Earrings in early childhood contribute to the occurrence of allergies. Little girls, who had their ears pierced, are more likely to have allergic symptoms not only in the early years of life, but also in later life, according to research of allergists from Jagiellonian University Medical College.
"It does not matter if a little girl, one year old for example, has, gold or silver earrings, or made of other materials. Jewellery contains nickel. This metal very often causes allergy" - told PAP Prof. Ewa Czarnobilska, research team leader.
Nickel in earrings usually causes skin blemishes. "Parents often mistakenly think that the child is allergic to a food ingredient, for example milk, and it turns out that the sensitisation is caused by an earring, which comes in contact with the immune system" - said the allergist.
What\'s more - she noted - the body "remembers" contact with a sensitising metal and in the future, even if the child does not wear earrings anymore, the body can have allergic reaction to objects that contain nickel, like jewellery, metal pieces of clothing, braces, dentures, orthopaedic plates.
High concentration of nickel is also present, for example, in metal pots, municipal water, groundwater near industrial plants; in food products, for example margarine, chocolates, nuts, legumes, wine, beer, etc.
Allergists conducted research on a sample of 428 children aged 7-8 years and young people aged 16-17 years. In 30 percent subjects they confirmed allergy to nickel, which occurred more frequently in girls who wore earrings in early childhood.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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