I saw a lovey ladies Instagram story this week about eczema behind her wedding and engagement ring and wondering what caused it. So i'm going to share all here to help prevent you getting what is sometimes known in the trade as wedding ring rash!
"After years of being ok I've become allergic to my wedding and engagement ring" I've heard these words, or words similar to this so many times over the years. When I hear these words I ask the questions. Do you remove your rings when you wash your hands, shower, sleep and work out? Typically the reply is no. And we have our answer. You haven't become allergic, its your skin reacting to the soap build up, moisturizers, moisture, including your sweat. And now we have hand sanitizer to add to the mix. Your skin isn't being dried or aloud to air and so you get a rash which if left can become very sore. The best way to prevent this is to more you rings up your finger to dry behind them when you have washed you hands. Remove for showering, swimming, working out and sleeping. If you have the rash, you need to remove your rings to give the skin time to heal. If it gets really bad you may need to see your doctor.
Removing your rings is a good practice not only for your skin but also to protect your rings. Build up from all the soaps, moisture etc can make your stones appear dull and need cleaning more frequently. It also gives you a chance to check your rings and see if they need to be taken in for a MOT.
And don't forget to remove when baking, one you could loose a stone but two if you haven't had your ring checked in a while and if you never take your rings off and then are say kneading bread you could be transfer lots of bacteria and soap from your rings...!
I hope this helps.
Rx
First image by Matthew Tkocz and image from from Unsplash.com