August 10, 2010
What Can Cause An Hypersensitive Reaction To Wedding Rings?
Men’s wedding bands and wedding rings are meant to be worn everyday and need to be designed accordingly. Rings are exposed to water, sweat, scratches on a daily basis. To withstand the daily wear and tear, most mens wedding rings and bands are made of 14k or 18k gold, sterling silver, platinum or titanium. Pure gold, 24k gold doesn’t have any other elements and is very soft. 14k and 18k gold or not pure gold, 14k gold is 58.3% pure and 18k is 75% pure, with the rest comprised of other alloys such as silver, zinc, copper, palladium and nickel. It’s these other alloys that cause the allergic reactions, nickel being the biggest culprit, but also the main element given to gold to make it more corrosion resistant and durable. What options are available in Hypoallergenic Jewelry? There are many options in hypoallergenic jewelry. Sterling silver, platinum and titanium rings are not only beautiful alternatives to gold, but they are more pure. Titanium rings are the most pure and 100% hypoallergenic.
My suggestion? Contact QVC and tell them of the problem. They should either give your money back or replace the item with one with a real rhodium plate! Green is a reaction generally to base metals, such as copper, etc., which are either preplate (done beneath the rhodium on metals like silver) or part of the the meatal alloy the mens wedding rings are made of. Either the plate is not rhodium or is a poor job at plating. QVC owes you an answer on this one and your may use my answer when you contact them if you want. Without seeing the ring and actually examining it, I can say little about the ring itself. Temporary Fix. Recommended for you to Try: Rhodium is a hard and durable white metal. Most white gold is given a quick plated layer of rhodium when brand new or when repaired. This thin layer of rhodium gives the metal a whiter look. Rhodium is also a metal that does not react with the skin.
Titanium is also extremely lightweight, and more affordable than platinum. Platinum, gold and silver must sacrifice style and function to reduce weight and costs. With more and more people are finding they are allergic to certain precious metals, specifically nickel alloys used in many mens wedding bands and everyday jewelry, it only makes sense to start opening our eyes to alternative metals like titanium and platinum. According to a Mayo Clinic study done last year on contact dermatitis, which causes itching, redness, and blister, the top two causes are nickel and gold. Titanium provides the stylish rich tones of platinum at a much more attractive price for men’s wedidng bands. Titanium rings are at the forefront in the designer jewelry community. No other metal has experienced such a dramatic rise in popularity as titanium.
Millions of people experience unexplained skin irritations and itchy rashes. Many times people who suddenly get these irritations don’t have any idea what caused them. Rashes can be caused by a number of things. Some experts say that jewelry allergies are not onl very common, but very simple to prevent. If you have problems with a skin rash, redness, swelling, itching or burning in areas where you are wearing jewelry, you may have a nickel allergy. Nickel is commonly used in most jewelry, since it’s cheap and strong, but around 15% of the population is allergic to nickel. If you have recently had your ears or another part of your body pierced and are experiencing allergic symptoms, you may have become sensitized to the metal your jewelry contains. White gold and other gold that is less than 14 carats can bring on a reaction, since white gold is made with nickel and other forms of gold contain some amount of nickel as a hardening agent. Sterling silver is plated with nickel, which stays shiny and bright when silver might tarnish, and so is frequently used in silver jewelry.
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Filed under Womens World by ckahuna