Anyone have nickel allergy??

[Zizzle]

Marek's post opened my eyes to another sensitivity that may have an impact on MC. I am allergic to nickel - I can't wear costume jewelry, stainless steel watches, most silver and most gold (particularly earrings). The grommets on the inside of jeans, or metal clasps on shoes, can cause serious itchy rashes too. What I never heard of was nickel being in food!! Some people with nickel contact dermatitis say they aren't allergic to nickel in food, but can you really not be? If you are sensitized, does it matter where the nickel is touching? Of course the dose and duration of contact is probably less in the GI tract, but could nickel in food be aggravating MC?? Could this trigger the mast cell activity? I have included a poll to see how prevalent this might be in our community. Most people report breaking out in rashes or itching from the food sensitivity to nickel. I don't have that, but could I be reacting in other ways?

Here's a list of foods with high nickel content. Note tap water has some nickel in it too.

All Canned food
Food cooked in nickel pots (nonstick are fine)
Asparagus
Beans/Lentils
Broccoli
Corn
Carrots
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Kale
Alfalfa Sprouts
Leeks
Pineapple
Raspberries
Dates
Figs
Herring
Oyster/Mussels
Shrimp/Crawfish
Whole wheat flour
Bran
Buckwheat
Millet
Multigrain bread
Muesli
Oatmeal
Unpolished (brown) rice
Rye Bran
Tea
Soy protein powder
Chocolate/cocoa
Baking powder
Marzipan
Nuts
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Licorice
Vitamins with nickel

[irisheyes13]

Z- I voted no because I don't have a nickel allergy but my 18 y/o daughter (recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes) has a severe allergy like you which she developed as a young child and it has gotten worse over the years. I have to sew a patch inside of all of her jeans where there would be metal contact on those grommets against her skin. She cannot wear any belts with a metal buckle as well and of course all jewelry is a problem if it isn't nickel free. My mom and grandmother both have the same allergy. Although I don't, all 3 of the family members who do have the nickel allergy all have some sort of autoimmune disease (diabetes and thyroid disease).

You bring up an interesting point regarding foods containing nickel so I'll be watching this poll with interest. I never realized all those foods contained nickel.

[Pat]

Zizzle,

I have to wear gold or silver earrings or my ears get sore. I have always supposed it was from nickel. I don't notice it anywhere else. My son was very allergic from birth. Remember the pj's with the snaps on the back? He would get a red dot wherever the snap touched. He had very sensitive skin as a child. He says it is better now as an adult.

With a few exceptions I am sensitive to all those foods according to MRT. Interesting.

Pat

[Deb]

I'm very allergic to nickel (contact) but don't seem to have ingestion sensitivities. I didn't know all these foods had high nickel content either.

[sarkin]

Z - I voted "not sure" - I have had watches that disagreed with me, but not as severely and itchily as you're describing. Earrings, too - but I'm so old now that funky costume jewelry has largely passed me by, so I don't notice it as much.

I would guess "a little, maybe" ;) My niece had this pretty significantly when younger, but I believe has outgrown it?

Interesting....

Love,
S

[TXBrenda]

i answered yes to contact dermatitis but I do have nickel free knee implants. Zizzle, my allergy is similar to your daughter's.

[harma]

I know for sure I have a nickle contact allergy, have been tested for it over 20 years ago. But it this is the cause with nickle in food, to be honest when I read the list which food contains nickle, avoiding it is almost impossible. And if you are going to combine it with the gluten, soy and dairy free diet, above that avoiding histamin releasers, than there will be almost nothing left to eat.

[JLH]

My DD#1 (has a gluten sensitivity gene and a celiac gene) does have a reaction to nickel. She used to break out horrifically from earrings.

[Mags]

So that's why I have so much trouble with earrings and my stupidly expensive watch turns my arm black!

Mags

[Pat]

Harma,

It is possible to live without that list of foods including the dairy, wheat, soy. The only thing I eat on that list is sunflower seed butter. It's not the most fun diet but I am surviving and getting better very slowly. 4 years ago I wasn't willing to do it. I thought a pill would help me but none worked so now I am willing to do or not do (eat) anything I have to to make myself better. It can be done but one has to have the right mind set. I pray that no one else has as many sensitivities as I and some others have. I'm not looking for sympathy just sort of venting I guess.

Pat

[sarkin]

Pat,

Good for you. I can understand why you believed that a pill would help - that is truly the promise of modern medicine. I am still figuring out my foods, and feel fortunate that I have your example to follow (and others). If I hadn't found this wonderful haven on the Internet, I might have been unwilling to restrict my diet as much as I currently am, but now believe that this long slow road is actually the shortcut to healing and a full life. I am feeling much better, but suspect I am still eating something that I'm reacting to slightly.

My friends tell me often that they "couldn't do it" - and I just wait till they say, "yes, I suppose I could." I know so many people with various autoimmune issues, or who take multiple medications (some of which seem to be to undo the effects of others). Or they're just around my age and worried about coming down with whatever their parents are suffering. I think more and more of these things will turn out to be diet related as more is understood.

I don't feel that I don't have a choice. I think this is my best option. And though you're not looking for sympathy, I'm sending you some anyway, and some admiration besides. Being willing to do whatever it takes is what makes firefighters, elite athletes and others 'heroes.' I hope you your path gets a little easier as you continue to heal.

Love,
Sara

[TooManyHats]

I can't look at that list, it makes me crazy.

I checked dermatitis only, but truthfully, I don't know if that's my only issue.

Oddly enough, I can wear bracelets, necklaces, watches, and rings with no problem. Only earrings cause me a problem. My ears become itchy and as the day progress "infected-like". Lately, they've been bleeding by the end of the day. I even wear plastic sleeves over the posts, but the backs are still gold.

[irisheyes13]

Arlene,

There is a solution for that problem at Simply Whispers.

http://www.simplywhispersstore.com/95072.html

All of their jewelry is nickel free and they have different styles of replacement clasps and earring backs that you can purchase separately. Anything I have purchased from them have not caused a breakout in my daughter, mom or grandmother.

Good luck with your ears. That is so painful.

[Zizzle]

Arlene,
I have the same earring reaction as you. At first the earlobes get itchy, red and hot, then they start to ooze and form crusts inside the pierced holes. If I take out the earrings, the holes start to close up. I now wear the same earring every single day - they are made of palladium. I can also wear Silpada brand silver earrings because they are nickel-free. Nordstrom dept store also has a small selection of inexpensive nickel-free jewelry. Most necklaces don't bother me, but the backs of watches and metal bands do. Basically anything that has continuous skin contact.