# Nickel and Crohn's disease



## David

I found this to be fascinating:


> The history of inpatients with Crohn's disease revealed several occurrences of contact dermatitis due to metal ions. Therefore, we considered the question as to whether allergic reactions to amalgam fillings or mercury, delivered in small amounts, could be a factor in the activity of regional enteritis. 23 patients with Crohn's disease (15 females, 8 males), aged from 20 to 44 years were screened by an extended standard patch test (following the rules of the ICDRG). Surprisingly, no case of hypersensitivity to amalgam and/or mercury was found. However, nickelsulfate yielded positive reactions in 39.1% of all tested patients (9/23). In comparison to the normal population this prevalence of nickelsulfate hypersensitivity is distinctly increased. It may be an epiphenomenon of Crohn's disease (sensitization via an enhanced permeability of the irritated mucous membranes for nutritive nickelsulfate) or an etiopathogenetic co-factor. In the latter case regional enteritis might be regarded as an allergic-irritative disease of the bowel.


Source.

A little reading on Nickel in the diet: http://www.melisa.org/nickel.php


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## mnsun

Crazy, never heard of "allergic" reactions to nickel/mercury.  In any case, this just reminded me to swap out my frying pan for a ceramic one--or at least dispose of scratched metal pots/pans.  I'm always boiling water and frying on the stove.

Thanks for the article posting the nickel content of foods.  Definitely something to consider.


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## Beach

Interesting that possibly nickel could be a problem with Crohn's disease.  Additionally, didn't see it mentioned in the article, I was reading last night that when vegetable oils are hydrogenated nickel is used in the process.  Some of the nickel remains in the final product.


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## David

As you guys may know by now, I'm of the opinion that magnesium deficiency plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease.

Magnesium inhibits absorption of aluminum.  Aluminum has been found to possible play a role in IBD.

And I just found this.  Magnesium inhibits nickel as well.  The inhibition of nickel-induced reactive oxygen may tie in with what I posted about here.


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## David

Here I talk about peroxynitrite and Catalase.  

Nickel interferes with Catalase.

*WHOA!*


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## David

Beach said:


> Interesting that possibly nickel could be a problem with Crohn's disease.  Additionally, didn't see it mentioned in the article, I was reading last night that when vegetable oils are hydrogenated nickel is used in the process.  Some of the nickel remains in the final product.


God, I've just been reading about the hydrogenation process.  So basically, the metal catalyst used is either nickel or aluminum due to their cheap cost and BOTH are REALLY BAD for Crohnies.

:facepalm:


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## David

It turns out that nickel can interfere with Zinc absorption and of course, many Crohnies are deficient in zinc.  Zinc is also a co-factor for vitamin D (it is the fingers at the base of the VDR) and of course just about every Crohnie is deficient in vitamin D unless they're supplementing.


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## alex_chris

David said:


> As you guys may know by now, I'm of the opinion that magnesium deficiency plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease.
> 
> Magnesium inhibits absorption of aluminum.  Aluminum has been found to possible play a role in IBD.
> 
> And I just found this.  Magnesium inhibits nickel as well.  The inhibition of nickel-induced reactive oxygen may tie in with what I posted about here.


From personal experience I can say I definitely ain't going to stop taking my daily magnesium tablet... And I agree that any deficiency can screw up one's remission, even magnesium.


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## Cross-stitch gal

I found out that I was allergic to nickel when I first got my ears pierced when I was 10 or 11 years old.  To this day I'm still allergic to nickel.  Can't wear any earrings with nickel or I break out.  Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


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## David

Cross-stitch gal said:


> I found out that I was allergic to nickel when I first got my ears pierced when I was 10 or 11 years old.  To this day I'm still allergic to nickel.  Can't wear any earrings with nickel or I break out.  Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


And yet you're very likely eating it regularly


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## Grumbletum

Cross-stitch gal said:


> I found out that I was allergic to nickel when I first got my ears pierced when I was 10 or 11 years old.  To this day I'm still allergic to nickel.  Can't wear any earrings with nickel or I break out.  Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


Me too.


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## Ya noy

Nickel is one of, if not THE, most common skin allergies, and not only is found in iron and vitamin B-12 supplements, but in many foods, including spinach, oatmeal, soy and legumes.


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## David

Bumping this thread as I think the potential importance is high.


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## Cross-stitch gal

David said:


> Bumping this thread as I think the potential importance is high.


I do think it's interesting seeing how many of us with IBD have nickel allergies...


