Ring around the finger...no pun intended

[Diamonds4Me]

Maybe I''m just odd...but I was wondering if anyone has ever had a ring make their finger chapped. I''ve never had this happen before with any ring that I own but for some reason this one ring has made my finger looked chapped all the way around where it rests on my finger. It''s 14k white gold. Is this normal?! It doesn''t rub or anything...it just sits there.

 

[perry]

You are probably becomming sensitive to Nickel, which is somewhat common (and became a huge problem in Europe). The original white gold alloys contained nickle. Now there are nickle free white gold alloys, but within the US no requirement for companies to use them (nickel based white gold is banned in Europe).

The longer you wear the ring - the worse it will get. I suggest that you not wear that ring ever again - and stick to yellow gold or platinum - unless you can definitely get a guarantee that the white gold is nickle free.

I would also stay away from all forms of stainless steel jewelry.

The unfortunate thing about nickle is that it "works on you" - and the allergies can take years to develope. Just because a person does not have a problem with nickle now - does not mean that they won''t have a problem with it in the future.

Perry

 

[valeria101]

Wide rings do that too... and overly thick or havy ones. Not sure if an alergic reaction can be acquired over time, but that can be quite nasty. Chemicals (cleaning stuff, what not) tend to irritate the skin under rings first since the area becomes more senzitive with wear. Sorry to hear this, it would be quite a shame to have to give up white gold

 

[sevens one]

Date: 12/30/2004 7:12

5 AM
Author:Diamonds4Me
Maybe I''m just odd...but I was wondering if anyone has ever had a ring make their finger chapped. I''ve never had this happen before with any ring that I own but for some reason this one ring has made my finger looked chapped all the way around where it rests on my finger. It''s 14k white gold. Is this normal?! It doesn''t rub or anything...it just sits there.

OH NO!

Say it ain''t so.
Is this the ering? Oh Man.

I can''t wear White Gold earrings because of the sensitivity. I haven''t had a problem yet with rings.

 

[amyi]

OH no! I think the same thing is happening to me. I just got my ering last week. It is 3 colors of gold AND it is a wide band and I'm not sure if it is too tight or not. I couldnt possibly not wear it b/c I LOVE it!
D4me- Has yours gotten worse the longer you wear it?
I have white gold earrings that do not bother me so maybe that is not the problem for me?

 

[Libster]

Diamonds4me,
My Sister-in-Law was having this problem with her e-ring and wedding band. Both are 14k white gold and had begun to have a worn look and she was having an allergic reaction to the metal. She had the rings re-rhodium plated and it fixed the problems...all for around $30!!! Hope this helps

 

[njc]

I have a friend that just got an ering and she showed me the other day where she was getting a little rash/dry skin from the band. I started reading this thread thinking of her, but her band is yellow gold. The band isnt thin, but it isnt really thick either. It does spin a bit though. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Shay37]

I have never worn white gold, but I have had what you describe happen to me. I found that by taking the ring off when I washed my hands and completely drying that finger with a towel before I put the ring back on, the rash went away. I don''t know if it was the water trapped or the soap, but once I made sure that my hand was dry, everything was fine. Hope this helps.

Shay

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My finger can become chapped if I dont take my rings off while doing dishes and stuff of this sort (like showers and also washing my face).

 

[Mara]

my finger also becomes chapped and dry under my rings, which are platinum, and sometimes the skin splits on the knuckles from pulling them on and off. my hands are dry in general, but my ring finger is definitely worse with both rings on. i am the lotion queen...but it''s never enough.

 

[perry]

Those with nickel problems do not have to give up white gold in general. They have to give up nickel based white gold. They are several other white gold alloy mixtures on the market that do not have nickel.

Ask the jeweler to verify that the white gold is nickle free.

This also explains why a person may have problem with one white gold item and not another.

Rhodium plating can also help, but must be done often enough to prevent it from wearing through.

As mentioned above the rash could be from other trapped allergens (sents & silky skin additives added to soaps are also common problems for some people: change soaps).

Since you mentioned that this only occured with this ring - I thought it likely that it would be the nickel issue.

Perry

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 12/30/2004 7:59:41 AM
Author: sevens one

Date: 12/30/2004 7:12

5 AM
Author:Diamonds4Me
Maybe I''m just odd...but I was wondering if anyone has ever had a ring make their finger chapped. I''ve never had this happen before with any ring that I own but for some reason this one ring has made my finger looked chapped all the way around where it rests on my finger. It''s 14k white gold. Is this normal?! It doesn''t rub or anything...it just sits there.

OH NO!

Say it ain''t so.
Is this the ering? Oh Man.

I can''t wear White Gold earrings because of the sensitivity. I haven''t had a problem yet with rings.

As a matter of fact..it IS the ering!!! It''s the ONLY white gold jewelry that I own!

Awwwwwww..this sucks!

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 12/30/2004 10

2:43 AM
Author: njc
I have a friend that just got an ering and she showed me the other day where she was getting a little rash/dry skin from the band. I started reading this thread thinking of her, but her band is yellow gold. The band isnt thin, but it isnt really thick either. It does spin a bit though. Any thoughts on this?

