Ring Rash

Is your ring too tight? My fingers swell up in the summer months and it gets tight on me...leaving a mark, but its not as obvious as that. Maybe you are allergic to the metal? How often do you get it cleaned? Maybe you're allergic to THAT

After you wash your hands are you drying the spot under the ring? I have to literally move my ring up and dry the actual spot or else it starts itching, so it could be something like that.

My fingers swell up in the summer months & when I have my period (tmi)... Thus leaving a mark on me, I've never seen a ring rash before. I agree with Maltese, You might be allergic to either the ring cleaner or the metal..

I actually got a rash like that a long time ago from wearing a ring. Not sure what caused it, because I am OCD about clean hands, but I went to the doctor because it wouldn't go away and he said it was a fungus - the same kind that causes athletes foot. I had to use Tinactin for it to go away; it has never come back though. It helps with the itching too.

My fingers swell up also. I normally wear a size 8 but got the ring in 8.5 for that reason. I don't have a regular cleaning schedule, I clean it when the diamond starts to look dirty. It's white gold and wore that pretty much my whole life.

I just started a medicine that affects my bodys hormones maybe that's it?

Did you notice it anytime after a cleaning?

Jamgirl-No I don't get under the ring when drying my hands. I will start doing that.

Samantha-lol I have mine now so maybe?

It doesn't hurt but itches a little and stays red.

Maltese-No, it just comes every once in a while, it can be a few months inbetween

My fingers swell every night making a mark and shrink throughout the day, especially in the winter.

This has been happening to me too! I think it might be the combination of dry winter skin and not drying my hand under the ring as others have said. I never got it until I started wearing my band though so I thought it might be from the band and the e-ring combined. But I guess not if it is happening to you too.

It is definitely not from being too tight. I have those marks too but this rash is different.

I have had the same thing twice before in my life. Its really itchy right?

One time I was in Michael Hill (Jewelry store here) looking at jewelry and they offered to clean my promise ring for free. Super nice so I of course said yes. I put it back on and I don't know what they used but it had a bad reaction on my hand. A few days later the ring actually got hot and burnt my finger. I still have a scar. I went back and complained to Michael Hill and they replated my ring for free. They said it was a reaction to the cleaner.

Second time was with my engagement ring. A few days after I first got it I got the same thing. We were worried it was a allergic reaction to the gold. I have super sensitive skin and I can honestly only wear white gold and of a karat higher then 14. Don't ask me why, just the way it is. My ring is 19 karat white gold so we weren't sure why it was happening. I actually had to take my ring off for a week and walk around with a bandaid with polysporin on my hand. It was the only thing that cleared it up. Haven't had it since.

One thing you can ask your jeweler to do is steam clean your ring. It looks just as pretty as when you clean it with chemicals. But that way you shouldn't have any reactions from that. Another thing could be stress. If you have high stress it could be messing with your body. Hope this all helps!

Edit: @Staci my hand looked exactly like that the second time!

Staci-yeah only one ring, it's strange

I'm gonna try to make sure my hands are super dry after washing them and see if that helps.

Thanks Ladies!!!

Ashley, I will do that this weekend. I bought a diamond cleaner and I wonder it I'm allergic to it

I have the same problem. when i got my e-ring it did that and eventually it went away then when i got married and my wedding ring started giving me the issues again. i think it does have to also do with the washing with the hands, with my work i have to constantly wash my hands and use hand sanitizer.

I used to have a ring that gave me a rash and turned my skin blue and green...I would suspect an allergy.

Rosemary it itches a little throughout the day but nothing big. The spot on my finger is skinner lol

This happened to me also! It was about 6 months after I got my eRing. It turns out it was just from me not fully drying my rings AND my hands after each time I washed them and put lotion on. Try leaving it off for a week or 2 to see if it heals. It also could have to do with rhodium, which is used in the making of white gold (if that's what metal is used in your ring). I found out about this potential issue when I had my irritation. Here is what I found on eHow.com:

"Rhodium is used for plating jewelry. The metallic element is commonly used to plate white gold and platinum, where it increases durability, prevents scratching and improves brightness. Rhodium is hypoallergenic and is often used as a protective coating for white gold, which may contain nickel. About 15 percent of the population is allergic to nickel, so rhodium prevents skin irritation. Rhodium is not malleable and would break in its pure form, so you will not find pure rhodium jewelry. Rhodium can be used to plate less expensive metals, like sterling silver or brass. Once the rhodium is applied, the jewelry will look the same, no matter what metal is underneath."

"Plating can wear off in time, depending on use, so your skin could be exposed to the metal underneath the rhodium. The rhodium itself, used as plating or occasionally mixed with other metals to form jewelry, has no documented danger to the wearer of the jewelry.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8745645_rhodium-harmful-health-used-jewelry.html"

^To add to my comment, I called my jeweler to ask about the rhodium. It wasn't covered under my current warranty (which insures the diamonds and their settings but not the rest of the ring. I could have it replated for $40 or I could buy an additional insurance, which is for a lifetime. I chose the lifetime insurance. It was only $230, so I feel that's worth a lifetime of any other issues (resizing, rhodium plating, etc).

I get that also. I find that drying under my ring really well when washing my hands and taking it off at night helps TREMENDOUSLY. I don't need to take it off at night, but I have no issues with it when I do. Additionally, my fingers are a little smaller right now because they're colder and it's winter, so I feel less concerned about it falling off in bed (not any other times, it really does fit, but very concerned about losing it while I'm sleeping).

This happens to me too. At first I thought it was just swelling since my ring size is pretty small, but it's winter so my fingers are actually smaller than in the summer when we got married. I did some research and found that there were two possibilities, soap and water getting stuck under there and causing an irritation, which was very likely for me because my wedding band has an open channel on the inside (wish I knew this would be a problem before I bought it) or it could be an allergic reaction to nickel which is used in small amounts in most rings besides platinum and palladium.

I tried not wearing my ring at all when washing my hands for a week or two but the rash was still there, so I suspected it was an allergy to the small amount of nickel in my white gold ring. These allergies can come up at anytime even after wearing your ring for many years, but once it starts, it's going to be consistent throughout your life unfortunately.

I'm so upset because we spent a lot of money on my engagement ring and wedding band and picked them out together. My DH never takes his ring off and I can only wear mine for a short time, like on outings.

I read online that you can put clear nail polish on your ring and that will protect your finger from the nickel if it is an allergy. I've been doing that for a week now, wearing it while I wash my hands and sleep (when it usually gets tighter on my finger) but not when I shower and it seems to be a lot better. Good luck!