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## staloffn

this is interesting.  i had tried a cheaper multi vitamin a while back that i did not tolerate well.  when i compaered ingredient levels the only thing that stood out was the cheaper one had alumium and if i recall correctly it also had nickel and the more expensive one had none of these.  when i switched back things settled down.


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## SarahD

Cross-stitch gal said:


> I found out that I was allergic to nickel when I first got my ears pierced when I was 10 or 11 years old.  To this day I'm still allergic to nickel.  Can't wear any earrings with nickel or I break out.  Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


This happens to me too!


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## David

> Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


Sounds an awful lot like how some of your intestines are.  If your skin reacts like this to nickel, just think what your intestines must do when they are constantly exposed to it.


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## Jennifer

Cross-stitch gal said:


> I found out that I was allergic to nickel when I first got my ears pierced when I was 10 or 11 years old.  To this day I'm still allergic to nickel.  Can't wear any earrings with nickel or I break out.  Ears turn red, itch & start weeping.


Me too. Also shouldn't have worn my engagement ring for so long. It was only gold plated but the majority was nickle. The ring slowly tore off layers of skin (was red and always peeling under the ring). I kept it on cause it had my diamond in it. It's mine! My only. My precious.... Anyway, I don't wear it anymore since we got married and made sure that the wedding band was pure white gold (its nice having a friend who's a jeweler, should have used her help in getting an engagement ring ).


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## PsychoJane

I read a paper that also states how dietary nickel cause dermatitis for some. I haven't dug to find other studies that could be related to the digestive system. I wonder if it reacts to it... It's quite confusing when you take a look at the nickel rich food... most are supposed to be "safe". It would worth being considered.


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## prettykitty

Jennifer said:


> Me too. Also shouldn't have worn my engagement ring for so long. It was only gold plated but the majority was nickle. The ring slowly tore off layers of skin (was red and always peeling under the ring). I kept it on cause it had my diamond in it. It's mine! My only. My precious.... Anyway, I don't wear it anymore since we got married and made sure that the wedding band was pure white gold (its nice having a friend who's a jeweler, should have used her help in getting an engagement ring ).


I had a similar problem with my wedding ring!  White gold has nickel in it -- that's what makes it white!  It is typically dipped in rhodium, but as the rhodium wears off, the nickel can leech out into the skin.  A couple of months after getting married, I developed a horrible rash with blisters under my ring!  The solution?  I had to upgrade to platinum!


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## Beach bum

Can you get your jeweller friend to reset the diamond in a different ring for you Jenn ?


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## Lisa

Hmm...interesting...I know I sometimes get red ears when wearing earrings, but I don't know if it is because I don't wear them regularly or because of the metal. 

Now, my MOM has an allergy to metals - ANY kind - even gold! She can't wear her wedding ring, necklaces, even the snap on a pair of jeans has to be protected or she will break out where the metal touches. 

Now the kicker - she was 'diagnosed' a few years ago with inactive Crohns' during a routine colonoscopy!


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## David

Those of you with nickel allergy.  How long does the metal have to be touching your skin before you observe a reaction starting?

Jennifer.  You were in remission for MANY years and only recently began to have some symptoms again.  Out of curiosity, did the onset of those new symptoms begin around the time you began wearing your engagement ring?


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## PsychoJane

That thread is kinda motivating me to work on some sort of epidemiology master regarding this... I wonder if I could find a director interested and/or enough statistics. Even though I am not 100% sure that it is to nickel that I react for me it can take a while... Like I can generally wear my jewel during the winter without having issues but anytime it get more humid I'm getting blisters because it allows it to leech I suppose. When it happened last month I switched my ring to another finger and it took about a week before it happened again. I don't know if it's the time it took before It got moist long enough or it's the time for the reaction itself... I think Ill switch to wood lol. Its safer!


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## Jennifer

David said:


> Those of you with nickel allergy.  How long does the metal have to be touching your skin before you observe a reaction starting?
> 
> Jennifer.  You were in remission for MANY years and only recently began to have some symptoms again.  Out of curiosity, did the onset of those new symptoms begin around the time you began wearing your engagement ring?


Hard to say David. I had also been taking care of my grandpa for a few months prior (that caused a lot of stress and the lifting wasn't good for my arthritis). I'm not sure if I can find my older posts but I got engaged on May 5th 2011. If I can find my older posts about symptoms creeping up then its possible we could make that connection. 

As for how long it takes to notice a reaction, I'd say at most a few hours (I'm throwing some earrings on and will time it). Possibly less. With earrings I notice itching first which eventually progresses from there. With my ring I noticed the skin starting to peel the following day (it was gold plated so I think that's why it took a little longer).


