Is this a late-onset allergy to metal?

You may have worn off a protective coating and you are now in direct contact with something you are allergic to.

Hmmm. But it was a previously-owned and worn ring.

Well…process of elimination. Remove the ring for a few weeks and see if the condition improves.

Many people have an allergic reaction to nickel used in several metal alloys. If the weather has been warm enough for your sweat to wear through a coating then yeah, you can get a rash. This is why some people break out with silver or white gold more than yellow gold.

I am allergic to all except gold and I will start itching shortly after starting to wear another metal. Sterling Silver I can last the longest before getting itchy and if they are in my ears I will actually get an infection in them if the earrings were in too long. So typically I just wear gold. I don’t usually get a rash but everyone’s reaction is different. I would take off the ring and see how it goes….

Just an FYI… allergies can change roughly every 7 years so something you were never allergic to you can suddenly become allergic to, it happened to me with penicillin and one day a about 2 yrs ago I broke out in hives all over my body while taking it and couldn’t figure out why until I called the doctor.

It’s possible. A few years back I developed a rash around the area where I wear my ring. The first doctor I went to thought that it might be an allergy to the metal, however it turned out that I just had ringworm, and the ring was irritating it.

I’d guess that you are either allergic to the metal, or you have a pre-existing skin condition which is being irritated by the rubbing of your ring. Try wearing a ring made from a different metal, and if the symptoms persist maybe stop wearing rings for a while. If you’re really worried, see a doctor.

Sure it’s possible. Allergic response is sort of like the body attacking an invader. Over time the body gets better and better at attacking. So, for instance, someone might have a huge swelling from a bee sting and feel very badly. The next sting the body reacts even better, sending out fighter cells and histamines and the body swells so much the person can’t breath. Same can happen with anything, more and more exposure to a substance that antagonizes the immune system, the more and more the immune system reacts. Stop wearing the ring for two weeks, and then out it back on, that should help you decide if it is the ring.

It could also be as @Soupy had from his a fungus like ringworm. Ringworm does spread from touching it. It would be worth the trip to the doctor to find out but you can also try the over the counter antifungal creme call lamisil. Either way I would stop wearing the ring for a bit and clean it really well in alcohol if it clears up if you do end up wearing it again.

I agree fungus is a possibility also, I had not read that answer. Water and moisture can get trapped under the ring.