Are Your Allergic To Your iPad?

In my practice, I see a lot of pediatric rashes: heat rashes, medicine rashes, ringworm and even swimmer's itch, among others. But now there's a rash that's connected to our web obsessed culture--the iPad rash.It appears that the Apple's i Pad has been cast as the culprit in reports of unexplained allergic rashes in children, according to an interesting story I recently saw in the Washington Post. The paper reported the iPad allergy outbreak from a study in the medical journal, Pediatrics.The study profiled an 11- year old boy who had an itchy body rash which wouldn't go away, who was treated at a San Diego hospital. The Daily Mail, a London-based newspaper stated "the boy had a common skin condition that causes scaly patches, but he developed a different rash all over his body that didn't respond to usual treatment. Skin testing showed he had a nickel allergy, and doctors traced it to his iPad, which he had used daily."The boy improved after he put his iPad in a protective case.However, the 11-year old isn't an isolated case when it comes to nickel allergies. At the beginning of this year, people who brought the fitness tracker, Force- a wearable band-- reported developing contact dermatitis from wearing this device. The manufacturer, Fitbit recalled the band after it was revealed that nickel was involved in the production of this product. Some wearers tried to cover the nickel port with tape, but it didn't stop rash.Dr. Sharon Jacob, a dermatologist at the San Diego hospital where the 11-year old was treated stated that "nickel allergies are becoming more common, or increasingly recognized." And said that "national data showing that about 25 percent of children who get skin tests for allergies have nickel allergies, versus about 17 percent a decade ago."If you or your child have developed a rash that won't go away or won't respond to over-the-counter treatments, see your allergist.For more information: visit http://www.nycallergydoctor.com/allergy