Q. I developed a lot of irritation from earrings that I was once able to wear. The piercing on one ear kept crusting and closing up, which made poking an earring through it painful. I had scabs on my earlobes–not very attractive.
I started cleaning my earrings with toothpaste. I scour the fittings well between finger and thumb, rinse and rub with a towel. Then after putting them in, I dab steroid cream on both sides of the earlobe.
My ears are healed, and I can wear my earrings as long as I clean them before I put them in. I don’t need to use the cream any more, and the earrings are so comfortable I forget and get into bed wearing them.
A. Thanks for the tips. Other readers have found that coating the wires or posts with clear nail polish prevents a reaction. Some use liquid bandage on the earlobes before inserting the earrings.
Occasionally the reaction to earrings is due to a nickel allergy. Hypoallergenic posts or wires may help with this. Here is one reader’s report on her son’s experience, which did not involve earrings:
“My son had a nickel allergy that presented as a rash where the button of his jeans were. Topical meds prescribed by the doctor worked just fine. However, as he grew, he would not tell me his tummy was broken out, and within a few weeks, we’d see the rash on his elbows, back, knees, even on his neck. The nickel allergy had moved to a systemic state and the topical no longer worked. So, I now cover all of his jeans buttons with a tiny piece of fabric I sew on by hand (he’s 20 and still brings his jeans to me to “fix” and he’s careful about jewelry that has nickel in it. He no longer gets a rash at the spot where the nickel touches, it comes out elsewhere, so he has to be cautious.
“I had a nickel allergy as a teenager, but seemed to have outgrown it by the time I was in my 20’s, but I was also careful not to expose myself to nickel, and I think that helped.”
