Between 1984 and 2008 the Danish Department of Dermatology skin patch tested nearly 17,000 people.  The results were recorded and provide an invaluable database.  The scientists in this recent study took that database and compared it against the Danish Cancer Registry.  Results were very interesting.

The comparison showed a decreased risk of breast and non-melanoma skin cancers in allergy sufferers.  Contact dermatitis, like nickel allergy, is a result of the immune system being hyper-responsive.  The study suggests that this over-reacting immune system has some benefit in patrolling against rogue cancer cells.

While more research is needed, it provides some interesting clues as to how the immune system and nickel allergy function, hopefully towards an eventual cure!

Here we link to the full study: BMJ Open

However, this would be more of a cure for people that work in a nickel heavy environment, like a battery manufacturing plant or a metal foundry.  It may not be as convenient for people that do not work in such environments.  For instance, it would not help at all for earrings that contain nickel, and it could prove cumbersome to have to apply, and re-apply, a cream just to wear necklaces, bracelets or belts that contain nickel.  Even with the cream it will probably be easier to shop nickel free.

It does show that progress is being made (and someone is actually working on a nickel allergy cure!) so stay tuned for further developments .

Why is this important?  Now that a specific pathway has been discovered research can focus on blocking that specific immune response, it is no longer a “moving target”.  In addition, research has always been hindered by the fact that mice are NOT allergic to nickel so they were useless as test subjects.  Now that researchers know which protein sequences act as the alarm bell they have been able to turn this on in mice.  Now that mice can be made allergic to nickel research on cures can be accelerated.

Another benefit would come from the fact that nickel allergy has a genetic “foot-print”.  Since there is a specific genetic pathway that causes nickel allergy there could soon be a genetic test available.  Imagine knowing your child is allergic to nickel before becoming exposed to nickel and creating a permanent nickel allergy response!

If you want to read more about this exciting discovery click here.

Nokia going nickel free?

While researching the websites of various cellular phone manufacturers we found this disclaimer on Nokia’s website:

“All Nokia devices comply with strict global safety and quality standards. We use nickel at levels well within current legal and safety limits. Our policy is that all our new devices are free of nickel on the product surfaces.

Since as early as 2001, we have voluntarily complied with restrictions on the use of nickel as defined in the EU Directive 94/27/EC of 30 June 1994 amending the Directive 76/769/EEC. This directive was originally targeted for products where the materials often are in direct skin contact for longer periods of time, such as jewelry. In the future, the directive will cover mobile devices as well, and we have addressed this requirement in advance.

Over 40 of our recent devices, such as the popular Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and the Supernova series, come without nickel on the surface coatings or any under-layer, giving people with allergies lots of choice. The information about whether a product includes nickel or not can be found in the eco-declaration of each individual product.

Some metal alloys used on product surfaces, such as stainless steel, inherently contain nickel, but standardized testing has shown that these do not cause nickel sensitivity in the general population. However, Nokia offers a wide range of models without stainless steel on their surfaces as well.”

So you should be able to jump over to their site and look up the exact Nokia phone model you are looking for.  The following link should take you straight there

Nokia cell phone look-up.

They test negative!

Just a quick note to all you nickel allergy suffering, Blackberry and I-Phone lovers out there. We did a nickel content test on the case and trim components of a few recent model Blackberry smart-phones and good news!  The test came back nickel free! We also tested a  recent model I-Phone and it tested negative as well.  We expect this to be a growing trend with manufacturers as nickel use, and the problems with nickel allergy, become more well known.  We will keep testing various brands and let you know what we come up with.  Help us research!  Have you ever had a nickel allergy problem with a cell phone? Let us know here!

As you can see we used two bandages to hold the nickel in place.  We left it on for 24 hours.  Our victim, I mean…our test subject… was selected since he has already been diagnosed with nickel allergy.

After 24 hours we removed the nickel patch.

At the time of removal there was no noticeable reaction at all.  In fact, the test subject was surprised by this.  Not so fast!

At 24 hours after removal the skin welted up and turned pink  in a perfect, nickel sized circle.

At 48 hours the itching was intense and the affected area was bumpy and small sores had developed.

At 72 hours peak reaction occurred.  Typical itching, painful and slightly oozing rash was fully developed.  By now it looked much like a poison ivy reaction.

After 4 days all symptoms began to subside and healing was taking place.

10 days after patch removal the affected area was healed but still had a rough, sandpaper texture to it.

We recommend applying Neosporin, or some other over the counter antibiotic cream, to prevent itching and infection as soon as you see a positive reaction.  You do not need to let the rash run it’s course untreated as we did once you have reaction confirmation.

So there you have it, simple and easy to do.  Big thanks to Alex for letting us experiment on him!

Visit our latest site: www.nickelfreebelts.com