Ring Finger Blues

Collette2

Ok this is going to sound odd but I am only posting a thread about this b/c my husband suggested that I should.

My ring finger on my left hand has had some kind of alergic reaction to my wedding ring. I've been married for 6 years and have had the same ring the entire time, it is 14k white gold. This reaction has only showed up in the last month or so. If I wear my ring the skin underneath turns red at first and if I don't take it off within that first day it will flake and start to peel. I have cleaned my ring since this started with the same cleaner that I have always used so I don't think there is any kind of weird bacteria on it. I don't wear any other jewelry though so I'm not sure if my body is rejecting metal lol. Oh and I'm not preggers so its not because of hormones or anything like that. The "rash" clears up in about a week if I leave my ring off but returns within one day of putting it back on. I really miss wearing my wedding ring so I'm hoping someone has some kind of advice that does not start with "go to the doctor" Thanks all for your responses and comments ahead of time.

yalborap

Honestly, sounds like the ring's a little tight to me, and/or causing blisters of some sort.

Synthetic Orange

About one person in eight has a mild allergic reaction to the nickel in some white gold alloys when worn over long periods of time. A typical reaction is a minor skin rash.[1] White gold alloys made without nickel are less likely to be allergenic.

So there you go. Allergies can develop over time. See if you cant get a coating for the inside of the ring. If you're particularly budget conscious, you could probably just cover the inside with nail varnish or something.

naporeon

My guess is that you're allergic to nickel.

Quid

It's possible you've developed a reaction to the metal. I've only heard about something similar happening with food. Does it ever feel tight or uncomfortable at all? I thought I was wearing a properly sized ring for a while until something similar happened. After getting a half size bigger it stopped.

You may also want to consider getting it checked by a professional to see whether it's possible it may have nickel in it if that's possible.

Edit: Apparently it's very possible that it may have nickel in it if the posters above are to be believed. That's a pretty common allergen in a lot of silver colored metal jewelry.

SlickShughes

The exact same thing happened to my wife, though after only 2 years of wearing her 14k white gold ring. She was told by more than one jeweler that the cause was nickel, and the ring needs to be sealed or replated or something like that. That sounds kinda like bullshit to me, so she hasn't gotten it done yet, but perhaps someone here will know the truth. I've also heard of using clear nail polish to home seal it, that sounds reasonable and more or less free.

Fuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud

There are a couple possibilities:
1. Residual cleaner on your ring is causing a reaction. (Jewelry Cleaners are really really really really REALLY caustic)

2. You are having an allergic reaction to a substance on the ring.

3. Your ring is too tight and causing a reaction.

4. Your ring is not fitted properly and is causing localized chafing.

Usagi

White gold is often electroplated with a very thin rhodium coating - as the rhodium coating wears away, your finger becomes exposed to the impurities in the natural gold beneath. So it may not be that you've suddenly developed an allergic reaction, but that the thing you were always allergic to is now finally exposed to your skin. I am on my second white gold wedding band for exactly this reason.

Jewelers can sometimes re-plate the ring depending on its design, or you can look at something with less allergens like a higher carat white gold or platinum.

SlickShughes

Usagi wrote: »

White gold is often electroplated with a very thin rhodium coating - as the rhodium coating wears away, your finger becomes exposed to the impurities in the natural gold beneath. So it may not be that you've suddenly developed an allergic reaction, but that the thing you were always allergic to is now finally exposed to your skin. I am on my second white gold wedding band for exactly this reason.

Jewelers can sometimes re-plate the ring depending on its design, or you can look at something with less allergens like a higher carat white gold or platinum.

Yeah, this is what I was talking about. Some brief research (read: wikipedia) says this is indeed legit.

Collette2

I remember having the ring recoated but that was a few years ago, I bet its time for another coat. Thanks everyone for the help and advice, guess I will be visiting a jeweler soon so get the recoating and possible resizing.

CooterTKE

my wife has the same issue. what she does is go have the ring cleaned and then put a layer of clear finger nail polish on the inside of it. this should help and will need to be done every so often.

Zombie Nirvana

You could try wearing it on another finger to test for an allergic reaction. My guess is also nickel.

LaPuzza

White 14K gold is 14 parts gold, 10 parts (other). Nickel is a cheap white metal. New rhodium plating every 2-5 years is the remedy if it is an alergy. 7 years in jewelery for me, and this happened all the time. its not a sign that its a bad ring, its a sign that you want to go Platinum or 18K white gold next time.

Also - rings that are worn all the time capture everything you touch and hold it close to the skin. Try a good cleaning in one of those sonic cleaners. Every jeweler has one as a customer service. If you're just reacting to something like a cleaning product that got trapped against your skin, a clean ring and 2 days off from wearing it will do the trick.

meeker

It is the nickel. You need to get the ring replated, takes most jewelers 10 minutes and they should do it for free from the place you bought it. My jeweler cleans and replates my wife's 18K White Gold rings 3-4 times a year. Keeps it really shiny.

My nickel allergy is really bad. Nickel is in everything, Zippers, rivets, belt buckles. Any rubbing creates a rash that can quickly develop into a weeping open wound. My ring is tungsten with an extremely low nickel %. I keep the skin under my ring dry and apply some hydrocortisone cream every night. This keeps it in pretty good shape.

I will have to try the clear nail polish some time.

EggyToast

You guys are making me happy I have a 22k regular gold ring. I'll have to keep this in mind for friends & family asking me about ring info.

meeker

EggyToast wrote: »

You guys are making me happy I have a 22k regular gold ring. I'll have to keep this in mind for friends & family asking me about ring info.

Just to be clear, most people have absolutely no problem with nickel. And there is enough nickel to be found in regular gold to produce allergic reactions as well.

brandotheninjamaster

I get the same problem with my ring. For me it happens when I use soap and some of it get trapped between the ring and my finger. When you are wearing your ring and wash your hands, try shifting the ring around a little and clearing the goop soap may leave behind.

GungHo

I had the same problem with my wedding band when I was married. You can get it replated, do the nail polish, or get something with more gold (but it will still have nickel in it). I don't know if stepping up to platinum would work. I got divorced before I tried that.

Usagi

If you are really allergic to the nickel or other fillers then either titanium or platinum is the way to go as both of them have very low concentrations of allergens (and titanium looks awesome as a wedding band!). My mom has a severe allergy to nickel as can wear both titanium and platinum jewelry without problems. Stainless steel (or medical steel) is also sometimes offered as an option, but avoid that as nickel is a major component of that metal.

The next time I wear through the plating on my ring I am probably going to get a titanium band.

MichaelLC

If replating/coating your ring doesn't help, I can say my titanium band (mens) stil looks great and hold a better shine than wife's white gold.

mens styles are more common in titanium or tungsten, but there are a lot of womens' rings as well.

Mike Danger

naporeon wrote: »

My guess is that you're allergic to nickel.

I had the same problem with my glasses, the rash/flaking/peeling being on the bridge of my nose. It was nickel in the frames.

Collette2

See I'm not sure if it is an allergy thing or not, this has only happened twice in the 6 years we've been married. I do remember getting it plated before so I'm going to try that tomorrow. I wouldn't mind getting the metal replaced but I'd have to find a craftsman to do it since my ring was custom designed. Oh well....until that big day looks like I'll be getting it replated Thanks all for the suggestions!

takyris

If the replating doesn't help... (and hopefully it does)... is it getting cold and dry where you live? This is the start of eczema season for me, and with my skin, any minor chafing I get now is likely to be an ugly rash at least until April of next year. No idea if this is even remotely possible for you, but I thought I'd toss it out as a backup option if replating doesn't solve things.