Actually, I'm more of a sterling silver person than glowing gold.
And now, with my hair turning silvery grey as it grows out - or in - I know
I'll probably be enjoying my silver earrings more than my gold!
Both my wedding and diamond bands are gold and of course worn
daily. . . . . . . and rarely removed. Recently I started having a problem
with these gold rings. A rash and tiny blisters appeared on that finger,
itchy enough to drive me crazy! I had a very difficult time removing my rings
as my finger was swollen, plus my knuckle seemed larger.
I thought perhaps I wasn't drying under my rings properly, or all that hand
sanitizer we use now was causing an allergy. On hot days my rings felt too
tight and I realized a trip to my jeweler was necessary.
So, we decided to try sizing up both rings, a whole size for the wide band,
half size for the diamond, which would enable me to dry under them properly
and remove them more easily.
No rings for a week. . . . . .a 'lost' feeling, so I wore my mother's wedding band,
which fits me perfectly, on the couple of occasions I left the house!
So, I've had my bright, shiny, cleaned and better fitting rings back for
two weeks, carefully drying under them, even removing them sometimes.
During the night Friday intense itching of my ring finger woke me from a
deep sleep and, by morning, the blisters were back with a vengeance!
A steroid ointment has almost cleared the rash again but on reading more
about 'jewelry allergies' I see that perhaps I'm allergic to nickel or another
alloy often added to gold, plus if the jeweler bonded the rings back together
with gold solder whilst sizing, that could be the culprit now.
I'll be back at the jeweler's shop some time this week. There are coatings
which can be applied but wear off in a few months and need to be repeated.
It's really a shock that after all these years I have an allergy -
however I do recall my mother had jewelry allergies too!
Have you ever had a problem such as this?
Any tips would help - buying new rings, probably in platinum, is not a
happy thought!
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Mary, I'm sorry to hear of your issues. Your story brought back my own experience such as this, but it dates back to my high school days and my senior ring. That ring caused my finger to have blisters and was very painful. It took a series of treatments in the doctor's office and giving up wearing the ring. It was 10k, and since I've learned that I need a hight gold content, 18k has worked without issues. I also found that I could not wear costume earrings in my pierced ears or would get infections. Sterling and gold posts were OK. I haven't had issue since those early years. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry, no tips here for you - just admiring your beautiful rings and the London decoration behind them :-)
ReplyDeleteI switch between wearing my gold things and my silver things according to the outfit; today it happens to be gold, as I am wearing a dress in tweedy autumn colours.
This is interesting Mary, and also very disappointing for you. I have acquired various allergies in later life, including to rose gold earrings. Fortunately my regular gold wedding and engagement rings are still fine, as are my best gold earrings. However, as over this past year I have 'gone natural' with my hair too, from dark brown to pure white. I don't like the effect of the gold earrings so much, and am also thinking of more silver, and pearls, in my future :) xx
ReplyDeleteSorry that you are suddenly having allergy problems, Mary. The rings are lovely! My sister can’t wear any metal except for gold....sometimes her allergies will still flare up with certain golds.
ReplyDeleteI can barely wear rings any more because my middle finger knuckles are so swollen with osteoarthritis. I tend to wear just one Stirling silver ring now. I’m lucky not to have allergies to jewellery.
I’ve always loved silver or white gold jewellery though, funnily enough, my wedding rings were yellow gold.
I do hope your allergies clear up soon.
Big hugs,
Serena xo
Hi Mary .... sorry to hear about your allergy .... I can’t remember suffering from that sort of allergy but we can suddenly become allergic to something and then it can go as quickly as it came ! I only wear silver and my wedding rings are white gold. I love your Mother’s wedding ring .... it’s exactly like my mums .... they were so thin weren’t they and delicate. I guess there wasn’t much gold around in those days. Hope you find a solution to you allergy soon XXXX
ReplyDeleteI have a nickel allergy as well. I have had it since I was 18 and had my ears pierced. I don't have a problem with gold. I can't wear costume jewelry or silver.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've never heard of that before. I've always thought that silver looks a lot more attractive than gold anyway - except on those with black skin; then gold shines fabulously.
ReplyDeleteDear Mary,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry that you are having allergies after all these years. I have that problem with earrings. As long as I wear my pearl and gold earrings I have no issues. Also no problems with my gold rings. However, if I wear anything else it only takes a few hours and I'm in trouble. Wish I had an answer for you.
How annoying and, as one who does not remove my wedding band, I would find it unsettling. No, I have never had this problem. Wishing you a good result.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about these reactions to your beautiful rings at this stage of life. I hope you are able to find some solution, one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
ReplyDeleteI can only wear 18 carat for similar reasons. Hope all is well with you and your family. I think of you often.
ReplyDeleteWe are building a single level home. Only about ten minutes from wear we are now. Looking forward to not having three levels. Lots to do. So many ticking clocks to coordinate. I need to begin selling furniture.
Dearest Mary,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your sudden allergy!
Since about March I went crazy from itching... Not from my rings though but I was afraid that my latex allergy had gotten worse and all things elasticized caused me problems. After lots of searching I found the answer. Because both of my kidneys function only for 30% I suffer from this very nasty side affect. It is very hard to live with it and knowing it won't go away...
Hope your fingers will behave soon enough to enjoy your rings!
As for jewelry, can't really say what I love most... got both, silver and gold and try to adjust to the outfit I'm wearing.
Hugs,
Mariette
I have been having the same allergy reaction under my rings to the point I have hardly worn them since COVID started. One of my narrow rings still works so I have been wearing just that one, but I do miss my others. In the last few years I have developed more allergies also to pollen and the sun.
ReplyDelete