The overwhelming fact with nickel allergy and iron oxide allergy is recognizing it is available in so many of our everyday items: cosmetics, cookware, clothing, metal surfaces around the house, and in foods.
Sometimes I'm just not sure if one particular item is causing me unnecessary exposure to more nickel and iron oxide than I should be experiencing. For instance, I have a Sterling Silver chain necklace that I wear on average 5 out of 7 days each week. What if this chain has more nickel than I expect it to have? To me, that is question #1 for anyone suffering with Nickel Allergy or Iron Oxide Allergy
Well, a basic item every Nickel Allergy sufferer must have is a nickel testing kit. Nickel Solution is a well known product that offers answers to these questions:
Here is a simple video showing the steps to take
in testing for nickel:
I honestly haven't purchased this kit yet. It's next on my list of things to do in learning more about my Nickel Allergy and Iron Oxide Allergy. So I'll be getting this soon to start answering more of my questions.
Have you tried the Nickel test kit?
Yesterday, my husband & I enjoyed a day in our local mountains... at Sequoia National Forest, The Big Trees. It's one of my favorite places to go on a day off!
Is "nickel" the only ingredient I need to worry about in terms of my nickel allergy? Or does it show up in other ingredients, and by other names?
As I searched for these answers, I kept finding possible answers on sites for scientists, chemists. Well, I'm embarrassed to admit I never took chemistry class.
All these sites look like a foreign language to me.
After changing my search terms a few times, I started to find some answers. And since it is a bit complicated, I'm copying and pasting the information along with links. I'm not going to pretend I've written this info. But I'm getting a better grasp on more names that will alert me to the presence of nickel and how to deal with nickel allergy.
Nickel is the only element named after the devil. The name comes from the
German word
Kupfernickel,
meaning "Old Nick's copper," a term used by German
miners. They tried to remove copper from an ore that looked like copper
ore, but they were unsuccessful. Instead of copper, they got slag, a
useless mass of earthy material. The miners believed the devil
("Old Nick") was playing a trick on them. So they called the
fake copper ore Old Nick's copper.
Since then, nickel has become a very valuable metal. The most common use
is in the production of stainless steel, a strong material that does not
rust easily. It is used in hundreds of industrial and consumer
applications. Nickel is also used in the manufacture of many other alloys.
An alloy is made by melting and mixing two or more metals. The mixture has
properties different from those of the individual metals.
Nickel is classified as a transition metal. Transition metals are elements
between Groups 2 (metals) and 13 (non-metals) in the periodic table. The
periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to
one another. Nickel is closely
related to
iron, cobalt, copper,
and
zinc.
These metals are close to nickel in the periodic table.
Nickel is extensively alloyed with iron, chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten to produce stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys. Nickel's high electrical conductivity lends itself to many electronics applications. For example, it is the basis of the nickel hydride battery and is an ideal component for ceramic anode formulations used in oxygen generation and solid oxide fuel cell applications. Nickel is also used as a pigment; its addition to glass and ceramic glazes results in a bright green color. Nickel is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity). Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nickel nanoparticles and nanopowders are also available. Nickel oxides are available in powder and dense pellet form for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Nickel fluorides
are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such
as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some
optical coatings. Nickel is also available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds can be manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. http://www.americanelements.com/ni.html
Stainless steels
The majority of the stainless steels contain 8-10% nickel. In all
cases it is the combination of chromium with the nickel that does the
job. Stainless steels are also useful as fire retardant materials since
they retain their strength to higher temperatures than structural steel. The most common stainless steel is the 304 grade with 8% nickel and
18% chromium and the balance iron. This is used for such common items as
spoons and forks, saucepans and kitchen sinks. Where extra corrosion
resistance is required, such as for roofing in marine applications, type
316 is used. This has about the same amount of nickel and chromium as
304 but with 3% of molybdenum added. The balance is again iron. There are many other stainless steels to cover the wide spectrum of demands of engineers and architects such as nickel plated steel (NPS).
Nickel Copper Alloys
These nickel copper alloys are sometimes referred to as MONELor NICORROSand contain nickel with copper and small amounts of iron and manganese. A typical nickel copper alloy is the 400 grade (UNS N04400).
This nickel copper alloys contains 63% nickel minimum, 28-34% copper,
and a maximum of 2% manganese and 2.5% iron. There are also a small
number of impurities kept at limited values to ensure the metal's
properties are not harmed. These nickel copper alloys are used where a higher strength is
required compared to pure nickel. Nickel copper alloys have a wider
range of environments where they resist corrosion but in some
specialised applications, such as strong alkali contaminant, nickel or
commercially pure nickel would be superior. Nickel copper alloys find wide application in oil refining and marine
applications where long corrosion-free life is required. Because of
good thermal conductivity of nickel copper alloys, they are frequently
are used for heat exchangers where sea water is one of the fluids
concerned.
