What sort of earrings won't make my ears react?

[SophieJenkins]

I've had pierced ears since I was about 11 but rarely wear earrings now as they seem to make my ears weep a little.

Is this normal? It can get a bit sore. I wondered if it is best to wear a certain type of metal, but honestly don't have a clue what sort is best.

Has anyone else got this problem? I'd like to be able to wear them again.

Try solid gold studs first.

Do you have this problem with gold or silver ones?

Cos I heard they are the only ones which should be worn....

Junk jewellery will often upset ears, I stick to gold & have no problems then

I think silver is supposed to be the least allergenic of all the metals
Sounds like your ears may be infected though, might be worth getting them looked at. Definitely not usual for them to weep.

the only metal i can use is titanium!

You probably have a nickle allergy. Avoid anything that is not silver or gold. I have this and can't wear earrings at all now

Titanium is actually the least reactive metal for piercings. Have a look at a body jewellery shop like Jobananas.com for rings and barbells (which are no different to studs really).

Silver or yellow gold are all I can reliably wear, I have two white gold pairs, one are fine, the others are only ok for a couple if hours. As I don't generally like yellow gold I wear silver 99% of the time.

If I do get itching I dab on lavender oil and it sorts it really quickly, nothing else I've tried is as good.

Oh and lavender oil was the only thing that worked when I first had this problem and they were all weepy and crusty, they were normal again after a couple of days.

There's an EU directive with strict limits on the use of nickel in jewellery now, so in theory cheaper metals now should be fine, but I've been avoiding them for 20+ years now and don't really want to take the risk.

Oh wow, thanks for all the quick answers!

It isn't exactly weeping - it's like a whitish stuff (sorry), it can sort of build up a bit over time in the hole too.

But having them in makes my ears go 'eh? what's this' a little bit iykwim!

I've just tried some brand new silver ones and they were Ok for a day but did get a little sore. I've taken them out now.

Maybe titanium is worth a go then, I did wear solid gold at first and think they were Ok. So maybe I'll try some simple gold ones first.

Thanks again.

my daughter didn't used to be able to wear cheap earrings but now she paints them with clear nail varnish before each wear and they are fine.

Oh will try lavender oil too! Thanks for that.

I get this, especially with anything gold plated to the point that my ears bleed and swell round the piercing hole so now I only wear sterling silver or body jewellery that's stainless steel or titanium like you'd get from a piercing/tattoo shop. I have a lip piercing as well and can only wear either stainless steel or titanium in it or else it reacts, i can't even wear fancy 'balls' on the end of the bar unless I know they are 100% stainless steel or titanium.

I buy sterling silver ones in Accessorize. They have the advantage of being cheap too. :)

These are pretty

OMG, painting cheap earrings with clear nail varnish. That's really taken me back to my teenage years in the 80s. Had completely forgotten about that

I have 10 'standard' piercings in my ears and regularly had the same problem despite wearing only silver earrings. The only thing that solved my problem was getting silver sleeps and leaving them in for 6 weeks, spraying savlon on daily. Had them done (not all 10!) for 25 years and still have probs, some people are just very sensitive, if you like your piercing it's worth doing the sleepers/savlon.

Disinfect your earrings before wearing them, clean your lobes too. It helps me but my ears seem to go through phases!

Wash hands. Clean with antiseptic liquid front and back of ear. Use the titanium gold and silver sleepers mentioned above. Dip the backs of the sleepers in antiseptic cream. Push them (cream and all!) into the ear. soak or dip the backs too before using repeat daily.

Although if they are actually weeping I would be tempted to visit the doctors. Especially if it doesn't clear quite quickly

Silver earrings make my earlobes feel really hot and uncomfortable whereas cheap earrings are usually fine.

'925' or sterling silver contains small amounts of other metals such as copper or zinc, so it could still cause a reaction. Titanium, Niobium or surgical steel earrings are worth looking out for. Or as already mentioned, coat earring posts/wires with clear nail varnish before wearing.

I am allergic to most metals. The only earrings I can wear are 9ct gold, which gives me no problems at all.

Titanium for sure is best

Go to a proper piercing shop and get them to take a look, and they will tell you free of charge exactly what's causing it and what to do to fix it. I suspect they will tell you to use titanium, tempered glass, or Bioflex - all of which are totally non-reactive and shouldn't set off any allergies. Gold and silver are mixed with other metals and should be avoided, including the 9ct and sterling varieties.

Titanium is worth a go. Both my DTDs had problems and I swapped their studs for small titanium sleepers and they are fine. We also have some small titanium studs. Got them all from here earrings

Painting with clear nail varnish definitely works.