would fix it for free based on the old store that was gone, but they took forever to do it. Seriously, months. When I got it back it was white gold. I was peaved cause my wedding ring was yellow, but after how long they took I just took it and didn't have it fixed (it had been shipped away as the store was in another town even which had worried me enough cause I am pretty sure the post office won't replace a $15,000 ring). After a short while, the ring started to cause me to break out. I thought they had used cheap metal and fooled me. I was pretty pissed. This morning I just realized, they probably did use white gold, but someone mentioned in here that their metal allergy included white gold. I hadn't even realized I had a metal allergy until I got a crown put in my mouth a few years ago and my dentist realized the metal base was causing an allergic reaction in my mouth. Good to know the gold isn't fake after all. lol

[sprauncey1]

I've had problems with my pierced ears since I was a teenager. I'd love to wear cute, fun stuff but after an hour my ears get all red and hot. So when DH was TDY in Thailand he bought me sapphire necklace and earrings there. I couldn't say anything bad about them since it was so sweet but I was nervous about my ears. But come to find out they were fine. They use 18K gold over there and I now only wear "expensive" earrings. Still wish I could wear the fun ones though, but oh well.

I would sew the fabric over the buttons, the nail polish probably would work for a while but then you'd always have to assess. The fabric is done once it is sewn on.