OK, according to the site below, (and other sources), all steel contains nickel. period. Surgical steels have a sufficiently low release rate of nickel that they can be used in healed piercings, but not in fresh piercings (and, in fact, fresh piercings are usually held open with gold). If you’re wearing earrings for the first time in a while, the skin may become broken, leaving you more sensitive to nickel.
http://www.bodyartdirectories.co.uk/bodyartinfo/nickeldirective.html
You may get some relief by going with thinner posts/wires. Too thin a post during initial healing and later scarring might have caused the holes to close down a bit.
I have 2 ear piercings I will not wear posts in. Really thin wire hoops were put in the day of the piercing. 25 years later the holes still get irritated if the diameter of the earring wire is too big, leaving me with itchy, weeping ears for a few days. But no blood. As you said, “Yikes!”
I did not wear pierced earrings for a lot of years, at least ten. They were way to tough on my earlobes and all it takes is one baaaad irritation to swear off earrings. Then, two years ago, I got a very nice, relatively expensive pair of gold earrings as a gift. Being a gift, I had to at least try them. I put them in and voila! no irratation at all. However, if I try to put in cheap earring (gold plated or other types), my earlobes get weepy and sensitive. So basically I wear one of two pairs of nice, very expensive earrings.
Just my .02
For pravnik (and cybersnark) as I said before, I got my piercings when I was ten, which was (counts on fingers. . . pulls off shoes and socks . . . ) 18 years ago. I’ve gone long periods without wearing earrings, but I’d usually put some in every 6 to 12 months or so, either for a special occasion, or to make sure that the holes didn’t heal shut. They’re just yer basic, conservative earring holes, right through the middle of the lobe.
Titanium is a great tip–never heard of that in jewlery before!–and I’ll be wary of surgical steel. All in good keeping with my new philosophy that now that I’m making some real money, I should invest in nice things for myself. I’ve got to break the habit of thinking short-term and buying cheap stuff. Better to buy good quality that will last!
Sorry, missed the part about you being ten. It does indeed sound like a nickel allergy. Titanium or quality gold (or even pvc plastic) will likely clear it up.
That said, I suspect that the EU nickel directive is a bit alarmist. 10% of all women? I pierced for two years and can count the number of times I saw an allergic reaction to surgical steel on one hand. I know that’s just anecdotal, but it does make me raise an eyebrow.
My wife has this problem. It’s allergy to Nickel. The solution is to never allow any metal other than 14k Gold or better to touch your skin. Not sure about Titanium. Do not use 10k Gold, Gold-filled, or Gold=plated.
Do you have any problem with the metal back on your watch or metal brads on jeans? My wife is extremely sensitive to Nickel and both of these give her extreme problems but 14k Gold is okay if she doesn’t leave them in her ears for too long a period of time.
I’ve had my ears pierced since I was three, and I’ve never been able to wear anything that didn’t say “hypoallergenic” or “surgical stainless steel” on it. Expensive gold, sterling silver, it all made my ears red, crusty and oozy. I’ve had up to three holes in my left ear at one point, but the higher up the piercings were, the less they healed, and I finally took them out.
I’ve found that any of the “Sensitive Solutions” from Claire’s work fine. I’ve told those that buy presents for me to please never get me earrings. Some lady at a mall kiosk swore to my boyfriend that I wouldn’t be allergic to the silver earrings he picked up for Christmas. Oh, well. If everything else makes your ears icky, just try the standard piercing studs. I’d like to try the titanium earrings myself, though.
One more thing, and I’ll shut up. I’ve also noticed that the more I take out/put in new earrings, the more sensitive my ears are. If you can find a decent pair of earrings you can wear for a few weeks at a time, you might be better off than switching every few days.
Podkayne, if you have a nickel allergy (and it sure sounds like you do) you may be still able to wear silver earrings as well as gold ones. I base this on (drumroll) me. I won’t describe the reaction I have to nickel, as someone, somewhere, will read this whle eating, but suffice to say it’s nasty. Never had any problem with silver or gold earrings. But it is worth taking the time with a pair of gold sleepers or posts to ensure the piercings are completely re-healed before trying other metals.