NJC...that''s exactly what it looks like. A rashy, dry ring. It''s horrible. Lotion just won''t fix it.

But then again..I was planning on getting a new platinum setting. Maybe this is the nudge I needed

 

[Diamonds4Me]

This is very interesting. All of my rings are yellow gold..10k to 14k. I wear them quite often and I''ve never had a problem like this before. I do take them off when I wash my hands..except for when I''m in public. I leave it on because I just know I''ll end up forgetting it

I figured it probably has something to do with the fact that it has nickle in it. It''s the only finger like that. I promise it isn''t cold feet, either! After six years of being with each other it would just be making it official..so I know it can''t be that, lol. I''m taking it in one day next week to have the prongs tightened so while I''m there I''ll just ask them about it. Thanks for the great info!

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 12/30/2004 1:46:19 PM
Author: Mara
my finger also becomes chapped and dry under my rings, which are platinum, and sometimes the skin splits on the knuckles from pulling them on and off. my hands are dry in general, but my ring finger is definitely worse with both rings on. i am the lotion queen...but it''s never enough.

Ouch! That sounds painful! Would Neosporin(SP??) help with that maybe? I keep seeing commercials where they tell you to use it on dry chapped hands. I''m thinking of trying that on my finger as well.

Ow ow ow

 

[pqcollectibles]

I had the same problem a few years back. Every time I wore my YG ring set, my finger broke out all the way around the finger. Almost from the moment I put the rings on, my finger would itch. The skin where the rings came in contact with my finger became ulcerated and chapped and it took quite a while for the area to heal. My doctor suggested using cortizone cream before I put on the rings, and only wearing them when I absolutely needed to, to see if that helped but it didn''t. It wasn''t just my wedding set and my left hand. Gold rings did the same thing to me on any finger. I just relented and switched out to a platinum set. Later, after I had already purchased new rings, a jeweler suggested that I could have tried having the rings rhodium flashed. He said that might have fixed the problem.

I remember reading in an old thread here once, that people sometimes go thru body chemistry changes as they age. Evidently experienced jewelers have seen others develope contact dermatitis to their rings before. Maybe now your skin is just reacting to the allow of the WG where it didn''t before. If what I went thru sounds like what happenend to you, you might try having a new rhodium coat done on your ring and see if that fixes the problem.


Also, if you''ve had some recent change in your routine or your life you might think if there is anything new that might be causing the rash. I had another similar problem much earlier in life, before the contact dermatitis issue. I was working at a potatoe chip factory at the time. Hubby and I finally realized that salt would get between my rings and the skin at work causing a rash on my finger. The solution was simple. I would take off my rings before I started work, wash my hands thoroughly when I got off work, and I could wear my rings any other time.

Just a couple thoughts for you to possibly help.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/30/2004 1:46:19 PM
Author: Mara
my finger also becomes chapped and dry under my rings, which are platinum, and sometimes the skin splits on the knuckles from pulling them on and off. my hands are dry in general, but my ring finger is definitely worse with both rings on. i am the lotion queen...but it''s never enough.

Aquaphor works wonderfully for this. It''s vasoline based so it''s more intense than standard lotion. Target carries it.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Thank you PQ. I will sit down and try to figure out what exactly has changed for me lately. I know I''ve been under a little more stress with work...it could be that..but I''m really at a loss. I lotioned it up about an hour ago but it''s already starting to come back. If my jeweler doesn''t know then I''ll ask my doctor next week. I have an appointment anyway so I might as well take advantage of it.

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 12/30/2004 2:36:12 PM
Author: pqcollectibles
I remember reading in an old thread here once, that people sometimes go thru body chemistry changes as they age. Evidently experienced jewelers have seen others develope contact dermatitis to their rings before. Maybe now your skin is just reacting to the allow of the WG where it didn''t before.

Our bodies are constantly changing and it doesn''t necessarily have anything to do with age. Every seven years or so, our bodies might develop or get rid of an allergy. Allergy is a hypersensitivity that results from our bodies'' immune defense. It is developed because our bodies have to come in contact with the allergens (known as sensitization), and when we come in contact with it the second time, the allergic reaction occurs.

The contact dermatitis is not an allergic reaction. It is most likely from the bacteria that get trapped under the ring and doesn''t get clean properly. From the posts, it doesn''t seem like anyone on here is going to develop contact dermatitis.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Date: 12/30/2004 9:46:14 PM
Author: qtiekiki

Date: 12/30/2004 2:36:12 PM
Author: pqcollectibles
I remember reading in an old thread here once, that people sometimes go thru body chemistry changes as they age. Evidently experienced jewelers have seen others develope contact dermatitis to their rings before. Maybe now your skin is just reacting to the allow of the WG where it didn''t before.

Our bodies are constantly changing and it doesn''t necessarily have anything to do with age. Every seven years or so, our bodies might develop or get rid of an allergy. Allergy is a hypersensitivity that results from our bodies'' immune defense. It is developed because our bodies have to come in contact with the allergens (known as sensitization), and when we come in contact with it the second time, the allergic reaction occurs.

