Wearing either original or artificial jewellery can often cause allergies around the area that they are worn on. This allergy is caused by nickel that is often added as a coating to the jewellery. Nickel dermatitis, the allergy caused by contact with nickel, can occur anytime. It is not necessary that you may develop the allergy as soon as you wear the jewellery. The allergy may kick in particular weather conditions or when you are especially susceptible.
Some people develop chronic allergies to jewellery. Such people are not able to wear any jewellery at all. This could be quite unfortunate because jewelry is treasured everywhere in the world and almost every person would like to wear jewellery, even if it in the form of a simple wedding band.
Usually the allergies occur when wearing gold or silver jewellery because nickel is added to these to harden them so that they can be set into a design. Platinum jewellery, on the other hand, has palladium which does not cause allergies. Palladium is a more stable and a costlier metal than nickel. It is therefore less likely to cause allergies.
You may start getting allergic to the jewellery when there is too much heat and you begin to sweat a lot. When the perspiration under the piece of jewellery, comes in contact with it, the nickel present in the jewellery begins to react with it and form nickel salts. This salt may react with the skin and cause bleeding, itching and rashes. The jewellery worn in the ears may cause formation of pus.
When a ring is removed, sometimes it leaves behind a blue colored patch. This too is because of the allergy caused by nickel. Red rashes, boils or small marks too may begin to appear whenever there is an allergy.
If you have got a piercing on your body using a thin gold wire, the area becomes exposed to nickel and could cause many allergies over a period of time. If you have developed an allergy because of a piercing, make sure that you put on jewellery made of sterilized stainless steel. Though there is nickel in stainless steel too, it is bound in a manner that the nickel doesn’t come in contact with the skin.
If you have used soap while wearing your jewellery, it is best to rinse the soap thoroughly. Sometimes, a few traces of soap are left behind and act as catalysts, causing allergies. Exercise a little caution when you wash yourself while wearing jewellery. Remove your jewellery while doing housework and try not to wear it for long periods of time. Applying several coats of clear transparent nail enamel can help control the allergies.