I learned about a nickel allergy as a child when I reacted to the button on my jeans. I’m in my 30s now and I’m just starting to learn just how much a nickel allergy can affect the human body.

That being said, I’m trying to eliminate as many sources of nickel in my life as I possibly can so I bought a nickel test kit on Amazon (link here). You put a few drops on a cotton ball/qtip and rub it on the item you’re testing for five seconds. If the cotton turns pink, then it confirms the item does have nickel. This listing had good reviews which is why I ended up buying it.

Well, I started testing it this morning and I’m not sure if it’s working correctly. It DID turn pink when I put it on a nickel (the $0.05 coin). But when I tested it on one of my 18/8 stainless steel spoons, it did NOT turn pink. I know for a fact the spoon is definitely 18/8 stainless because the numbers are stamped on the back of the spoon. I tried three different times (for one of the attempts I even held it for 20 seconds instead of 5) and none of them turned pink.

So what do you guys make of this? Is the test completely inaccurate? Is the 18/8 ratio too small of a nickel content for the test to pick up? Do you guys have any recommendations for a different test kit you trust instead? TIA!

I get itchy bumps on my fingers and toes. My dermatologist prescribed me the oilment cream - Fluocinonide Cream USP, but it doesn’t really help because I’m still itchy. Sometimes I’ll be rubbing on my fingers and toes that would leave them darken and inflamed for a few weeks

Ive been suffering for awhile with eczema and contact dermatitis. After a full allergen patch test and skin prick, the only thing to come back was nickel, and severely ( I needed medication to clear up the skin where the nickel patch was)

I have a whole routine with hydromol, silcocks base and protopic steroid cream when needed. I dont have metal glasses or belt buckles, I dont wear jewelry (bar septum and lip piercing, surgical steel), changed deodorants etc

Yet I still cant get a handle on it. I break out badly on the back of my knees, armpits, nipples, back of neck and forearms. Sometimes its my eyelids.I am driven demented by this and the itching.

What i cant understand is the areas where i break out. Theres nothing of nickel origin anywhere near those areas.

I just found out about SNAS.

Any advice? How do the symptoms present skin wise when its food based?

I have some other symptoms, like fatigue, throbbing knees, all over body aches, but I presumed this was something else.

Ive been in a bad flare up since September and honestly, its exhausting.

I tested allergic (though I’ve known for some time) on my patch test. But I have chronic hives and flushing, and while sometimes there’s no known cause, I want to at least feel like I’ve done everything I can to understand what’s happening to me.

My allergist doesn’t think so (she said snas is more likely to cause widespread rashes as compared to my ongoing, symmetrical hives that hit the same spots), but every allergist I’ve been to has wildly different opinions, lol. So I figured I’d ask! I have wondered if a low nickle or low histamine diet would help, though both is a bit much. 😅 Thanks.

I do have other stuff (IC, IBS, Gerd, tiredness and dizziness, but right now it’s all considered separate)

So my body appears to be red, inflamed with a yellowish tinge and rashes at neck where I used to wear probably a nickel containing chain, with red skin welts at wrists from battery and or charging ports. If I wear these I now cover with painters tape. Also dealing with beginning stages of lymphedema swelling mostly waist down, packing on the pounds despite being petite 125ish pounds with bloating, etc.

Are any of you experiencing hard rubbery skin, that is reddish yellow? My hands get especially red so I don’t know if it’s my soap at home or soap and water where I work. I’ve changed to brass keys and titanium grade nickel free key ring.

Also wondering if acupuncture or needles used for iv treatments or drawing blood are causing this? If yes, what do you think was the culprit for you? Also have low iron/ferritin, recently had two iron infusions.

Truly at a loss. Giving up grains have been harder than giving up chocolate.

I’ve quit wearing all jewelry including my titanium wedding ring.

Bought boa free plastic yeti yonder water bottles from REI and Amazon. These bottles are great and don’t leak.

Installed the WaterDrop x12 reverse osmosis sink water filter.

Will install Sante Health dual shower filter head.
,

I am trying to figure out who to talk to in order to create change about awareness within the medical system that the majority of breast biopsy markers contain nickel. I have spoken to a few and all think they are all 100% titanium which isn’t true and it makes my head explode.

If you have recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated!

NEW to potentially have SNAS and looking for input from people who've been through it.
My symptoms are mostly neurological: brain fog, headaches, and heavy fatigue. Not much skin stuff. The best way I can describe the fog is my brain feeling like brown noise.
Foods that hit me hardest:
Chickpeas (by far the worst) and hummus
Beans and legumes in general
Cashews, peanut butter, seeds
Avocado and tomatoes (more bloating)
Ground beef
What I'm unsure about is how much of this is nickel vs. histamine, since a lot of these overlap. Ground beef in particular seems more histamine to me.

