hmm, interesting. It's pretty rare. apart fro white gold/nickel allergies, ive only seen this once in 14 years. One of my clients developed a reaction to her 22 kt gold band , but they were facing a divorce, and i think the emotional component of that was more the issue than a straight forward allergy. I also more ofter see issues with dermititis becasue when people leave their rings on, they trap a slight irritating layer of moisture. if you have any reactions to gold, 9 times out of 10, it will diminish if you remove your rings at night.

I have Lupus and Sjogren's syndrome. My fingers were inflammed for three years. Two of my fingers have arthritis. I took my ring off recently and the inflammation disappeared. I put a ring on my other finger and the pain returned. I decided to put a bracelet because it was so weird, and during the night I woke up with pain. My husband belief me since I have not complaint about the pain. Today I went to a dermatologist and she did not believe me. I do not care if she does not believe me, I know that the inflammation went away.
Any input.

To say that people are allergic to gold is not accurate. One must determine tha quality or Karat of the metal in question. Higher karat alloys, 22kt is alloyed with silver or copper to give it strength. When you get into the lower karat alloys, 10 or even 14 karat nickel is probably used to alloy and lower the karat. Your best bet is to check the county of origin, as Nickel is not an acceptable metal in most of the European countries. If you have questions please feel free to email me at Paul@jrose.com

Paul, in the report I linked to in the above post, they said that they used PURE gold in the study.

I think the most common cause of allergic reactions to jewelery is nickel contained in the alloy. Nickel is, or was, frequently used in white gold alloys because it is inexpensive, hard, and has a strong whitening effect. Better quality white gold alloys use palladium, which has excellent properties but is more expensive.

Yes, gold often has nickel in it - "gold" jewelry is always an alloy - even 24 karat (see http://www.nickelallergyfree.com/index.php?k=nickel-allergy-nickel-in-
gold)
- with 9 carat being less than 40% gold!

However as Ruth says, the study alleged to use pure gold. So go figure, maybe it's possible (if rare).

Thank Ruth.
I have a GOLD allery not a nickle allergy. In fact, I can wear my nickle ring just fine. Gold is another issue: yellow gold is worst than white gold. I can wear white gold for about 1 hour before I start to broke out.

Contact allergic dermatitis to gold may develop at any age. Once this gold allergy has occurred, it persists for many years, often it will remain for the rest of your life. Body piercing can cause an increasing susceptibility to gold allergy.

So interesting. I ahve had troubles wearing my rings for the past few years. I ahve no idea what to do. I desperatly wnat to wear my wedding rings and have no clue what to do. Every trick in the book has failed. Do I buy higher quality? Do I buy platinum?? I have no idea.

HI ALL; I AM VERT DEPRESSED. FIRST I AM NOW VERY ALLERGIC TO HAIR DYE AND NOW I STILL CANNOT WEAR ANY EARRINGS AS OF YET. COULD IT BE THE HAIR DYE. I CANNOT WEAR EARRINGS EVEN 14KT, SILVER, SURGICAL STAINLESS STEAL AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE I CANNOT WEAR.NOW I'LL HAVE TO WAIT TO TRY 22KT. WILL THAT WORK? HELP

Hello everyone. I've had a very severe illness for 15 years. For lack of a definate diagnosis, the VA labels it "Gulf War Syndrome". The past two years it has become uncontrollable and ended my carreer as a registered nurse and requires me to take opium 2-3 times daily just to function. In short, it has ruined much of my life. On a whim, based on a dream my wife had, I quit wearing my wedding ring and put it on a string around my neck and outside my shirt so it doesn't touch me, since my symptoms became uncontrolable a few months after we got married. It's been 3 weeks now and I've been feeling much better the last 4-5 days. I still have to rely on my medications, but no longer take them to make the symptoms less severe. I can't say its permanent or has anything to do with gold, as thi illness is so strange and unpredictable. The bottom line is I have a mountain of uncontrolable gastrointesinal problems. Do any of you have similar reactions? I have never developed a rash or anything on my hands or ring finger, but did have one for years on my chest and face, which is common with may Gulf War Syndrome victims. Anything you could tell me about GI related reactions would be a huge help. Thanks

For Vilma:

I also have SLE & Sjogrens & have become extremely allergic/sensitive to yellow gold. Both 14K & 18K. The allergy seems to be confined to necklaces & earrings. I have worn other metals on my wrist & the same happens, swelling and pain. I can wear Eternagold earrings from QVC only. There's something different about their formula.

I am also allergic to gold. My finger breaks out in bumps if I wear a gold ring. And, for years my ears kept getting infected and finally I gave up wearing pierced earrings. It wasn't until recently that someone said that the gold could have been what was causing my ears to get infected. Luckily, when I got a crown, I remembered to tell the dentist that I'm allergic to gold. I only know one other person allergic to gold. My question is, do you think that I could wear a platinum ring? Has anyone out there allergic to gold tried platinum? Have you had a reaction. Thanks in advance.

I also know someone who is allergic to gold. However she is not just allergic to gold but to any type of metal. She could wear her wedding ring for a few hours before her fingers begin to break out or swell.

It's nice to know I'm not alone. I can wear fake earings with no problems, so I am not one of those with a nickel allergy- but if I put on a gold ring or real gold earings I get pain, redness, swelling and blisters. I can only wear them for a few hours at a time if I'm going out somewhere- by then I can't take the swelling and pain. I have never tried platinum and I was wondering if any of you have had success with that? I had never been able to wear wedding rings and I would like to find out if I have any alternatives that would wor, but it's too much money to spend on an experiment!

After suffering ezcema for at least 10 years, I was tested for allergies, come to find, I am allergic to gold and nickle- great huh? My allergy to gold was pretty severe, but my doc told me it was the nickle i was most likely reacting too...so no more jewelry or even makeup for me since makeup can have nickle in it...so yes there is definitely an allergy to gold...now my poor boyfriend has to buy me platinum jewelery!