ALLERGIC TO GOLD!!!???

[philddreamer]

I thought I had a good idea WHY a person would have an allergic reaction to their "gold jewelry". It was most likely because, of the base metal from either GF; some cheap GP jewelry or just flat out not gold, making contact with the person's skin! Wrong!
My sister in law told today she's been having allergic reactions when she wears her 14K yellow gold jewelry; so, I gave the my "expert diagnosis"; but she assured me that all her jewelry is @ least 14k, & she showed me the black skin discoloration on her ring finger & also her ears. I told her I would do a search on the net, & also check with my fellow members in the Forum.

This is what I found on the net:
http://www.jewelry-secrets.com/Metals/Gold/Allergic-To-Gold-And-Nickel/Gold-Allergies-Allergic-To-Gold.html

Interesting, (to me) to say the least.

Has anyone had any problems with allergic reactions to karat gold?

Thank you!

Phil

 

[Geo]

"(that time of the month)"? :shock: :shock: and i thought it couldnt get any worse.

 

[Smack]

My sister is allergic to anything under 14k or maybe it's 18k. Can't wear anything else or it messes up her skin, but I don't know about PGM's, I doubt she ever got tested for those.

 

[slickdogg]

Phil,
my wife has the same issue, shes allergic to the nickle sulpher........ weather it be in gold..... or some foods even.
Tell your sister if she wants to wear her wedding ring without breaking out she can do this,
is a trick my wife uses to keep from breaking out,

paint several layers of clear nailpolish in the inside of the band and let it dry thoroughly between coats. That has worked for years for her.

Rickey

 

[philddreamer]

"paint several layers of clear nailpolish in the inside of the band and let it dry thoroughly between coats. That has worked for years for her."

She did mentioned spraying the ring with some lacquer! :lol:

Thank you guys!

Phil

 

[slickdogg]

phil or you can be a nice brother-n-law...
and refine her some pure .999
so she can get some new jewelry made with the good stuff :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

 

[philddreamer]

I already bought from her some broken jewelry, & believe you me, I'm trying to get some more, but, to no avail... :mrgreen:

And I'm also going to suggest that the refining, but I think she's going to go with the lacquer. :roll: :lol:

 

[nickvc]

The best cure would be to Rhodium plate the parts that are in contact with the skin whether it's the inside of her rings or the pins on her earrings, if you have a friendly jeweller he should be able to do this for you at reasonable cost. The other problem I have found is cast jewellery where the castings can be porous and traces of acid can be trapped in the holes which can cause nasty reactions in some people to overcome this a long boil in weak lye solution followed by polishing and a good soak in the ultrasonic and Rh plating seems to work. In extreme cases we have put a sleeve of new metal inside the original ring and replaced the pins on earrings especially where they are cast.
The problem is usually the base metals in the alloy and I have had people tell me they can wear silver but not gold and the alloying metal there is copper but in gold it can be a mix of 3 or more metals and the main problem metals seem to be nickel or zinc but on some cheap imported jewellery they use just about anything to cut costs.
The most unusual case I ever saw was while I worked at JM and we had a 9 k wedding ring that had been corroded by the person who wore it, I never found out how or why it happened.

 

[goldsilverpro]

Normally, there should be no nickel in yellow karat gold.

 

[glondor]

Some of the advise is a little sketchy. Later in the article they say something like"when getting your child's ears pierced make absolutely sure it is done with surgical stainless steel because any introduction of nickel at a young age can trigger an allergic reaction. Make sure nothing else is used. well.....surgical stainless has chrome and nickel in it. The description of white gold types is a bit off as well I think. It is the internet tho, so it must be true... 8)

 

[niteliteone]

It is the internet tho, so it must be true... 8)

Absotively, posilutely :lol:

Tom C.

edit:
OOPS hit wrong button.
I am alergic to nickle in jewellery and have no trouble with yellow gold 10K and higher. Also SS pins will turn my ear red and lobe black as coal in a matter of hours

 

[Claudie]

:shock: I have had my wife wear a jewelery marked 14K to see if it turned her finger dark as a way of testing it. Guess I better not do that anymore....

 

[nickvc]

:shock: I have had my wife wear a jewelery marked 14K to see if it turned her finger dark as a way of testing it. Guess I better not do that anymore....

And you got it back.. :shock:

 

[Claudie]

I still have the ring we did that with. I think I better have a closer look at it now....

 

[henn111]

Gold allergy. I've seen several people unable to work around a auto gold microplate line. The get a wicked rash. Same with Barium from a Chromate conversion line. Iridite 14:2
The barium allergy is for life w/one guy-body can't eliminate it.

 

[Dan Dement]

Guys,

First what I am going to say she is not going to believe! However, what the truth is the black is gold particles from the gold. One of the ingredients in make up is Zinc Oxide. Zinc Oxide is harder than gold so the black is called Gold Smudge. Don't believe me, Google it! If you ever have polished a piece of jewelry, the black on your fingers is the same thing.

40 years experience Guys,

Dan

 

[macfixer01]

I have no proof to back it up but I just don't believe it's possible to be allergic to pure gold since body fluids can't attack it or form salts with it. And as far as nickel is concerned I didn't think it was typically used in karat gold alloys anyway? Isn't it normally only used as a barrier in situations where gold is plated over base metals? As someone who worked several years in the refrigeration field and handled a ton of copper tubing, I would think it's much more likely the copper content in karat gold is what's causing their reactions. I don't mean to get too gross but copper gets into your skin and your sweat, you can taste it in your mouth by the end of the day, it even changes the odor of your bowel movements in a noticeable way.

macfixer01

 

[Harold_V]

And as far as nickel is concerned I didn't think it was typically used in karat gold alloys anyway?

It was virtually the only alloying agent in white gold when I refined. Rarely would one encounter palladium, although I am now lead to believe that it is more commonly used, if for no other reason, allergic reactions due to nickel.

I tend to agree with you in regards to your comments on copper in yellow gold. It's quite true with sterling silver, too. It takes on an unbelievable stink with age.

Harold

 

[tek4g63]

This is probably going to sound funny, but I assure you that it is true. When I find a lost ring or other jewelry I can use my sister to crudely determine if it is real gold. All I have to do is rub it across her forehead, if it leaves a black streak more than likely it is real, if no black streak it has always been costume jewelry. I know it may be hard to believe and I would love to take a video to prove it, but I'm sure she would kill me just for posting this.

When we were kids us boys use to hold her down and take moms wedding band and write things on her forehead. The lines won't stay visible long, but it was still funny. It will work somewhat on her arms too but the effect is not as prominate.

 

[butcher]

tek4g63,
Interesting using your sister to test gold as a touchstone, I wonder if it something in her sweat?