Metal allergy question

[Sirrahsim]

Is it possible to react in one area of the body to a metal that is just fine in another? I wear high quality surgical steel in both my tongue and nostril piercings. My tongue has never had any problems, but my nostril STILL hasn't settled down and I got it pierced back in November. I'm considering trying a titanium bar in my nostril but I'm not sure if it will do any good. Anyone know??

[moosmom]

Cartilage takes a long time to heal. It was well over a year when I had my cartilage in my ear pierced. Turned out they hit a nerve and I now have a permanent hearing problem in that ear (Unidentifiable inflammation). Sounds like a broken speaker.

I have a metal issue as far as rose gold. It has to be 14 karat, otherwise my finger turns green. And I LOVE rose gold. But it's so expensive.

[Sirrahsim]

Oh I know it takes a long time to heal, I had an ear cartilage piercing that NEVER healed. I cleaned it dutifully and took care of the sucker but finally gave up after a couple years :eek: This isn't a healing problem as much as a skin irritation problem.

[Karen]

If you are going to try a different metal, try something from http://www.simplywhispers.com/ or some other earring where the posts are completely coated in 24k gold. A little more expensive, but gold (pure gold) is nonreactive for the human body.

Donna, "rose gold" has copper in it to give it that color, I bet that's what your body objects to!

[smokey the elder]

Maybe there's a very small amount of nickel or other metal that you are allergic to in the alloy used to make your nose piercing. It depends how sensitive you are to what metals.

[binka_nugget]

I was going to say it might be a healing issue. I've had my lip pierced four times. One took a year to heal, a couple took 6 months and one took weeks.. all in the same location with the same jewelry and care! It could also be something with the actual piece of jewelry (perhaps a scratch that is harboring bacteria, 316L instead of 316LVM, amount of nickel, etc). Trying titanium couldn't hurt though! Surgical stainless steel is generally very safe but titanium contains no nickel, is more readily accepted by the body and the lighter weight might help! :)

[Queen of Poop]

It can definitely be a metal issue. I wear gold in my ears but NO WHERE ELSE!! In my belly button and nose I have implant grade steel and they are just fine, but neither healed until I had the better metal installed.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

My sister-in-law's hands break out really bad when she wears or touches metal for any period of time. She uses plastic silverware rather than metal. She also can only wear platinum rings. She can wear cheaper necklaces though, so yes I'd say you can have a reaction to metal in one place that you may not have in another.

[Sirrahsim]

hmm ok thanks :) When payday rolls around I'll invest in some titanium.

[lizbud]

Wonder if this woman has any problems with her piercings? She holds
the world record on piercings. She has 6000 of them.:eek:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/popup?id=2284437

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Titanium will be good, I can relate! I am allergic to ALL metal except gold. But the doc found out that titanium is great too! And he is right, because now I have an artificial vertebra made of titanium! And I had NO allergic reaction to it!!
Due to that allergy I have never been able to wear a watch. But now I found one made from titanium!! Woohoo!!!