BTW- titanium is one metal they use inside the body for bone screws, bone mesh, staples, etc. The body doesn’t reject it, it will even grow around it (bone mesh screens that become calcified, fake ribs, etc.). AFAIK, it is 100% hypoallergenic.
For quick indentification, look for metal that is dark but rainbow colored/hued. I googled “titanium post” earrings and got a few sites.
-Tcat
I cannot wear a earrings, rings, watches or pretty much anything other than gold or platinum. I get the weepy, bloody ears within 6-8 hours of wearing ‘other’ earrings. I’ve never been particularly interested in identifying the allergy (nickel or anything else) but finding ways around…
OPTION: coat your earrings (both the posts and any part that touches your ears) with clear nailpolish. Cheaper than what the jewelry store sells. Although it should be re-applied once or twice a week if you’re wearing the earrings consistently, it WILL prevent the problem.
The surgical steel question seems to have been answered, but methinks podkayne is correct in his assumption that the FDA will probably not check every earring manufacturer who is claiming surgical steel. However, as stated, surgical steel posts won’t resolve the issue since there are parts of the earring that will still touch your earlobes that are NOT posts.
Pure gold and silver metals are generally too soft to wear solo, almost everything is ‘mixed’ to some degree. Do NOT wear plating, since gold-plated and silver-plated are about the same solution as my above suggestion of clear nail polish - it wears off after a few days to a week and then you have the ear-thing again. 
Yes, you can… take the offending earrings out and let your ears heal – or at the very least take the earrings out and go buy a pair from a piercing factory intended for allergy-sensitive, and let THOSE heal…
Good luck!!
I also have problems with metal. I can’t even wear 22 K gold. Sugical steel and hypoallerginic jewelry also causes problems. I also played flute for many years and got fever blisters on my chin and mouth from the allergies. I also painted my flute, which was sterling silver, with clear fingernail polish. But if one little area had the polish chip off, I had problems.
I saw an ad once for free earrings for sensitive ears. They guaranteed that it contained no nickel. I ordered the posts and had no problem. I then ordered their watches and necklaces with no problem. I’ve only ordered from their catalog but have seen them in a few discount stores like Walmart. I gave some to my sister who could only wear platinum jewelry. She could also wear their jewelry.
Now all my costume jewelry and watches are from Simply Whispers I still wear my wedding band but can only wear it for a few hours a day (even though it is coated with fingernail polish.) I couldn’t see getting a fake wedding band from a catalog.
Welcome to the boards, phamton! A slight hijack, but if you’re located anywhere near Houston we’re having a HouDopeFest in a week or two. You’re welcome to join!
I’m about 90 miles south of Houston (in Victoria). I was once on this board but faded away. Then when I decided to come back on, I couldn’t remember my password. I could’ve asked for another one but have changed to a new ISP and the email was different. So I registered today under a name I use on usenet. It phamton isn’t phantom spelled wrong but a play on my husband’s name: Pat Hamilton
Bev Hamilton
One more tip, suggested by my wife, who shares your sensitive ear problem: there are plastic earring protectors which are specifically made to address this problem. They are like little plastic tubes that fit on the male portion of the earring stud that goes through your earhole, and a corresponding shield that fits the other part of the earring. These serve to prevent the metal from touching your ear, so no more problem! They are cheap, and transferrable from one earring set to another. They work with any pierced-ear earrings, so you’ll be able to wear pretty much any earring material. Here’s one link, but I’m sure with a bit of googling, you might be able to find them even cheaper:
Another tip: When waiting for your ears to heal, wear hoops, because they move and help heal your lobe faster.
I think the earrings I’m wearing right now are aluminum, actually. I’ve never had a problem with them, as I’ve been wearing them for about 6 months straight.
Weekend jeweler here.
Niobium is another hypoallergenic metal, similar to titanium. It comes in plain gray and also a rainbow of anodized colors. I have two friends with severe metal allergies and they both report that they can wear niobium comfortably.
Me, I’m lucky. I can wear any old junk in my ears, including raw copper.