Letter 33777

Platinum Wedding Ring now causes rash?  

Synopsis: The most important part of this long thread is that many women reported complete elimination of the rash by boiling their rings in vinegar & peroxide. If you follow that advice we don't expect damage to your ring, but can't guarantee it. Don't use the same solution for multiple metals as it can cause one to deposit onto the other requiring repolishing by a jeweler, and remember: pearls are not gemstones and may be damaged by chemicals that are harmless to stones.

The thread also covers antifungal and cortisone creams, nickel allergy, a discussion of aluminum allergy, and more. Read on! . . . or skip directly to 1st mention of vinegar & peroxide!

Q.

I had purchased a Platinum Engagement and Wedding ring set from a jeweler in the Downtown LA Jewelry Mart. My wife has had the rings since our wedding in August of 2001. Lately she gets a red rash around her ring finger and it is caused by the rings! Did she develop a sudden and consistent allergic reaction? Is my supposed platinum ring not really platinum? Is the ring merely rhodium coated? What can I do ? Thanks.

Dale J
home owner - LA, California

First of all, get your wife tested by a dermatologist for metal allergies. Once you have determined what she is allergic to, then something can be done about it. Many allergies associated with jewelry are due to nickel, but it is not usual for platinum to have nickel in it, unless it is a cheap platinum alloy. There are a lot of submissions about nickel allergies and jewelry on this site and other information can be obtained from organizations such as NiDI (Nickel Development Institute). If it is a metal allergy, a good deposit of rhodium usually puts pay to its effects, although it is not a permanent coating and will have to be replaced every few years.

Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist - UK

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about platinum will come by....but one thing you may want to look into is it being a possible infection (yeast) it sounds gross but it does happen quite a bit, especially if it isn't taken off during bathing. Moisture from sweat, washing hands etc will stay under the ring..and warm wet places are where fungus/yeast like to be.

Jason Aube
- Flint, Michigan

I'm 7 months pregnant. About two months ago, I developed a red, itchy rash under my wedding and engagement rings. I have worn the engagement ring for 2 years and wedding ring for 7 months without a problem. Any idea what might be wrong?

Antoinette R
- New York, New York

I suggest you ask your O&G/pediatrics consultant. He/she will be in a better position to answer your problems than people on this site, as he/she will know more about you and your condition than anyone else. If he/she cannot, at least you can be pointed in the right direction.

Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist - UK

For those of you with repeating rashes such as the rash reappearing on the other hand I would get tested for metal allergies.

For those of you who suddenly develop a rash after having worn something for a long time I would try some cortisone cream and leave the ring off for a week or two.

I had the same thing happen with a plain silver band I had been wearing for months and months. It seemed like I had gotten some moisture and perhaps some bacteria underneath the ring that irritated the skin and made it itchy and then sort of dry and scaly. It would start to clear up a bit, so I figured I could put the ring back on, but once I did it would break out again.

So I had to wait for the "rash" to clear up completely before I could wear my ring again.

Give it a try, so long as your ring doesn't cause the same reaction on your other hand.

Jucstice S
- Bonney Lake, Washington

I have been suffering with a rash on my ring finger for the past 18 months. I have two children ages 5 & 2 yrs old.
Last weekend my girlfriend showed me her ring finger and she has the same rash. She has a one year old and her rash just started a couple of months ago. She spoke to her Doctor about it and was told that it is a reaction to the gold due to a hormone after having children. Hopefully now that I know what it is something can be done. If I have my ring on for one day I will suffer for two weeks with the rash.

Shawna S
- Kanata, Ontario, Canada

I just got this ring in January for my 20th and it is more like a callus than a rash. This is a very pricey ring purchased in a store in L.A. as well. I do not want to change metal but I have had the ring on my other hand for about a week and the problem is starting on that hand. Any ideas?? I was at my doctor's for another issue and they said it looked like a contact allergy but blew me off. Now it is worse and I am going back.

