Nickel allergy is no trivial matter. Its prevalence in the population is not agreed upon in all studies, but numbers can be as high as 20%, sometimes more. Nickel can be found in earrings, watches, and coins, as well as metal parts of buttons, belt buckles, and shoes. Nowadays it is easier to find products that are nickel free. However, a newer nickel-releasing culprit is causing allergies, and not many people are aware of its effect yet: smartphones.
A 2011 study in Denmark tested the nickel content of metals contained in 50 cell phones, and found that out of the 50 tested, 9 phones, or 18%, released nickel. Just last March the same group of scientists updated this percentage, saying that now about 25% of cellphones release nickel. Even the new and exciting iPhone 5 was shown to release enough amounts of nickel to cause an allergic reaction.
Think of how many times your phone touches your face, or how often you are holding it in your hand? Many people, like me, who are constantly updating their twitter and Facebook accounts, checking their blogs and emails and surfing the web, are in constant contact with their smartphones.
Thankfully there is a solution. Covering the phone with a case puts a barrier between the skin and the nickel releasing phone surface. Using a plastic earpiece instead of speaking directly into the phone decreases contact time with the face and ear, sites that commonly develop rashes in people suffering from nickel allergy.
It is noteworthy that these studies are two years apart. One would hope that phone manufacturers would start to take this problem into consideration, but the updated study done this last March shows that more phones are releasing nickel. That percentage is going in the wrong direction. Of course, these two studies were done by the same group of scientists, so hopefully more attention will be directed towards figuring out the exact scope of this problem and possible solutions.
Sources:
Jensen, P., Johansen, J.D., Zachariae, C., Menne, T., & Thyssen, J.P. (December 2011). Excessive nickel release from mobile phones – a persistent cause of nickel allergy and dermatitis. Contact Dermatitis, 65 (6), 354-358.
Jensen, P., Johansen, U.B., Johansen, J.D, & Thyssen, J.P. (March 2013). Nickel may be released from iPhone 5. Contact Dermatitis, 68 (4), 250-256.