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## SarahD

David said:


> Those of you with nickel allergy.  How long does the metal have to be touching your skin before you observe a reaction starting?


With earrings they'll make my ears itch within a couple of hours of putting the earrings in. I also find necklaces make me itch too and I turn a bit red where they're in contact with my skin, and again that's after a few hours of wearing them. My ears are definitely worse though, they itch very badly and get really red and sore. I no longer wear earrings because of the reaction I have to them.


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## Cross-stitch gal

David said:


> Those of you with nickel allergy.  How long does the metal have to be touching your skin before you observe a reaction starting?


It depends.  Sometimes it takes a couple of hours and sometimes I can wear them for a day.  But, another thing that has happened to me is that I can turn earrings and jewelry green if I can't tolerate it...


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## Jennifer

One hour and 10 minutes is how long it took for the itching to begin.


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## Lisa

With my Mom, it can take only a few minutes to  little longer...wearing pants for a few hours with metal touching her can cause a reaction.


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## David

I created a poll about nickel allergy to see if we can get some numbers 

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=51900


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## David

PsychoJane said:


> Even though I am not 100% sure that it is to nickel that I react for me it can take a while... Like I can generally wear my jewel during the winter without having issues but anytime it get more humid I'm getting blisters because it allows it to leech I suppose. When it happened last month I switched my ring to another finger and it took about a week before it happened again. I don't know if it's the time it took before It got moist long enough or it's the time for the reaction itself... I think Ill switch to wood lol. Its safer!


Now THIS is interesting to me.  A large percentage of people are definitely allergic to nickel and then there may be people like you were the allergy only presents under certain circumstances.  

My theory is that magnesium deficiency in the face of nickel over-exposure is the key.


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## SarahD

It looks like those of us in the UK have another source of nickel to contend with, though I'm not sure if it'll really be a big problem as I expect exposure time will be small unless you handle money a lot (e.g. cashiers, bankers etc). 

A short article about it can be found here.

I'm not sure if you need a log-in to access the paper (I'm at work so automatically get access to a lot of journals), but here it is.

David, have you come across anything that suggests whether we should just be concerned about dietary sources of nickel in relation to IBD or is it possible that skin contact with nickel could also influence IBD? The news coverage this morning suggested that moisturising your skin would help to prevent the nickel exposure and subsequent allergic reactions by forming a barrier between the skin and the nickel particles. I wonder if the same would be possible in the gut, something like slippery elm maybe which becomes a gel-like substance when mixed with water and coats the gut wall.


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## Soybean

I'm allergic to nickel aswell. I don't wear jewellery often cos most of my stuff is costume jewellery, and it causes me to come out in a blistery rash. If I have to wear rings I usually coat them with clear nail varnish first to put a barrier between my skin and the metal. Interesting about the white gold having nickel in it, cos my engagement ring is white gold, and I no longer wear it due to the blistery rash it causes if I leave it on over night.


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## David

PsychoJane said:


> Like I can generally wear my jewel during the winter without having issues but anytime it get more humid I'm getting blisters because it allows it to leech I suppose.


What you mentioned here really stuck in my mind and I've been wondering if I might come across an answer.  I think I have:



> Among metals, nickel in alloys is ionized by sweat on the surface of the skin and exhibits particularly marked irritancy and allergenicity.


Source


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## David

Our nickel poll doesn't have a ton of responses, but at least 40% have Crohn's and ARE known to be allergic to nickel and I'm guessing some of those who don't know are also allergic or have problems when their magnesium levels drop below a certain point.


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## David

SarahD said:


> David, have you come across anything that suggests whether we should just be concerned about dietary sources of nickel in relation to IBD or is it possible that skin contact with nickel could also influence IBD? The news coverage this morning suggested that moisturising your skin would help to prevent the nickel exposure and subsequent allergic reactions by forming a barrier between the skin and the nickel particles. I wonder if the same would be possible in the gut, something like slippery elm maybe which becomes a gel-like substance when mixed with water and coats the gut wall.


I'm slowly compiling the evidence but I believe that nickel exposure actually causes some forms of Crohn's disease.  So if I'm right, the answer to your question is a definite YES.  There is of course a very high chance I'm wrong.  

In regards to your thought about slippery elm, in my opinion, the key is magnesium.  If you have sufficient magnesium levels (not just serum magnesium), it may stop or at least lessen the impact of the nickel.


