Has anyone cured wedding-ring rash?!

[Creakycroaky]

For a couple of months I’ve had a really itchy bumpy rash on my ring finger underneath my wedding and engagement rings. I’ve tried not wearing my rings for a few weeks and giving them a good scrub with warm soapy water. I have good hand hygiene (I wash them frequently with two preschool DCs). I use hand cream daily and have tried putting Savlon on the area regularly. As soon as it looks like the skin is calmer back to normal, I try putting my rings back on and it flares up again! It’s so itchy and frustrating, and my finger swells up so that I can’t even get my rings on anyway!
I don’t want to bother my GP for something so small; has anyone successfully treated ring rash at home, and if so, how?!

Are you allergic to something in the rings?
If it’s white gold, they need to be replated after a few years… maybe the top layer has rubbed off and you’re allergic to one of the alloyed underneath.

*alloys not alloyed

My dh never had an issue before covid - seems to be the hand sanitiser. No tips I'm afraid, he's had to stop wearing it for now

Make sure you're drying under them properly when you wash your hands. As in take them off either before washing or to dry under them (and inside before you put them back on). I'd also recommend only wearing them in the day and taking them off to sleep so your skin airs.

PP may be onto something with the allergy though and you should definitely check that out.

I get this and it's has been worse since frequent use of different hand sanitizer.

Sudocrem works for me, as soon as it starts I slap some on. It's brilliant, clears up within the day

I had this, all the washing is probably making it worse actually. Get some hydrocortisone from the chemist, clears it up nicely (mine got really bad as I left it for ages and it kept coming back worse than the time before). It does still come back occasionally, but catching it quickly stops it getting bad. I was told by a dermatologist that is was eczema, even though this isn’t something I generally suffer from.

Anyway, hydrocortisone and a good emollient hand cream (pharmacist will recommend a good one, they don’t have to be expensive) will sort you out.

I didn’t expect so many ideas so quickly, glad to hear I’m not alone! Thanks!

The rings are platinum so I don’t think it’s any kind of allergy/plating issue. I always take them off at night so my skin breathes…

Drying properly under them is a great point, I’m so used to washing my hands quickly after nappy changes etc that I’m certain I don’t dry thoroughly. Sudocrem is a good call too, I’ll invest in some!

Drying your hand throughly should help. What metal are the rings? Perhaps you are allergic to the metal.

It’s is usual to be allergic to platinum, but not unheard of, platinum can cause an allergic contact dermatitis in some ring wearer. If you google you will see some articles suggesting what you could try to help.

I get this and use lotil cream, tesco pharmacy and boots pharmacy sell it.
It's also really good for chapped hands, a builder actually told me about it, his hands were always cracked and chapped so he said try it.
Cured my sore finger but also I recommend that you wash and dry your hands properly, take your rings off when washing up, washing your hands etc then apply it.

It's not the wedding rings,it's an irritant like hand sanitizer or hand wash that get caught underneath and causes pompholyx excema. It's maddeningly itchy. I saw the GP and got Trimobate cream which cleared it up almost immediately.

Hydrocortisone cream and leave the rings off for a few days while the skin recovers.

Another thing that might be causing the irritation is flour. Do you do a lot of baking?

I had this with a titanium ring. I tried painting the inside with clear nail varnish and it cleared up. Rash didn't return once the varnish had worn off either.

I had this under my ring and it was because it's slightly too big when washing my hands my finger under my ring was getting wet and I hadn't been drying under it.

I take my rings off at night and use Aveeno severe dry hand cream at night and it seems to have solved it.

Sounds like contact dermatitis, antibacterial liquid hand soap is a cause for me and constant hand washing.

My ring is platinum and I have the same definitely an allergy in my case 🙁. Swapped to a wooden one for a few years and no problems. Not that I suggest you do that, but shows it was specific to the metal.

This is something I suffer with even though the rings are platinum. I've found only wearing the wedding ring and not both has helped a lot. Take them off every night and if it's a day in the house I don't put it on then either. This has been happening over the last 10 years and I've found this is the best method.

@GemmaRuby I have unplated white gold rings. It is usually nickel that causes the problem but isn’t used in rings manufactured in the UK so shouldn’t be a problem unless OP has a gold allergy (possible but unlikely) www.jodiegearing.com/white-gold-should-not-be-rhodium-plated/

Sorry just seen update. Takes me a while to reply whilst breastfeeding 🤦‍♀️

A mild hydrocortisone cream will probably be more effective than sudocrem. I get this with any metal other than silver for some reason.

I get this - or at least I have since coronavirus and the insane amount of hand washing I began to do. The culprit for me has been not letting the rings dry. I am now pretty religious - take them off at night, shower without them and make sure my hands are dry and free of any cream or moisturiser before I put them back on.
From time to time it’s flared up again. I’ve used hydrocortisone on the finger and cleaned the rings with a cotton bud soaked in vodka not sure if it’s a good method but it’s much better

Thanks for the link to the article @PurBal, very interesting.