Allergic to Your Cell Phone?
I have heard of people addicted to their Blackberry® (not me of course), but allergic to your Blackberry? Turns out, it is possible.
An 18-year-old patient from Rhode Island was found to be allergic to his cellphone. The case was reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. He presented with an itchy rash on his face as well as on his abdomen.
Rashes on the abdomen sometimes indicate a nickel allergy. The snaps in jeans and belt buckles are often made of nickel and contact the skin on the lower abdomen. Suspicious that the rash on the patient’s face could also be to nickel, the dermatologist tested the cellphone — it was strongly positive for free nickel.
The patient changed to a nickel free cellphone and his dermatitis cleared. When he went back to using his old cellphone the rash returned.
The dermatologists published a list of cellphones that contained nickel here. You can also order your own nickel test kit to use at home here.
Bercovitch L, Luo J. Cellphone contact dermatitis with nickel allergy. CMAJ. 2008 Jan 1;178(1):23-4. Copyright 1995-2008, Canadian Medical Association.
Photo: Derek Olson (flickr)
Wow. You never hear of these things. At least I never hear of these things. An allergy to cellphones. Hmm
I had the same problems with my jeans, jewelery, belts, and now my cell phone. My face would break out in a big red circle on the right side of my face. Its soooooo frustrating! And it seems to just get worse the older i get. The best advice i can give to anyone allergic is to just stay away from it completely. Patches can cover up spots in your jeans, I have a lot of glass jewelery with ribbons instead of chains. Just remember to watch everything when you put metal on because even if it does say its another metal it could still have some. And if you see signs pay attention! My doctor had no idea what it was when i was in middle school and high school. I’m twenty now and I’m finally understanding exactly what it is. Good Luck!
Your blog is so informative ? Great work!!!
Ohhh.. Perfect job ! thanks a lot.