The reason for this study is the well-known fact that many patients with a diagnosis of atopic eczema and contact dermatitis quite often have problems with the wearing of metal objects, which can potent allergens such as nickel and chromium.
I encounter many patients at work, who cannot wear rings, or any other metal objects, in direct contact with the skin, such as zippers, buckles, buttons, belts and watchbands, metal-rimmed glasses and so on. Briliantina Rings are made of copper and plated with rhodium. Rhodium is a white ductile metal, which belongs to the platinum metal group and has a high resistance to external influences.
The aim of the study was to determine whether patients who often have problems with metal product tolerance will tolerate prolonged wearing of Briliantina jewelry plated with rhodium.
From Spring to Autumn 2013, I had the opportunity to provide my patients aged 3 to 19 years-old with Briliantina rings and earrings for long-term wearing.
The study included patients with ages from 3 to 19 years. In the first group there were girls 3 to 9 years old, in the second group were girls 10 to 19 years-old. Monitoring was carried out from April to October 2013. Patients were advised to wear the ring every day.
The first group consisted of 23 girls. 17 of them were patients who were monitored for diagnosis of atopic eczema or contact dermatitis. I deliberately chose eczematous cases mainly because their skin is dry and does not have the ideal protective cutaneous film. Therefore, it is more fragile and has low tolerance to external influences, in both the chemical and physical sense. Among these 23 girls in this age group, I gave away 24 rings (one girl lost her ring after a month and received a replacement). All monitored tolerated wearing the Briliantina rings well. I have noticed no symptoms of intolerance or allergic reactions in a single case. Subjective evaluation in this age category is problematic. The girls positively evaluated the appearance of the rings, none of the girls or their parents stated any problems.
The second group contained 24 girls. In 13 cases, the girls had allergic predisposition, namely atopic eczema. The other girls - 11 in total - were again observed for other skin diagnosis (acne vulgaris, seborrheic dermatitis, pityriasis rosea Gilbert, psoriasis). All monitored tolerated wearing the Briliantina rings well. I did not encounter any allergic reactions. Subjective evaluation of the examined girls was also positive. In two cases, girls stated that after about 6-8 weeks of wearing the ring, the top rhodium layer wore off and subsequent contact of the skin with copper led to “spotting of the skin”. Both girls were 17 years old, with increased palms sweating. I don´t know whether pursued phenomenon related to perspiration, this is just a speculation.
I had the opportunity to watch 47 girls in a prospective study from April to October 2013. 23 girls were in the age group from 3 to 9 years, 24 girls from 10 to 19 years. A total of 20 girls were watched for diagnosis of atopic eczema. One 18-year-old girl also had a proven nickel allergy. I have not encountered manifestations of intolerance or allergic reactions with any of the girls in either age group. In two cases, the rings caused so-called “stained skin”.
In our experience, the wearing of Briliantina rings creates no skin problems, with an outstanding probability that they are not a potent allergen. We therefore recommend this jewelry to anyone with eczema problems.
Leading Czech dermatologist, Pilsen