Are you experiencing a rash underneath a new piece of jewelry? Find quick and easy home remedies in this post by custom jewelry store, New Gild Jewelers.
From time to time, after wearing a new piece of custom jewelry, some of or our clients will experience a puzzling rash. This most often happens on the finger and seems most common with white gold rings.
I’ve had this problem myself–with my 18K white gold wedding ring I’ve worn for many years. Because they’ve heard of nickel allergy, they worry that they’re allergic to something in their ring, and they reach out to us.
This can happen with any type of ring – from fun costume pieces to an expensive platinum ring–and the explanation is almost never an actual metal allergy. If you’re experiencing a rash underneath a ring, this post is for you!
At some point in the life of anything that touches the body in one specific place, contact dermatitis can happen. Usually redness, itching, dryness, and even blistering can occur. The object itself suddenly seems to “cause” the problem, and each time we put it back on, the rash comes back or gets worse–seemingly “proving” the allergy.
However, with some simple self-care, all but one of my clients over the years has been able to get rid of the problem AND wear the ring again. Here’s what we recommend:
Remove the item for now.
Get some cortisone cream over the counter at the drugstore. Neosporin is for killing germs so don’t get that; you need a topical cream or ointment, specifically for inflammation, such as cortisone. Severe cases may need a visit to the dermatologist, who can prescribe higher strength creams, if necessary.
Dry your hands carefully each time you wash them, and reapply the cream directly to the affected area several times per day.
Don’t put the ring back on yet! While I know you miss your sparkler, the rash must be 100% cleared up before reaching for your jewelry again. This will take several weeks, and all the redness and the shiny, sensitive look and feel of the area needs to be completely gone.
This is the part that’s tough to understand, but it works. Put the ring back on at first for perhaps an hour after work. That’s all! Wear it for an hour or two per day in the evening at home for the first week or so. If there’s any sign of the rash returning, go back to the cream step and wait a bit longer to try your ring.
If you’re able to successfully wear the ring during the evening for a week or more, then it’s time to move on to wearing the ring for a bit longer–perhaps for the work day. Remember to take it off in the evening and overnight at first….you’re trying to fool your finger into thinking everything’s fine–which it is!
If things go well and there’s no sign of the rash, you can cautiously resume wearing your ring full time. Yeah!
In the decades I’ve been wearing the same wedding ring, which is white gold and technically the most suspect of the metals from an “allergy” standpoint, I’ve had little bouts of contact dermatitis twice. Each time I cleared it up, and went on to wear my ring with joy for years and years. In your day-to day life, we recommend being careful about soap and water trapped behind your ring, which can trigger irritation. Rinse under rings well when hand washing, and wiggle the ring when drying your hands to minimize trapped water.
If you’re more comfortable with a visit to the dermatologist, then, by all means, go see one! And if you have any questions about your custom jewelry, please feel free to contact us by phone at 612-402-0561. Sparkle on!
