Women's itchy ears

­­­Women’s Itchy Ears

Study shows local artists’ earrings are more likely to contain nickel, a common cause of allergic contact dermatitis. Many women visit recently with red, itchy, scaly earlobes. Most of them thought they had psoriasis. But they didn’t.  They had hand-crafted earrings.

Many earrings contain nickel, one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis. Developing an allergy to something requires that you are exposed to it, often repeatedly, which is why nickel allergy is more common in women. Though still used extensively here and in many other countries. But there are restrictions on nickel in jewelry in Europe.

A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that locally crafted earrings were more likely to contain excessive levels of nickel as compared to store-bought earrings. They did not, however, find that there was a relationship between the price of the earrings and whether or not they contained nickel. The study found that   69% of earrings purchased from local artists contained nickel while only 24% of earrings in chain stores contained the metal.

The authors recommended that all jewelry be labelled as containing nickel or being nickel- free to increase public awareness and to help those who are known to have a nickel allergy. Until then, there is a test that you can buy to determine if a metal contains nickel. It’s called dimethylglyoxime (DMG), and can be purchased over the counter or online. When DMG is applied to nickel, it turns the DMG red or pink.

Say no to the treatments involved with peroxide. Using alcohol based sanitizers to clean the infection is perfectly okay. They are great disinfectant but it is not recommended to be used as sole “leave in” remedies. As the sea salt is rich in antimicrobial properties, proper cleaning using sea salt will kill the bacteria and germs that are responsible for developing wound infections.

 Apart from producing the sweet and pleasant aroma, essential oils have the potential to treat the infectious diseases. As the oils like lavender oil, tea tree oil, chamomile oil, Eucalyptus Oil and Oregano Oil are rich in antibacterial, anti infective and antiseptic properties, you can use it as alternative safe remedies to treat the infected wounds, bruises, scraps and burns. You can use any one of these five essential oils to treat the infection. They are 100% safe and effective.

So, should you toss your favorite earrings if they contain nickel? If you have a true nickel allergy, probably you have to. Unless you don’t mind developing an itchy, red crusty rash. But before you toss (or re-gift) them, you can try to seal the nickel in the jewelry so it doesn’t contact your skin: One way is to paint the metal part with 3-4 coats of clear nail polish. Or you can purchase a nickel protectant, which might work better.

But if you are suffering from this sort of ear infection which is not a skin disorder but due to external infection, contact a dermatologist for further instruction.