Why Are Surgical Steel Earrings Better Than Gold?
Nickel blended into earring metal causes jewelry allergies
. Unless you buy 24 karat gold earrings you are risking allergic dermatitis. Because pure gold is soft, other metals called alloys are added to help harden the gold. Some earrings are made of base metals then electroplated with a thin coat of 24 karat gold, but electroplating wears away leaving nickel alloys in direct contact with your skin. Dermatitis is triggered by direct skin contact with the nickel salts that body oil and perspiration create on the surface of the jewelry. If you want to wear yellow gold, you must make sure it is at least 14K or have a jeweler convert your favorite gold wires and posts to surgical steel. The best prevention to nickel reactions is choosing genuine surgical steel earrings.
-- Nickel in direct contact with human skin is the leading cause of earlobe sensitivity, inflammation, and infection.
-- Prolonged contact with nickel and nickel alloys produces sensitivity throughout the body so skin under rings, bracelets, piercings, and watches can also blister.
-- A person who never has showed a sensitivity or allergic reaction can suddenly develop it.
-- The reaction can come from clip-on earrings as well as posts and wires.
Is it just yellow gold that contains nickel?
White gold, unless alloyed with very expensive palladium instead of nickel, can also cause dermatitis and infection. The commonest ingredient in white gold to give it a white color is nickel. Home remedies suggest boiling white gold in peroxide and vinegar, but this is temporary and impractical, destructive on porous stones, pearls, and gemstones. Any earring, whether posh or inexpensive, may contain nickel.
How can I prevent nickel dermatitis?
There are products sold to seal jewelry so that the nickel does not come in direct contact with the skin. Other jewelry makers use rhodium plating to prevent "nickel itch" but rhodium is, like brush-on sealants, thin-coating and easy to wear off, porous and temporary. Nickel sensitivity may come on suddenly after many years with no problems, and once you develop it, you will always be sensitive; usually your reaction to it worsens. For the sensitive, the rash can happen in a few minutes, or show up somewhere else on your body, especially your hands from touching something, perhaps coins, with nickel in it. Some medical research suggests that nickel sensitivity is a factor in psoriasis. One in seven Americans has nickel sensitivity.
Is nickel only in jewelry alloys?
Because nickel is a common metal used in many different manufactured objects, you are likely to contact it other places besides ear lobes. Nickel is found in the atmosphere from windblown volcanic dust, in smoke from fuel oil combustion, municipal incineration, mining and steel production. Nickel is in cell phones, coins, silver, belt buckles, jeans zippers, door handles, tools, eyeglass frames, ceramics, batteries, key rings and musical instruments including guitar strings.
Is surgical steel the same as stainless?
Some jewelry labeled "surgical steel" is really ordinary stainless steel. Know your dealer. Surgical steel earrings are not ordinary; they are made from the same formula appropriate for medical implements used inside the body and for surgical applications including heart stents. Genuine surgical steel does not provoke dermatitis or allergic response in contact with the human body.
by: Mark Bingaman
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