Catherine J
consumer - San Diego, CA, USA

It is good to know that I am not alone, but the wife and I both ran into the problem years after wearing the rings. Our jeweler suggested a good cleaning as soaps get in the grooves on the bottom. That cleared up my wife's, but mine remains. Have not worn the ring in over 5 months and I still have a red mark and some dry flaky skin. The ring was also tight so am having it resized, to see if that relieves it all. Odd how something like that develops over time, I would think that an allergy to the metal would be almost immediate. That makes me think of the soaps, etc under the ring.

Ray M
- Houston, TX

After having a blood-type allergy test, I found out I was allergic to many metals. Rhodium was one of them. It is often used to coat jewelry and to make platinum harder. A few years ago I had to have a titanium plate removed from my neck because it was causing other health problems--I lost 30 lbs. Then, after telling my orthopedic surgeon that I was allergic to "metals", he still insisted on putting a stainless steel plate with many screws in my arm and leg when I broke them last year. Now I'm going to have to have another operation to take that hardware out. So I would suggest that anyone with any type of "metal" allergy, take a metal allergy test so you can really know what you can and cannot wear or have implanted in your body. It was the dentist who finally had me get the allergy test before deciding to do implants or dentures. What's wrong with the "doctors"? Why don't they order the test as a matter of procedure before doing anything involving putting any metal in the body?

April B
- San Jose, California

I am having the same exact problem! I have two wedding rings in white gold and a sapphire ring I wear with them my husband got me after the birth of our twins which was 8 months ago. Ever since then I have this horrible red, flaky rash around my finger. I am desperate to find out what this is! Anyone to to a dermatologist and get a diagnosis? Is it in fact allergy or is it just some kind of fungus?

Christy D
- Cedar Grove, New Jersey

I have been wearing my 18k white gold ring with diamonds and sapphires for 5 years and I just started to have an allergic reaction to it. I apply hydrocortisone daily which clears it up but once I start wearing the ring again the rash reappears. I keep hoping it will clear itself but I am beginning to think its like a leaky faucet, so its time to see a dermatologist. I'm glad I found these postings because I thought it was just me. :)

Angela B
- San Diego, California

++++++

I have developed the same flaky rash after wearing my white gold wedding ring and engagement ring all the time for four years. I also have 2 friends that have the same problem. After a little research, I think I will go home and soak my ring in 2 parts vinegar and 1 part hydrogen peroxide [link is to product info at Amazon] and boil it for about fifteen minutes. This helped many people from mohea.com site. I'll let you know how it goes!

Jennifer G
- Colorado Springs, Colorado

Alright, I tried the before mentioned cure and it worked!! I am totally itchy rash free!! I think it must have been a bacteria or fungus that built up underneath my ring over the years. Or maybe because I've been cleaning a lot with harsher chemicals my skin broke down and was infected more easily. Either way, I am totally cured! I am glad I didn't waste money on getting my ring re-dipped or buying a platinum ring. Hope this helps!

Jennifer G (returning)
- Colorado Springs, Colorado

Wow, I have the same rash, who knew so many people would be posting this online...I've worn my rings for over 2 years with no problems.
Mine started to clear up after not wearing the rings for about 5 days & applying hydrocortisone & then I wore them overnight the other night & woke up w/ it itching like crazy & it is back...only this time it seems to be more in the area where my wedding band is versus my engagement ring.
I guess I'll get the rings cleaned really well, be more diligent about not wearing them til it is gone and also try some yeast creams in case that is what it is... glad to see I'm not the only one out there but I hope I don't have to have my ring dipped! :(

Lisa W
- Charlotte, North Carolina

I have recently developed a red rash around the top of my ring finger. I too have a platinum set and have worn it for a little over two years.

Has anyone had the nickel testing done? Was that the cause? How did you solve the problem with the rings/how did you fix them?

