My Love My Lord
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I suppose it could IF, although I dont know for sure. I've always just been told steel or gold only...
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Piercings...
- Thread starter My Love My Lord
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InnocentFacade
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I ask because I do have a nasty reaction to gold earrings. My dermatologist and PCP as well as my bff piercing buddy are all mystified as to why considering it is supposed to be hypoallergenic . . . strangely enough, my ears are fine with sterling silver and of course, stainless steel. Maybe my ears are just protesting me spending money I don't have 
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GreyMac
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Karat Gold is not really hypoallergenic. Gold used in jewelry is almost always 14k or at best 18k gold ALLOY. It is actually against federal law in the US to use the terms "solid gold", "real gold" or "pure gold" when talking about anything other than 24 karat pure gold as it comes from the ground. 14 k gold is is actually an alloy composed of 57 percent real gold, and 43 percent copper. White gold is alloyed with nickle, and nickle is the most common metal allergy in the world. Sterling silver is 92.5 percent silver and only 7.5 % copper (or more rarely, nickle). This is why you will often see the advert :"Nickle-Free Silver!" Now, only Mexico and China routinely use nickle in their Sterling. Thailand, Isreal and Italy pride themselves on very good quality nickle-free Sterling.
Very few people are allergic to pure silver and most don't react to the small amout of copper in Sterling Silver. Pure silver is very soft, softer even than pure gold. A small amount of copper added to other metals has the interesting effect of making the combination harder than either of the metals alone.The 7.5 % copper added as a to silver makes it much harder and that 7.5% copper is what makes silver, by definition, "Sterling" Silver.
Stainless/surgical steel, pure 24k gold, pure silver and titanium are about the only metals that the body does not normally reject. Although 18 and 22k yellow gold are also well tolerated by the body.
Um, have I mentioned that I've been a jeweler?
Most plastics/acrylics are completely inert and do not cause problems with rejection. Their problem is they are much harder to render reliably sterile since they don't tolerate boiling or autoclave/hi-temp steaming. Chemical strerilization such as alcohol or other 'dips' are more expensive. By the way, alcohol cannot "cause" an infection. What alcohol does do is dry out the skin with repeted applications and can, if used too much, cause damage to the skin by drying it out to the point that it is easier for an oportunistic microbe (such as those on earrings that you may be trying on in the store?) to get established.
The "alcohol causes infections" thing is a myth started by companies who sold cleaning kits for piercings, including ears.
There! Way the hell more than you ever thought you'd need to know about the metalurgy of jewelry.
Very few people are allergic to pure silver and most don't react to the small amout of copper in Sterling Silver. Pure silver is very soft, softer even than pure gold. A small amount of copper added to other metals has the interesting effect of making the combination harder than either of the metals alone.The 7.5 % copper added as a to silver makes it much harder and that 7.5% copper is what makes silver, by definition, "Sterling" Silver.
Stainless/surgical steel, pure 24k gold, pure silver and titanium are about the only metals that the body does not normally reject. Although 18 and 22k yellow gold are also well tolerated by the body.
Um, have I mentioned that I've been a jeweler?
Most plastics/acrylics are completely inert and do not cause problems with rejection. Their problem is they are much harder to render reliably sterile since they don't tolerate boiling or autoclave/hi-temp steaming. Chemical strerilization such as alcohol or other 'dips' are more expensive. By the way, alcohol cannot "cause" an infection. What alcohol does do is dry out the skin with repeted applications and can, if used too much, cause damage to the skin by drying it out to the point that it is easier for an oportunistic microbe (such as those on earrings that you may be trying on in the store?) to get established.
The "alcohol causes infections" thing is a myth started by companies who sold cleaning kits for piercings, including ears.
There! Way the hell more than you ever thought you'd need to know about the metalurgy of jewelry.
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My Love My Lord
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I just remember when I was a kid, my mother always told me I couldn't wear fake gold in my ears because they got infected... Well, one Christmas, my aunt gave me a pair of gold earrings. I must have been 8 years old or so... I stood up in the middle of the family room and yelled clear across into the living room to my aunt, "Aunty, are these REAL gold, 'cause I cant wear FAKE gold..."
I still get razzed for that at family events
I still get razzed for that at family events
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Obedient Little Puppy
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Haha...and were they real or fake gold?
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My Love My Lord
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They were real.... lol
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Obedient Little Puppy
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Cool
So how are your nipples doing now, still healing well? Did they swell up much when the piercing was done?
So how are your nipples doing now, still healing well? Did they swell up much when the piercing was done?
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My Love My Lord
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No, actually, they didnt really swell at all from the piercing... The boobs are still on the mend. Im not 100% yet, but I am getting there... lol They're no longer painful throbbing rocks, so thats a major plus.
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Obedient Little Puppy
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Cool, does that mean we will get pics soon?
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InnocentFacade
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Thanks GreyMac! My mom is actually a jewelry snob and so I'm pretty much not allowed to get things from normal stores *rolls eyes* and I get all my jewelry from a gemologist (or someone with some fanciful title)
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