Nickel Allergy Rash,Contact Dermatitis and Cell Phones
You may be having a reaction not just to the phone conversation you are having but to the cell phone nickel compoments. Nickel is a common cause for allergic contact dermatitis or an eczema skin rash. Nickel buttons on pants can cause this. For some people the reaction can be same day. For others the allergic skin rash may not appear for days. It can be a red rash or blisters. Nickel is one of the top substances to create a skin rash and is found in jewelry, belt buckles, belt snaps, tools, hair clips eating utensils etc. Women have a higher incidence of nickel allergies, perhaps due to the incidence of pierced ears and earrings.
Recently cell phones and other electronic gadgets have also been noted as items to be aware of with nickel components. The location of nickel is in a variety of places including the handset buttons or case as well as ear attachment parts. Some can get the allergic rash due to texting if the buttons are nickel.
Dr. Lionel Bercovitch, of Brown University tested a number of cell phones and found free nickel in ten out of twenty two mobile phones. The ear and cheek area are common areas for the rash to occur but you can study how you use the cell phone. Also if you’ve developed a sensitivy to nickel due to jewelery , this may manifest itself again in this context as allergic contact dermatitis. Some mobile manufacturers are considering eliminating nickel as they evaluate these findings. Dr.Bercovitch noted that mobile phones which are more rugged have rubber coating.The stylish types of cell phones would have more free nickel. This is discussed in the January issue of Canadian Medical Association journal.
If you have a reaction, antihistamines can be used to control the itching. Depending on severity, a cortisone cream and moisturizer should also be used to help the skin heal. Ultimately, if you get an allergic rash, substituting other types of coverings can be helpful to protect your ear and facial areas. The term “mobile phone dermatitis” is used to discuss this issue. It is interesting that in the UK, nickel is the most common contact allergic dermatitis or eczema. Will we see a decrease in excessive texting?
Excellent, thanks!
i have this condition and its really bothering me. I have this big circular rash on my cheek and its so ugly. Its starting to take over my life. I was a cheerleader and had to quit because I couldn’t even show my face any longer. Explaining it to people is the worst. They look at you with disgust and this “sorry” face. Thank God my hair is long enough to cover it up at least a little bit, but even with that, it’s still noticeable. Be careful people, that’s all I have to say.
How can I have my cell test for nickle I have a very bad rash on my face…thanks
I had the same thing.. horribly embarrassing.. it started to show up a few weeks after getting a new cell phone. Many dermatologist visits later, and two cases of staph infection later, I put a plastic cover over my cell phone and it went away after a few weeks. Just to verify that it was a nickel allergy, I recently went to the dermatologist for a patch test. Sure enough.. BIG reaction.
I have this cell phone rash on my face. I am definitely allergic to nickel in costume jewelery. I have had this for about a year and since I don’t have health insurance I have not had it checked out by a dermatologist. It has affected my life in a very big way. I was a licensed esthetician and I worked at a Spa doing facials. Since I have education on skin care conditions I knew it was not acne or a lupus rash. I was convinced that I had rosacea but based on my research of it I knew I didn’t meet the criteria. This cell phone rash has seriously affected my life as I am no longer working as an esthetician since I cannot secure clientele with a rash on my face that looks like it could be acne. I have had to change careers and have had this affect my self esteem as well. Many times I have looked in the mirror and thought that I look like a monster. However, I am glad to finally have put two and two together and realize what has caused this rash to begin with. By the way, I have a sister who lives 3 hours away and I talk to her on my cell phone sometimes 1 to 2 hours at a time. I don’t live near my family so talking to her is really important to me. Of course, now I will be making changes such as getting a nickel free phone and using a headseat. I just want people to know that “cell phone rash” is not the “most ridiculous thing ever”. It is real. I only wish I had known about this a year ago.
Thank u, I had no idea where this rash came from on my face until I read this about nickle rash from a cell phone. I would never have thought or came to this conclusion. I have these itchy ugly bumps on my chin area, and not on my cheeks r ears because I have a cover on my G1 that only covers the top area so leaving the menu part touching my face (chin)area only and this makes for a great conclusion of where it comes from!
Thank you,
Len
I too have the nickel allergy. It took over 1 year to figure it out. I was not only allergic to my cell phone, but the new eye glasses I got at the same time. THREE doctors wanted to do biopsies, but it was an acquaintance who saw me (with no makeup) and asked me if I had a nickel allergy. His daughter was also allergic to her glasses! The sores are itchy and painful, and leave terrible scars. It is difficult to find a cell phone that doesn’t have nickle in it. I’ve been slipping a sandwich-type baggy over my phone and changing it daily. My phone provider have been unable to help me. I don’t feel like paying major dollars for a phone I’ll have the same reaction to.
I hadn’t thought of the mobile phone ..though I mostly use it for text messaging rather than calls, but my hands are frequently becoming affected by patches of itchy, peeling, then sore red patches of skin which take a week or so to heal while other patches emerge elsewhere on my hands.. Often after a few days at work they would emerge and I thought I was coming into contact with substances which aggravated the allergy.. I work in the aviation security industry where we use an IONSCAN machine to perform Explosive Trace Detection tests on passenger hand luggage.. This machine uses nickel in its function for testing.. I was beginning to worry that this may be the source of the patches of red, peeling and raw patches of skin on my hands, since it has only started to worsen in the past year since we had the technology installed at the airport where I work.. If any expert can shed light on the possibility from this comment, I will consider having to wear cotton or fine latex gloves to perform the tests while handling the machinery.