TikToker Experienced Terrible Physical Discomfort for Six Months
TikToker Erin Dunn from Atlanta, Georgia, was absolutely miserable for more than six months. She was experiencing extremely painful rashes on her hands and face, as well as extremely red and itchy eyes almost every day.
Source: Freepik
Of course, she visited her doctor several times over those months, but they couldn’t figure out what was causing the aggressive reaction.
Trying Everything She Could Think Of
Dunn explained in her viral TikTok video that she literally tried everything she or her doctor could think of to try to get rid of these frustrating symptoms.
Source: Freepik
She said that she used medicated eye drops and “crazy steroid creams,” completely changed her diet, threw away all of her makeup, bought hypoallergenic beauty products, but nothing worked.
Finally Figuring It Out
With nothing else to change or try, Dunn felt defeated when she noticed something shiny in the mirror. She thought to herself, “What if it’s the earrings?”
Source: @FormerVegetarian/TikTok
And almost unbelievably, Dunn reported, “I took them out, and my rash started clearing up within 24 hours.” It turns out these little pieces of metal had been poisoning her for more than six months.
How Can Earrings Poison Someone?
The reason why Dunn was being “poisoned” by her earrings is because she is allergic to the metal used to make the earrings.
Source: Freepik
Although she had never been allergic to it before, medical research has shown that it’s actually quite common to develop allergies later in life. So, really, it wasn’t poison in the typical sense of the word. However, her body was unquestionably reacting poorly to an outside substance.
TikToker Realizes She’s Allergic to Nickel
Dunn quickly realized that the earrings she was wearing were made of nickel, and since she immediately got better after taking them out, she concluded that she had developed an allergy to nickel about six months prior.
Source: iStock
Nickel allergies are actually surprisingly common, and most often, people experience symptoms just like Dunn, including rashes, dry skin, irritation, dermatitis, swelling, and even blisters.
The Majority of Affordable Earrings Are Made With Nickel
Unfortunately for Dunn and the more than 18% of Americans who are allergic to nickel, the vast majority of affordable earrings are made with this specific kind of metal.
Source: Quora
Because nickel itself is far more affordable than gold or even silver, companies use the cheap metal as the base for almost all jewelry. Sometimes, the nickel is covered by either a gold or silver plating, but that doesn’t mean the metal still can’t seep into the skin.
Several Other People Noted They Had Similar Reactions to Affordable Jewelry
After Dunn posted her video, the comments section completely exploded with comments from other TikTokers explaining that very similar things had happened to them.
Source: @FormerVegetarian/TikTok
Others wrote messages of gratitude as her story helped them solve their own physical ailments. One user commented, “You helped me solve a year long mystery of dry swollen eyes! I thought I was allergic to my makeup but after seeing your video I took out my earrings and all clear! Thank you!! Life saver!!”
Nickel, Brass, and Copper Can Cause a Reaction
Even those who don’t suffer from a severe nickel allergy like Dunn does may notice that their skin turns a dark green color where they were wearing the jewelry.
Source: Reddit
While this reaction is not technically an allergic one, it does likely mean that the jewelry is made from cheap metal, such as nickel, brass, or copper, instead of silver or gold.
Physical Ailments Can Be Extremely Frustrating
Dunn and many other TikTokers’ stories shed light on just how frustrating it can be to experience physical ailments with no apparent cause.
Source: Freepik
Hopefully, the millions of people who saw this video will use Dunn’s story to think outside the box and find out what’s causing their problems. While the cause won’t always be jewelry, if your eyes are itchy or you’re experiencing a relentless rash, it is quite possible that it’s a reaction to the metal.
Take Care of Your Skin: Opt for Silver and Gold Jewelry
If your body doesn’t respond negatively to affordable jewelry, that’s great. But if it does, even just by turning green, you may want to switch to pure silver or gold products.
Source: Freepik
Several companies also provide hypoallergenic jewelry for people like Dunn who are hypersensitive or allergic to certain metals. When it comes to jewelry, it’s most important to keep your body safe.
A Viral TikTok Video May Have Helped Thousands of People
Social media is widely known as being more detrimental to people’s health than helpful, but in this case, TikTok certainly provided some very beneficial advice.
Source: @FormerVegetarian/TikTok
Dunn’s one short video on her horrific experience of poisoning herself for six months may help hundreds or even thousands of people figure out what’s plaguing their bodies.