Nickle Allergies

edited December 2015 in Everything else
Hey guys, I've got an issue. All my life I've dealt with metal allergies, not limited to nickle, with varying reactions. Worst case scenario, I get huge open sores that get infected(happened before). Would this cause problems with any of my future implants? I've even had to get a tooth removed due to a reaction to a silver crown (not pleasant). Any ideas? Especially since I dont know exactly which metals I'm allergic to... (And I may not respond for a while as my keyboard doesnt work on a mobile platform...please fix that)
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  • Step one is to get yourself tested so that you have a better understanding of wht you are dealing with.  You may have already done this. From there it's a compare and contrast situation.

    The easy answer is that anything that causes you distress on your skin will probably be way more unhappy inside.
  • edited December 2015
    For implants, you obviously need to use bio-neutral materials.

    When it comes to metals, there are two that come to mind, gold and titanium. The former not being very popular as it wears off relatively easily, but it has been used in certain cases. The latter is more of the standard. You may have seen TiN, or titanium nitride, for the coatings on the magnets that DangerousThings used to sell.
     
    There has been some talk of getting a vacuum deposition machine up running for the community's own coating pleasure. Not sure if that has made any progress. @Chrionex I believe has been doing some extensive testing on such manners. His youtube channel has some interesting content, you can find it here. I digress.

    For implants that aren't encased or coated in metal, medical grade silcone is the standard. You probably won't have a reaction to that stuff, but you never know. As of now, silicone is used for pretty much everything that can't be electroplated or vacuum deposited on. So again, pretty much everything. 

    Finally there is bio-neutral glass, which is what the RFID tags are encased in. They are really only used for super small passive implants, and can be kind of a hassle to DIY, but there are some guys on here with those capabilities.

    So with all that in mind, recommendations. Again, the idea behind TiN is that it is biocompatible, so unlike nickle or silver, there is a much lower chance of you reacting to it. A quick google revealed that there are some various items that are often coated in TiN. Unfortunately it seems most of them are either drill bits or gun parts. 

    If I were you, I would get my hands on some object coated in TiN, and play with it. Hold it, touch it, feel it, see if you have any sort of reaction. 

    Same thing with gold, it may be an alternative, not a very good one, but an alternative none the less. Do you have problems wearing gold rings? Obviously they are not pure gold, so if you do react to them all hope is not lost. You may just be reacting to some alloys mixed in with the ring.

    There are plenty of smarter people than me though, I wonder what they have to say.


  • @ChrisBot thanks, ill have to look in to that. It may be further mentioned that i have in the past reacted to 24karat gold earrings. Everyone that I mention it to says its "impossible" because 24k is supposedly pure. I dont know what the stats are for that and the it occurred a long time ago so they may have been plated and i was reacting to that. Though i also react to shaving so i wonder if since running a blade over the skin causes me to react (severely)  if i might react also to have a needle poked into my skin repeatedly (as with getting a tattoo). Though on the other hand I used to be a pretty major cutter and experimented with different blades and never reacted to any of those. Any thoughts? Thanks.
  • Do you have tattoos already? If you have metal allergies, even the minute traces of metals used to make tattoo ink pigments could be a problem for you, far more than the needles. I found out after the fact that my tattoo artist used a nickel-based ink for black. I've never had problems with nickel before, but when my pollen allergies flare up, the black lines in my tattoo swell.
  • Nope, ive been too concerned about this to go out and get one though i really want to. Im a bit nervous about the black ink now because that poses a definite problem. Though im not completely sure what ALL metals im allergic to, I know that nickel is definitely one of them. Im allergic to adhesives too, so no fake tattos, stickers, or tape. i just dont want to get an implant and then have to hide in my house for a month because i reacted to it. @katzevonstich

  • >~<


    @EmberErikson, Glims has the right idea. You really should simply know what's what before doing anything. Honestly, I'd suggest it for your health to just know 'play wish this, not with that, etc'.

    Go find out what's bad for you. ^^
  • edited May 2016
    thanks @zerbula i just have to find a way to get my hands on the other metals. Ive been meaning to get myself tested anyway for other reasons i just have to get it covered by my insurance. And find time to do it. Ugghhh. I guess we'll see. Ill keep you updated because i know other people have similar sensitivities. 
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