The contact dermatitis is not an allergic reaction. It is most likely from the bacteria that get trapped under the ring and doesn''t get clean properly. From the posts, it doesn''t seem like anyone on here is going to develop contact dermatitis.

That is extremely interesting. I clean it constantly..much to my h2b''s dismay

(he''s constantly telling me that it''s going to look like a chip of formica if I don''t stop

) but who knows what I come in contact with between that time. I will continue to try different things to see what will help it go away. Thank you, every one, for your input

 

[pqcollectibles]

Date: 12/31/2004 9:40:37 AM
Author: Diamonds4Me

Date: 12/30/2004 9:46:14 PM
Author: qtiekiki

Date: 12/30/2004 2:36:12 PM
Author: pqcollectibles
I remember reading in an old thread here once, that people sometimes go thru body chemistry changes as they age. Evidently experienced jewelers have seen others develope contact dermatitis to their rings before. Maybe now your skin is just reacting to the allow of the WG where it didn''t before.

Our bodies are constantly changing and it doesn''t necessarily have anything to do with age. Every seven years or so, our bodies might develop or get rid of an allergy. Allergy is a hypersensitivity that results from our bodies'' immune defense. It is developed because our bodies have to come in contact with the allergens (known as sensitization), and when we come in contact with it the second time, the allergic reaction occurs.

The contact dermatitis is not an allergic reaction. It is most likely from the bacteria that get trapped under the ring and doesn''t get clean properly. From the posts, it doesn''t seem like anyone on here is going to develop contact dermatitis.

That is extremely interesting. I clean it constantly..much to my h2b''s dismay

(he''s constantly telling me that it''s going to look like a chip of formica if I don''t stop

) but who knows what I come in contact with between that time. I will continue to try different things to see what will help it go away. Thank you, every one, for your input

I cleaned my rings regularly as well, D4M. And when I was going thru the worst phase of my problem, I had my rings professionally cleaned at the jewelers several times. Still didn''t help. My doctor is the one who used the term "contact dermatitis". When I didn''t wear the rings, I didn''t have the problem.

I went back and found an old thread talking about the issue with a professional explanation of potentially what''s going on:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-vs-whitegold-vs-allergies.13450/

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 12/31/2004 9:40:37 AM
Author: Diamonds4Me

Date: 12/30/2004 9:46:14 PM
Author: qtiekiki

Date: 12/30/2004 2:36:12 PM
Author: pqcollectibles
I remember reading in an old thread here once, that people sometimes go thru body chemistry changes as they age. Evidently experienced jewelers have seen others develope contact dermatitis to their rings before. Maybe now your skin is just reacting to the allow of the WG where it didn''t before.

Our bodies are constantly changing and it doesn''t necessarily have anything to do with age. Every seven years or so, our bodies might develop or get rid of an allergy. Allergy is a hypersensitivity that results from our bodies'' immune defense. It is developed because our bodies have to come in contact with the allergens (known as sensitization), and when we come in contact with it the second time, the allergic reaction occurs.

The contact dermatitis is not an allergic reaction. It is most likely from the bacteria that get trapped under the ring and doesn''t get clean properly. From the posts, it doesn''t seem like anyone on here is going to develop contact dermatitis.

That is extremely interesting. I clean it constantly..much to my h2b''s dismay

(he''s constantly telling me that it''s going to look like a chip of formica if I don''t stop

) but who knows what I come in contact with between that time. I will continue to try different things to see what will help it go away. Thank you, every one, for your input

I just remember that there is two types of contact dermatitis, and one type is an allergic reaction and the other isn''t (it is an irritant reaction).

 

[ame]

I am allergic to gold and nickel. Generally all I can pull off is Stainless and Platinum.

Another thought besides a metal allergy is that you don''t take it off when you wash your hands and water or soap gets trapped under there.

 

[moremoremore]

Well, mine was caused by too much hand washing and with water collecting under the ring...but I know a lot of you gals take your rings off first...And then I wouldn''t apply lotion there b/c my ring was on...nasty!!! So that''s why I make sure to dry it off well and keep the band as thin as possible...I wanted a 3 stone b/c wearing two bands together is a disaster for my finger!

 

[aljdewey]

My husband was running into a similar problem.....the skin under his wedding ring began to turn white, break, and then peel off.

His ring is a *wide* 18K yellow gold band.

The solution: he began taking it off before getting into the shower. Problem solved.
Evidently, water and/or soap was getting trapped so the skin didn''t completely dry, hence the problem.

 

[Diamonds4Me]

Well..it still hasn''t gone away. I''ve tried a lot of different things. I do take it off in the shower (the holes in the drain are too large..afraid it''ll fall out! OK, I''m paranoid....) and when I wash my hands..same reason as the shower. Lotions aren''t doing it. I even switched to Eucerin because it''s dye/fragrance free. I''d take it off to see if that would help but I feel so naked without it! Maybe I''ll switch it to my other hand for a few days just to see....hmmm

pqcollectibles, thank you for the link. I am going to read it in the morning when I''m more awake

 

[perry]

Ask the jeweler to rhodium plate the ring - and ask for a thick coating. That should buy you some protection for a while from metal allergies.

Perry