Hello, I'm Pam! Welcome to Living With Nickel and Iron Oxide Allergies!
Note-This is NOT my back. I took a photo I found online. :)
At first I felt like this was no big deal. I had always known that I responded poorly when I wore cheap pierced earrings and low priced necklace chains. So I avoided those items and didn't consider my allergy to be a life-changer. But this patch test brought information that opened my eyes to how life would change from this point on.
"Opened my eyes"...... the fact was that my eyes were the specific reason why I even needed this patch test. For the past two years, I've been battling eye issues. I've been to several eye specialists, and the most specific diagnosis I could get was Chronic Conjunctivitis (non-contagious) and Ocular Rosacea. I've lived with puffy lids and bright red tearing eyes all this time. The steroid eye drops bring slight relief, but the problem persists. My current specialist said, "The best we can probably hope for is to manage this condition. For most of my patients, this is a problem that continues on." He sent me to a dermatologist, who recommended this patch test. The dermatologist felt fairly sure that I was allergic to the steroid eye drops. But the test results took an unexpected turn with the news of my severe nickel allergy.
The news of my nickel allergy actually became a life-changer. Nickel and Iron Oxide are in virtually everything in my cosmetic repertoire. I'm now tossing out all the make-up I've used in the past (even Bare Escentuals). The Wella Permanent Hair color that I've used for 20 years will no longer be something I can use. There are ways to make my own make-up, and that is my new endeavor. I'm also researching the best alternative for hair color that is nickel-free. All of these kinds of habits take a lot of time both in researching and in effort. And it ain't cheap!!!!
The dermatologist said part of my eye irritation comes from touching my face while I have nickel residue from items that I touch daily. Well, I'm a Kindergarten teacher, and just about everything I touch in the classroom has nickel: scissors, the rim around a pencil eraser, chair legs, staplers, staples, paper clips, doorknobs, keys, gate latches, tricycles, binders, laptops, and more. This was my biggest shock of how much nickel impacts my life. So now I am working very carefully to learn to keep my hands away from my face. When my face itches (like 100 times per day), I use a kleenex to rub and scratch it. I wash my hands approximately 20 times per day and reapply hand lotion to help seal and protect my hands.
There will be so much more that I learn in this process. And I want to share this experience with you. I've always embraced a fairly healthy lifestyle, with vitamins, supplements, natural therapies, essential oils, as well as allopathic medicine. So diving into information about how to handle this new diagnosis is somewhat familiar. I'm looking forward to hearing from you, as well. Why not share what we learn, and save each other time and health?
Here's to living nickel free! God bless us all in our nickel allergy journey.....
