This is the best advice you can get regarding Gold Allergies...
Buy Jewelry that's hypoallergenic. If you want to see if you have an allergy to Gold, contact a
Pharmacist or
Dermatologist and have them do a
Skin Patch Test on you. Or you can buy
Nickel Testing Kits that will test your Gold Jewelry and see if it contains any nickel.
Something else to know, White Gold Rings will break you out more than Yellow Gold Rings! Why? Because the plating that Jewelers put on White Gold to make it look Whiter, usually contains nickel.
Gold allergies are weird because women can wear 2 different Gold Rings, one on each hand, and one ring will cause a reaction and a rash and the other ring won't! Try to explain that to an angry, upset woman! It ain't easy. But the truth is, a lot of rings are made and cast differently. Not only is the manufacturing and process different, but they often contain different alloys. It's not consistent! When the ring is made, not all of the metals may melt and blend evenly together. There can be more traces of nickel in some spots and parts of the ring. That concentrated area of nickel could be enough to break you out in a rash on one hand, but not the other. So what do you do with that ring? Trade it up or Trade it in! Sometimes it happens. We're dealing with chemicals and metals here, it's not perfect.
Also Jewelry Repairs can even be the cause of Gold Allergies. Crazy eh? But the solder Jewelers use can sometimes contain nickel. The spots where the solder is applied, (Like where they sized your ring) can make you break out.
And one thing that most people don't think about when it comes to Gold Allergies and Jewelry Allergies is... Watches! Watches and especially Watch Bands and Watch Clasps! Most Watches sold on the market today are Gold Plated over base metal, or just plain base metal. If you find these irritate your wrist, check into buying a solid 14kt Gold Watch. Or better yet, buy a Titanium or Stainless Steel Watch.
But is this always the case of Gold Allergies? Nope! While most Jewelers and Jewelry Stores will still say that people are allergic to the Nickel in the Jewelry and NOT allergic to the Gold itself... this is not entirely true. There are a few isolated cases that show that some people really ARE allergic to Gold! It's very rare, but it can happen. These people can wear other metals, like Nickel and not break out. It almost sounds crazy, but it's true.
And as for the rest of the people allergic to Nickel, you could always wear Pure Gold (10kt, 14kt, 18kt Gold contains Nickel, Pure Gold doesn't!) and not get any rashes. Right? Sadly this won't help much, because pure Gold (24kt Gold) is too soft to wear as jewelry. Why, it's almost impossible to even find pure Gold on the market unless you invest in Solid Gold Bars! So even if you could wear Pure Gold, you still can't! Bah!
Do they sell Gold Jewelry without nickel is the real question. Answer: They do! Do a search for "Hypoallergenic Gold Jewelry". You'll find some.
Bottom line: Get a test to see if you're allergic to either the Gold or Nickel metal first! Then either upgrade to 14kt Gold, throw away your Gold Plated Costume Jewelry, or if that doesn't work, invest in Platinum, Stainless Steel or Titanium instead.
You may not like switching from your beautiful Yellow Gold to a shiny White Metal, but I look at it this way... It sure beats a sore, red finger!
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Copyright © 07-12-2008 Jewelry-Secrets.com