Laura L
- Tampa, Florida

I changed my white gold wedding rings to platinum at the end of last year due to a metal allergy and rash, and everything was fine until the summertime. Now I have a red rash with water blisters again. The strange thing is that if I take my platinum rings off at night, the rash actually gets worse. When I leave them on, the rash starts to heal under the rings. Could this be more of a fungal or bacterial infection rather than a metal allergy?

Traci S
Consumer - Chesapeake, Virginia

I've had my ring resized at least 3 times thinking that my recurring rash was due to weight gain, causing fungus to grow under my ring. Yet I still continue to get them. I think I will try the vinegar and peroxide solution previously posted above. I've recently been reminded of the excellent way that both vinegar and peroxide individually have of killing bacteria and germs...they've got to be awesome when used together. If this IS the solution, then its pretty simple and cheap.

Sonya C
- Whites Creek, Tennessee

Me too, me too! I'm jumping on this bandwagon of platinum ring-wearing rash-bearers. I have the same problem. After wearing the ring for 6 years, I suddenly got this awful red, blistery rash that itches. I left the ring off for days and it went away, but returned when I put the ring back on. I tried cleansing the ring thoroughly, then I tried Cortizone cream (no use) and am now trying anti-fungal cream. I'll let you know if this latest remedy works out...

Ann Marie S
- Austin, Texas

I'm back with my report on the vinegar and peroxide solution. It really works! I didn't even boil it, I just soaked it in 2 parts vinegar and one part peroxide overnight. I then brushed it with a toothbrush to be sure it was thoroughly clean. I even started wearing it before my rash was completely healed and it continued to heal! It's ironic because now my husband is now complaining of the rash for the first time in 10 years...lol. I immediately gave him the solution to the problem. I had tried all the cortizone and anti-fungal creams on my rash. I even tried vinegar, peroxide, neosporin on the rash. But it always returned when I put the ring on and the ring would irritate it even further. This vinegar and peroxide really work. Thanks Jennifer for giving us this information.

Sonya C (returning)
- Whites Creek, Tennessee

WOW! I am having the exact same problem. After camping in July I too developed a rash under my platinum wedding set that I have been wearing for over two years without a problem. (I previously had an all gold set that I never had a problem with.) I have also used, with success, cortisone cream only to have the rash reappear overnight once I start wearing my rings again. A doctor friend suggested that it is a bacteria/fungus or maybe an oil from vegetation from our camping trip. I am also going to try the peroxide/vinegar cleaning solution and will post if it works for me too! Thanks for all the postings...I thought I was the only one!

Susan V
- Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Hey Sonya, is your ring platinum? I want to try the vinegar/peroxide thing but I don't want to hurt the platinum. Stupid rash. I've been having a constant rash ever since I got my platinum engagement ring over a year ago. I thought it was just soap getting under it so I left the ring off a few days and the rash healed. But then when I got the platinum wedding band a month ago, I started having a MAJOR rash. I've had the rings off for about a week and the rash is still trying to heal. It could be because the rings are really thick too. Who knows. I'm sorry to everyone that shares this same problem!! At least we are all in the same boat together.

Rachael S
- San Jose, California

To answer the previous question, my ring is gold. If you're afraid of soaking in the suggested solution, try just using a toothbrush to clean the underside of your ring thoroughly with the same solution and rinse.

Sonya C (returning)
- Whites Creek, Tennessee

I have a new platinum ring but I have a bit of a different reaction, my finger turns a grey colour, I've been to the local jewelers and they said it is platinum but there not sure what is causing these marks, I'm desperate for an answer...please could someone help me??

Rachel L
waitress - Sheffield, England

I am so relieved to find these posts about platinum allergies! I have been wearing my platinum wedding set for almost 6 years now, and starting about 4 years ago I began developing a burning red ring around my finger. Having the rings re-rhodiumed every year helps but is expensive. It's been the only cure I could find other than not wearing my rings! I haven't been tested for metal allergy but that will be my next step. Although I don't know how that will help with my rings as I don't want to give up my platinum. So I guess I'll be visiting the jeweler every year for the rhodium!

Debra K
- Carrollton, Texas