J. Osawa et al., GOLD DERMATITIS DUE TO EAR PIERCING - CORRELATIONS BETWEEN GOLD AND MERCURY HYPERSENSITIVITIES, Contact dermatitis, 31(2), 1994, pp. 89-91
A case of allergic contact dermatitis due to gold pierced earrings is
reported. The patient developed recurring redness and swelling on her
earlobes a month after the wearing of pierced-type gold earrings, whic
h was followed by the appearance of reddish nodules around the punctur
e marks. Patch tests revealed positive reactions to 0.1% mercuric chlo
ride, 1% gold sodium thiomalate and 0.2% chloroauric acid. We also dem
onstrated that guinea pigs contact-sensitized with a mercuric compound
developed positive patch test reactions to both mercuric and gold com
pounds. These results suggest that there may be correlations between g
old and mercury hypersensitivities.