How do know if you have an allergy to gold or...

kittycarr

...if it's something else?  I know you can develop an allergy to anything at any time and I thought the reaction my skin is having to my wedding rings is because I'm getting too fat to wear them.  Like when my hands are in water or if I put lotion on, there's not as much room for my skin to breathe so my skin gets red and irritated, etc. 

I took them off for a week, healed the area, put them back on and after a few days, had to take them back off because my skin opened up and it hurt real bad. 

There probably isn't any way to tell is there?  Except maybe going to an allergist or keep putting my rings on and seeing if they keep getting irritated or not??

springmom

Is there any space between your ring and your finger (like some rings have a raised part where the stone(s) is/are that is away from your finger). ?A lot of times, people would come in saying they were allergic to their rings, when really moisture was getting trapped in the ring and irritating the finger (like a hand diaper rash!). ?I would try taking them off when you wash your hands/shower, etc or put on lotion and make sure your hands are totally dry when you put your rings on.?

G_Hoping

Have you used any cleaners with your rings on?

I was baking last week..and got hot oil on my hand...apparently it went under my ring too..I have a pretty severe burn under my ring.  A nurse said she sees this alot with women who use cleaners with their rings on..see said especially women that bleach clothes. 

Angela814

Do you have any other gold jewelry?  See if you have a reaction to a necklace or bracelet.

I'm allergic to most costume jewelry.  I can wear high quality gold and anything from the platinum family.  I'm usually safe with Lia Sopha because it's made of rhodium which is from the platinum family.  Turns out the necklace and bracelet I wore to my brother's wedding must have been coated in another metal.  I ended up with a horrible rash around my neck and on my wrist.

I'd say if you have a reaction to other gold jewelry then it might be the gold.  Otherwise you probably need your rings resized.

kittycarr

springmom - tha'ts a good way to put it - diaper rash-ish.  That's really what I think the issue is.  My hands are in water so much though and the rings are a tight fit that taking them on and off each time I'm in water or do lotion is kind of a problem.  I have been wearing rubber gloves though when I do any dishes.  Washing dishes and washing my hands after the potty poses the most problem - that's where my antibacterial lotion post came from yesterday.  I just can't keep doing this.  Unless I wear latex gloves when I use the potty.  DH is a mechanic so I can get a box to keep in the bathroom here at work, no problem, but then I'm gonna smell like latex all day. 

I think I just need to skinny up a little faster...

kittycarr

angela - I don't have any other gold jewelry.  My wedding rings are the only *real* jewelry I have.  Everything else is the Cookie Lee costume stuff.

Angela814

kittycarr:

angela - I don't have any other gold jewelry.  My wedding rings are the only *real* jewelry I have.  Everything else is the Cookie Lee costume stuff.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that if you're not allergic to costume jewelry then you're not allergic to gold either.

Maybe you'll just have to tell your DH that he had to do the dishes for a while.  It's a health problem....

kittycarr

Either that or do like jodi and size up my rings like a true fat girl.

pincushions

ditto Angela!

I can't wear anything but platinum. Sucks because I have amazing jewelry collection.

I know for me if I wore a silver ring for the day I get what looks like a diaper rash.

Have you tried having your rings cleaned professionally?

kittycarr

No.  Last prof clean was when I was pregnant with Ethan.  I should probably take them in and cleaned, tighten the prongs and maybe size them up a teeny bit.  The wedding band has five diamonds across the top and the gold part is a little ridgy on each side - I think that is what opened up my skin.  After having them off for a week puffed my skin back up where the rings had indented my skin and when I put them back on, the ridges cut into my skin.  I'll try to find a pic so you can see what I'm talking about.

kittycarr

https://www.bluenile.com/asscher-cut-diamond-ring_4769?nav1=jewelry_segment.jsp&show_all_pages=1&catid=126&set_shape=

This is kind of what it looks like.  Mine's gold and the diamonds are round but the ridges are the same.