Metal Allergies

Is wearing jewellery making your life a misery?

Metal allergies can be a pain in the neck, they seem to spring up at the most inappropriate time. You could be out on a date, in an important meeting and it can happen almost instantly.

Here's a list of metals you need to keep a close eye on:

Nickel

Nickel is the most common metal, that people have allergic reaction to. You find nickel in a variety of products. For example, jewellery, clothing and even foods. Foods like oats and lettuce contain high amounts of nickel, but the body doesn't ingest enough of nickel to have any side affects. When the skin sweats, it allows the metal ions to be easily absorbed into the skin.

Cobalt

Cobalt is usually found in soil, dust and seawater and similar places where you would find nickel. Cobalt is not as serious as nickel, but it's very hard to identify in products.

Chromate

Chromate is usually found in leather that contains tanning agent and cement. You need to watch out for watch straps that contain nickel and chromate, the combination of both can be very severe.

What should I do if have a metal allergy?

This depends on how serious it is, if it's bad you need to see your local GP and he/she will prescribe some potent steroid for instant relief. If it's a mild allergy you can put on some mild, medium strength steroid and drink plenty of water. If it continues to get worse, you need to see your local GP.

What can I wear now?

There hundreds of companies that sell hypoallergenic products, free of any harmful metals that can make your life a misery.