What it means to have nickel allergy
I want to share and write about my nickel allergy, what it is and how it can be to live with it. Nickel allergy is when you start getting a reaction every time you come in contact with nickel in food or jewelry. It can vary from a red mark that itches, to itching marks with white bumps. I react almost right away, therefore, I am always prepared with aloevera gel in my back. Keep reading to know why!!
Here is a good website about the symptoms, test and treatments. http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/nickel-jewelry-allergy I got the allergy when I was 10 years old I think. I just would get red marks that itched all over my body. At that time, I used to wear a lot of jewelry that I got from H&M and other stores, they were all very inexpensive and with all kind of alloy in it.
When we went to the doctor for my red marks, we were sent to a skin specialist and I got tested for all kind of allergies. They found out that I got nickel and copper allergy. So all my jewelry with these alloys in it were out. The doctor also told us that some food has nickel in it by nature, so I should stop eating them or reduce how much I ate. It is food like chocolate, coffee, tomatoes etc. It was the chocolate I had the most struggle with, for how can I just stop eating chocolate.
I learned with time how much I can tolerate and to stick to the milk chocolate even when I really like the dark ones. I also found out, that nickel is being used everywhere like in keys and money that you touch almost every day. It is only a problem if I keep them in my hands for a bit of time, instead of letting go right away then my skin starts to react.
If you are shopping online, you need to be careful because there are a lot of jewelry that you can buy that says it is nickel free, when it is not. I found that out the hard way, that is why I mostly buy from brands I have tried before. In Scandinavian and EU, there are regulations about how much nickel the jewelry maximum can contain. With time, I found some brands that I can trust that's actually following the rules, that I can buy and wear.
It is brands like Pilgrim, is a Danish brand that makes handmade jewelry. (I will later write a post about their products)
At times, it is been a bit hard to live with it, like when I was a child and were told to choose the non-chocolate kind of candy, or see jewelry I like but can not wear it because it contains nickel. Or when you eat something you did not know contains nickel and start to itch and get red.
Later on, my allergy started to develop to also itching down my throat and all the way down to my stomach, when I got a reaction to something I have eaten.
When I was in high school, I found out that my medicine could have some side effects if I keep using it for years and years by a doctor friend. That made me afraid of using it, and someone recommended me using aloe vera gel and aloe vera 100 % natural juice.
Since I first tried it I have not used anything else for my allergy. The aloe vera has a cooling and calming effect on the itching and remove the redness. So I use the gel on my body and drink the aloe vera juice when the pain is on the inside.
After 17 years now living with the allergy, it is not something I think about that much any longer. Because I just learned to keep away from the products that contain very high amounts of nickel and to always have aloe vera in my bag and at home.
It’s still the chocolate that is always causing me the problems because I just can not give it up. I try very hard not to forget myself and eat a lot of it, but I think I will always have that struggle.
Hope there is something in this blog post that you can use!!
Leave me a comment if you have something you want to add!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hello We are OddThemes, Our name came from the fact that we are UNIQUE. We specialize in designing premium looking fully customizable highly responsive blogger templates. We at OddThemes do carry a philosophy that: Nothing Is Impossible
0 comments:
Post a Comment