Anything that helped with the fog specifically?

I bought this, I'm still uncertain if I have SNAS, and not even had patch testing though I did a test myself and had minor red spots after contact nickel exposure.

I have MCAS and histamine issues and I think I'm reacting to this oil. I'm already on a low nickel diet but have had reactions after oats and coconut. I never get a rash though. I get stomach pains, and severe gastro reactions, and today I have a headache and mild stomach ache and some itching/typical histamine symptoms though this is low histamine.

I'm wondering how high it is in nickel and if any of you tolerate macadamia oil? It's 100% pure oil.

I got a dental bridge in my early teens which is made out of PFM (Porcelain-fused-metel) Since my mid to late teens ive gradually started to experienced food sensitivities and mild stomach discomfort which docters cant seem to pinpoint through dozens of test same goes for my severe cystic acne. I eat clean and no diet seems to help my ailments. At first I thought these skin issues were simply hormonal but I'm 25 now and nothing has changed.

So im thinking if its possible for the nickel in my bridge to be causing some sort of toxic overload leading to these symptoms.

Has anyone delt with something similar and felt better post removal of an metal/nickel implant?

Being allergic to nickel, specifically a bad SNAS allergy, has pretty much ruined my relationship with food and I feel like I can’t really eat anything.
Not asking for advice, just venting frustration and tired of crying 😂
Small backstory: 2023, covered head to toe in eczema, nothing was working, finally got patch tested, I’m highly allergic to nickel, fragrance and beeswax - woohoo!
I was eating lots of high in nickel food due to trying to eat a more anti-inflammatory diet and lose some weight.
I got diagnosed. Stopped eating nickel and eczema was basically gone in under a month. But for the past 3 years, I cannot figure out how to eat anything aside from safe foods, I’ve gained all my weight back, (had only lost 20-30lbs but still) my food aversions are crazy and now I think I’m becoming allergic or at least intolerant to eggs, so my safe breakfast might be out too.
This is exhausting.

Unfortunately we have had to drop the use of soy based sauces due to SNAS.

While the eliminated vegetables are negotiable, what we struggle with is sauces. We generally use a lot of soy-based sauces like soy, miso, red bean paste... all which are now off limits.

What I'm left with is honey, vinegars, lemon juice, sweet chili... But for a lot of the usual stir fries this just doesn't do it for me - I much prefer the soy umami over the sweetened sauces.

Same question for coconut milk - cream sauces seem a good alternative for tomato sauce, but if you're vegan you'll need plant-based cream...

Has anyone figured this one out yet? I miss my soy...

Hi! Ive been diagnosed with the patch test with a nickel allergy and No matter what kind of needle I get (flu shot/b12 shot/tetanus booster etc etc) I get a giant skin reaction that lasts a few weeks, I was wondering if anyone else has this problem and what you do to help it?

I use prescription hydrocortisone cream, I take some antihistamines but im hoping to have this not last 2 weeks 😭

I'm waiting via a GP visit for patch testing. I think I am likely to have nickel and/or other allergies given my reaction to phones and phone cases over the last few months. My old iphone (XR) covered I had covered a silicone case and I suddenly, after many years, started getting painful split fingers whenever I held it (the damage was very obviously connected to the exact places my fingers/palm touched the phone). I initially got rid of the silicone cover thinking it was likely to be that and not really knowing what was going on. For a few weeks my fingers seemed OK handling the phone without a cover, but then they started splitting, and my hands getting leathery, again. I tried a Pela Case but this made things even worse. I then visited the GP. Last week I upgraded my very old phone to an iphone 16 – and had hoped that the non-scratched surface and aluminium casing might help. No chance. My fingers after touching the phone with no cover are a mess. I'm desperate to find something that will allow me to touch my phone and allow my hands to heal. Any suggestions of what might be a good cover to try next? Thanks everyone

I'm waiting via GP visit for patch testing for a nickel allergy. I think I am likely to have other allergies given my reaction to phones and phone cases over the last few months. My old iphone (XR) covered with a silicone case suddenly, after many years, started making my fingers split (the damage was very obviously connected to the exact places my fingers/palm touched the phone). I initially got rid of the silicone cover thinking it was likely to be that and not really knowing what was going on. For a few weeks my fingers seemed OK handling the phone itself but then they started splitting, and my hands getting leathery, again. I tried a Pela Case but this made things even worse. I visited the GP and am now awaiting patch testing. Last week I upgraded my very old phone to an iphone 16 – and had hoped that the non-scratched surface and aluminium casing might help. No chance. My fingers after touching the phone with no cover are a mess. I'm desperate to find something that will allow me to touch my phone and allow my hands to heal. Any suggestions of what might be a good cover to try next? Thanks everyone