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## levi

Hmm...this is an interesting connection: I experienced my first symptoms soon after being cut to the bone in my leg by a piece of stainless steel (about 10 pc nickel content)


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## kiny

David said:


> I'm slowly compiling the evidence but I believe that nickel exposure actually causes some forms of Crohn's disease.  So if I'm right, the answer to your question is a definite YES.  There is of course a very high chance I'm wrong.


I posted the Titanium dioxide studies because the only thing that makes sense to me is that whatever is causing crohn's disease has managed to enter tissue. Either an antigen like a metal, or a pathogen like AIEC or MAP. I do not believe it is a reaction against the indigenous flora, that doesn't explain the skip lesions, or the transmural nature, or the fistula. Something is causing an immune response and whatever it is, it managed to attach against or enter the gut wall.


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## crohnsinct

Yikes!  Wonder if O's vegetarian diet has anything to do with her Crohns or her widespread Psoriasis...they say it is Remicade induced psoriasis but maybe they are wrong.  I don't know if I can move her to a low nickel diet.  Can they test for magnesium levels?  I just got them to check her b12 and got them to run the "right" test.  In 5 weeks she goes back for next infusion and I will ask about magnesium testing.  Going to search the forum for that now


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## Amy2

Daughter without Crohn's is allergic to nickel, son with Crohn's could be, but he's never worn any.


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## CarolinAlaska

Very interesting food for thought.  My girls and I are all sensitive to nickel, but I thought that nickel was just a common allergy in the general population...  My girls and I all have GI symptoms as well, but only one of us has IBD diagnosis so far...


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## Trysha

David said:


> Our nickel poll doesn't have a ton of responses, but at least 40% have Crohn's and ARE known to be allergic to nickel and I'm guessing some of those who don't know are also allergic or have problems when their magnesium levels drop below a certain point.


Just found the poll by chance David
I am very sensitive to nickle and my crohn's dates back to that first reaction
occasioned by a necklace containing nickel.
The rash was very blistery and needed medical attention. I was a very healthy individual at the time.
Subsequent to that months followed and then (unrecognised at the time) crohn's symptoms., diagnosed at that time as IBS.Lots of GI problems.
Took years before the crohn's was defined.,and diagnosed by the third GI in my life.
Cheers!
Trysha


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## David

> Some patients affected by nickel-contact allergy present digestive symptoms in addition to systemic cutaneous manifestations, falling under the condition known as systemic nickel allergy syndrome (SNAS). A nickel-related pro-inflammatory status has been documented at intestinal mucosal level. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence of lactose intolerance in patients affected by SNAS compared to a healthy population. Consecutive patients affected by SNAS referring to our departments were enrolled. The control population consisted of healthy subjects without gastrointestinal symptoms. All subjects enrolled underwent lactose breath test under standard conditions. One hundred and seventy-eight SNAS patients and 60 healthy controls were enrolled. Positivity of lactose breath test occurred in 74.7% of the SNAS group compared to 6.6% of the control group. Lactose intolerance is highly prevalent in our series of patients affected by SNAS. Based on our preliminary results, we can hypothesize that in SNAS patients, the nickel-induced pro-inflammatory status could temporarily impair the brush border enzymatic functions, resulting in hypolactasia. Further trials evaluating the effect of a nickel-low diet regimen on lactase activity, histological features and immunological pattern are needed.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21658331


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## ShariN

I had a full battery of metal Allergy tests,, both on my back and through the Melisa foundation....
Some of the metals I am allergic to is, Nickel,  surgical stainless steel, titanium,Silver, Cobalt, a number of different kinds of mercury, but not all of them.

I am ok with Copper and Aluminium.

 I can't cook with pots and Pans with Nickel in them... No Jewelry....
I had to replace my wedding ring with a simple stone ring.... I can wear the fresh water pearls, DH bought me oh so long ago. Nothing else is safe. 
Have to be careful.

My Allergist says it only gets worse as we get older. sigh ~~ 

Have a three page list of foods high in nickel... ad the Colitis, no cow dairy and a diet with 800 to 1000mg of salt a day max... makes it rather hard to eat well.

One reason I have been looking into Hydroponics... maybe I could find a way to grow my favorite veggies... and not have them up take nickel?

Anyway.... 

About 4 months ago, I ended up in the Hospital. General Colitis... but both my Doc and I, think it was triggered by the Clindamycin. I took 30 days of that... and all my symptoms were classic to that class of drug.

Wonder if the Nickel allergy made it worse?  Have never had a problem with my intestines, until that hospital visit.  Turned 50 this year.


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