Nickel Chromium Base Alloys
These nickel chromium base alloys
are used extensively in applications where heat resistance and/or
corrosion resistance is required. In some members of the group, where
conditions are less demanding, some nickel is replaced by iron to
decrease the overall cost. Metals fail at high temperatures by both oxidation (scaling) and
through a loss in strength. Alloys in this class are designed to resist
failure from both of these mechanisms. Nickel alloys are not suitable
for high temperature sulphur rich environments. Where corrosion resistance is significant, molybdenum is used as an alloying addition in nickel chromium based alloys. This group of alloys are frequently sold under trade name
specifications but most are listed in the Unified Numbering System.
Common trade names are HASTELLOY, INCOLOY, INCONEL, NICROFER, NICROM and NIMONIC. The more recentnickel chromium base alloys in these groups also have a
wide range of ancillary elements added to give special properties -
some of these can be quite complicated and require very close control
over composition and heat treatment.
Trade Names and Owners of Nickel Alloys
HASTELLOY is a registered trade name of Haynes Intl. INCOLOY, INCONEL, MONEL and NIMONIC are registered trade names of the INCO family of companies. INVAR is a registered trademark of Imphy S.A. MU-METAL is a registered trademark of Telcon Metals Ltd NICORROS and NICROFER are registered tradenames of Krupp UM GmbH http://www.nickel-alloys.net/nickelalloys.html
Once a person shows a nickel allergy, it
remains with him or her forever. So if you have a nickel allergy, it is very important to "get your learn on" regarding all the ingredients that could mean nickel in your foods and daily items that you touch.
The dermatologist's words didn't make a full impact for a few minutes.
My thoughts were, "Ok, no big deal. I avoid cheap jewelry, so I'm good." As the doctor talked in greater depth, I came to realize that I probably touch nickel every single waking minute of the day. I've been applying nickel and iron oxide to my face every day, plastering it on my hair every month, and the list goes on!
The dermatologist's advice:
The diagnosis is the easy part. Now comes the hard part. You will have to become Sherlock Holmes to figure out all the ways you are exposing yourself to nickel daily. Your response shows that you are getting exposed daily. So look for all the items you are touching at home an in your classroom, like scissors, doorknobs, keys, and so on.
And thinking of home... pots, pans, doorknobs, silverware, the dog bowl, leash, faucets, on and on there, too! Nickel Allergies are going to be a pain!
I think I missed about 1/3 of what the dermatologist said, because my mind was fast forwarding through a typical day at home and in my Kindergarten classroom. OH MY GOSH! This is a big hairy deal! The impact on my Nickel allergies really pop up everywhere!
The dermatologist's explanation went on:
Most likely your biggest exposure happens with your hands. The skin on the hands is tough and pretty resilient to irritants. The problem comes in when your hands perspire and then you touch your face. This is what has been irritating your eyes, causing the chronic conjunctivitis and ocular rosacea to appear.
There you have it. After two years of seeing numerous eye specialists, living on steroid eye drops that risk glaucoma in the future, pink eyes, tears, and ugliness. The answer at last....nickel allergies. Some friends respond, "Well, at least you now have an answer." Some days, I'm not so sure I wanted an answer like this.
I'm not proud of how I look without makeup. But this is why we are here, right? If you look carefully, you can see the rosacea on my cheeks and all the ways it affects my eyes. I hate it!!!!
So in the last two weeks I have ditched my makeup,and started researching alternative sources of makeup. Even my reliable and "natural" Bare Escentuals items have Iron Oxide (that is one of the other names for nickel). Makeup is a tough area for nickel allergies. Iron Oxide/Nickel is the ingredient that makes the colors darker. Even the light colors have Iron Oxide. The items are on order and will arrive next week. I'll be writing about my adventures in mixing my own makeup in the very near future.
My hair color is another big problem. There's enough gray hair that I must touch up color every 4 weeks (and that is stretching it about a week too long). Iron Oxide/nickel is included in hair color, too. I've ordered some alternative hair color, and will write about that adventure soon, too.
So needless to say, I'm feeling fairly ugly these days. Let me admit that I'm moderately vain about my looks. I've always felt I wanted to do my best with what I've got... makeup and hair color were part of what made me feel best. This is going to be a learning process.
I'd love to hear from you. If you have any tips or products to recommend, let me know. I'm open to new ideas. I'm always up for new adventures. But this Nickel Allergy, Iron Oxide Allergy is NOT an adventure I'd recommend.
Hello, I'm Pam! Welcome to Living With Nickel and Iron Oxide Allergies!
In January 2015 I went through the 5-day allergy patch test, during which I wore 80 test chambers that were taped on my back. See the explanation of this procedure here. After two days, the tape and chambers were removed. The results showed only two items that I am allergic to... a slight response to blue dye and a severe nickel allergy (iron oxide).
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.....