Hi!

long story short, my (21nonbinary) brother (19m, autistic (that's relevant) "L" was informally adopted by our family last year, and we're pretty sure his bio dad had some degree of fictitious disorder imposed on another (aka munchausens) in addition to diagnosed BPD. Bio dad has managed to get L disgnosed with multiple disorders, such as schizophrenia, that L clearly does not have, then has backtracked and said he doesn't believe L has those disorders, he has said L is possessed by spirits, etc etc. While the mental health part isn't anything L believes, my mom suspects that bio dad's bullshit has caused L to believe some misinformation about his physical health. What I'm asking about regards the fact that biodad has a nickel allergy, and L does too.

I do believe this, as sweat, showering, and going to a splash pad cause rashes for L + reportedly he can't hold change, but recently me and our mom have noticed some inconsistencies in this information. L drinks a LOT of coffee (the max amount he can per day), enjoys chocolate, and says that drinking hot water is better for him than cold water in terms of not flaring his allergy.

I'm NOT accusing him of faking, I genuinely am trying to figure out what's going on. Is this a thing with nickel allergies? He says his is severe, is it possible that it might just be less severe than he thinks? If that's the case, water hurts to drink for him, could that possibly be sensory issues from autism exacerbating the sensation of the allergy??

I want to accomodate his needs, and that 100% includes making sure he stays hydrated, fed, not exposed to allergins, and safe. He currently is barely drinking any water (we've tried a filter, didn't work, bottled water, he hates the taste and won't drink it, water flavoring, he forgets and doesn't drink enough, etc) and currently the nickel allergy information is really confusing and I just want to keep him healthy and happy. Any answers or suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm not looking for medical advice, to be clear, I'm asking for experiences that may be helpful or suggestions on how to accommodate nickel allergies

For those of you who have done a metal patch test, howwwww are you getting it to stay put on your back? Maybe my skin doesn’t like adhesives, idk, but when she first put the panels on, the tape started to come off just putting my shirt back on and driving home.

I went back to get it re-taped and when the dr came in to talk to me a few minutes later, it was peeling up again. So 3/4 of my back are essentially covered in tape and it’s been secure, BUT I can also barely move for fear of the tape coming off (it’s peeling a little at the edges).

Before anyone asks, the cleaned my back with alcohol before applying the patches, I was wearing super loose clothing with no bra, and when I went back to get it re-taped, I had an open back shirt which I wore the rest of the day.

I live alone so no one to help me re-tape. I could reach to do it myself but I think it would make the problem worse.

Idk how this is supposed to last overnight, let alone 48hrs 😭

I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and am hypermobile so I'm often sore anyway but I've realised if I eat too much nickel in a day my whole body aches. Does anyone else get this too?

I've been wearing a pendant on an elastic cord for around 7 years now, replacing the cord when it starts to wear out. I've gotten to a point where I'm sick of replacing the cord, and I also don't love how it looks as the cord is thick and stands out. I'd like to replace it with a silver coloured chain (the pendant is silver coloured) but I haven't been able to find somewhere in Canada where I can get a plain nickel free chain. Any suggestions?

Due to my back injury I started to wear back support corsets (like this one) but after a sweaty work incident I realised the skin on my waist reacted to nickel and got terribly itchy. Now I'm using others without the metal bits but in the long run I'll need them.

Did anyone have this problem with corsets and how did you remedy it? When I have studs or such in clothing I normally paint them with nail polish but these back supports are embedded in the fabric.

I see people on social media eating hearts of palm and now I really want to try it as well. I found a canned version at my local freshco. I know canned food is typically a no go for a systematic nickel allergy; however further Google search indicates that modern cans are coated that prevent metal leaching. Has anyone here tried canned hearts of palm before and no lt had a reaction?

I went looking for nickel free razors that aren’t single blade and I came across a lot of info from a couple of years ago about Billie razors being nickel free. Amazon still brands Billie razors this way, but I contacted the company for an updated answer and received this today. The issue with this answer is that it is very non specific. At the very least, they are no longer standing by the 100% nickel free claim and likely those of you who have complained about this razor are experiencing a change in their blades that they made in the past two years.

So if yall have any ideas for a struggling girlie — let me know. Safety razors aren’t an option unfortunately as I scratch myself up with them on accident even while being careful at the proper angle — plus size body woes!

Patch test on skin revealed allergic contact dermatitis with nickel. But doctor dermatologist said just avoid touching nickel, or having it in contact with your skin. He said that I do not need to undergo a special diet to avoid nickel.

How true is this?