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Allergies to metals?

#1

I have a client that says her daughter is allergic to all metals.
She wants to wear a watch, and using clear nail polish doesn’t help.
Are there any suggestions for tips or products that might help her
make these metals wearable (ie. sealants?)

#2 
   I have a client that says her daughter is allergic to all
metals. She wants to wear a watch, and using clear nail polish
doesn't help. Are there any suggestions for tips or products that
might help her make these metals wearable (ie. sealants?)

g’day; i strongly believe that many of the metal allergy stories
aren’t anything of the sort. here’s my theory for what it is worth.
when such an item as wrist watch or ring is worn, natural
perspiration is at least partly blocked and sealed in by the metal.
now sweat contains a whole variety of things which are excellent
nutrients for the myriad bacteria that swarm in the air. so they
find a gourmet banquet laid out for them and their children in the
almost perfect temperature, moisture and protected conditions they’re
looking for, and they move in joyfully. as their number doubles every
20 minutes, a populous city soon grows. the problem is that they
don’t install sewage systems in their city, so their waste products
also grow, then other bugs move in to use those products, depositing
their own. ad nauseum. which people’s skin doesn’t like. so,
before you can exclaim, ‘it itches like mad’ you have an inflamed
patch, and take off the watch or whatever, thus spoiling the party
for all those poor starving bacteria.

‘what to do’, you cry ‘i can’t wear metal; i have an allergy to
metal’ so, cut a small piece of that thick sticking plaster stuff,
stick it to the metal, and wear it as usual - only on a different
bit of your person until the inflammation has gone. but it will all
start again unless you change that bit of plaster every day without
fail.

so now you’ll understand that what you don’t need is a sealant, but
a removable surface that will absorb a little moisture for a short
time… let someone else spread out the bacterial goodies. try it;
you’ll like it

ps bacteria, like small boys, hate soap and water.

Cheers for now,
John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of Mapua, Nelson NZ

#3

Jennifer, Has she tried a stainless steel watch? They are more
expensive than your basic base metal watches but they wear very well.
Mark

#4

Jennifer - When I worked for a hearing aid dealer I learned that
people with allergy to polymers and monomers used in the hearing
aids, dealers coated them with hypoallergenic clear nail polish. It
always worked, It have frequently combed the shelves of stores that
sell nail polish and find that there are not a lot of hypoallergenic
products available, When I find it, I get extra because it keeps
well.

Good luck with it,
Frif

#5

I would guess that a titanium watch case would be a solution.
Unfortunately, most of them are made for pilots and scuba divers –
so they tend to be practical/utilitarian – not “pretty” and
decorative…

B.

#6

I have sold many watches, I was very surprised to find that there
are many people allergic to stainless steel, in fact I had a
gentleman bring me back a an older Bouliva that had nearly eaten
into his wrist, I had a few Citizen Eco Drives in Titanium, I now
have a Very satisfied customer. I was quite shocked to find out just
how many people were allergic to surgical stainless steel, the thing
is it isn’t the steel component but the Chrome or Nickel that make
stainless steel (stainless) So far I have not encountered any one
with a reaction to Titanium! Or Niobium! Now I have to get a sparkie
or other fusion welder to attach Titanium ear posts. Making French
wires in Niobium does at least require the intelligence and skill and
dexterity of an Orangutan. So as to my limited knowledge the only
non-reactive metals so far are Niobium and Titanium. Would some body
PLEASE come up with an easy way to attach these to Gold or Silver
that’s affordable? (Cold riveting aside)

Kenneth Ferrell
www.shadras.com

#7

Hi Everyone

I have done extensive work with jewelry for women who have sensitive
skin. In fact I developed plating specs for costume jewelry and
watches. I oversaw the building of a line or product that actually
had the Good housekeeping Seal of approval. The one common thread
that always seem to show up is Nickel. In the US approximately 30%
of all women and a small percentage of men (myself included) suffer
from allergenic reactions to nickel. We removed all nickel in the
plating process and substituted Palladium as the plating substrate.
Titanium was used for the watch backs and posts, and clutches. If
you need a place to purchase nickel free products you can email me
at Paul@jrose.com.

Best Regards,
Paul DeFruscio

#8 
I would guess that a titanium watch case would be a solution.
Unfortunately, most of them are made for pilots and scuba divers
-- so they tend to be practical/utilitarian -- not "pretty" and
decorative...

Ah not so, Citizen and Fossil make several very attractive ladies
styles and I have a gents Citizen that is Pretty nice as well it’s
not a dive or pilot style it actually is a nice dress watch Titanium
and Gold links I think Seiko has some as well,

Kenneth Ferrell
www.shadras.com

#9

Well, I would venture to say that someone cannot be allergic to all
metals, you need Iron to live and Sodium to survive, so that blows
that theory out of the water, (can you be allergic to water? heh heh
heh)

The nail polish is not going to be good for her sensitive skin and
will probably make it worse, but she should try a stainless steel
watch, tell her to get something that is going to be steel and not
some cheap plating the will come off, you can get them from 150 to
150,000 dollars, but one is very un likely to have a problem with it,
unless they are having serious problems with the nickel in it. I
think her problem is with the alloys, not the metals, Pure gold does
not react with much and is considered hypo allergenic, as well as
with platinum. Although watches made of either will kill you from
sticker shock…

Aaron A Tracy