We had an interesting e-mail from a patient this week, asking our advice on a lifelong problem which is very irritating! With her permission, here’s her enquiry:

“I’ve worn glasses for over fifty years, but gradually found that they give me an allergic reaction across my face. They’re not so bad when they’re new, but over the months they go all rough on the edges, and then I get a bright red rash. I’m ordering new frames again, but can I stop it happening? My face gets really sore when it flares up.”

This is something we come across from time to time, and for the sufferer it’s very distressing. It’s unsightly, painful, and expensive if you have to keep replacing your glasses! Usually it’s down to a Nickel allergy, as most metal glasses frames have some Nickel content. There are two key solutions – the shape of your frames and the material they are made of.

Firstly, the rims of the frame should only touch your skin on the bridge of your nose and behind the ears. Usually these frame parts are plastic, or have plastic parts over the metal. So make sure the frame fits properly, and have the plastic bits replaced as soon as they start to show signs of wear. Choose a frame which is shallow enough not to sit on your cheeks, or go for a semi-rimless which has a nylon thread along the lower edge. This will stop potentially irritant metal touching your skin.

Secondly, always clean the frame every night, to stop skin acids from eating through the coatings on the rims. The metal core of the rim is protected by several layers of lacquer, but you need to wash the rims regularly to stop the protection being eroded.

If this still doesn’t work, then swop to a plastic frame or a Titanium metal. We’ve never come across anyone who’s allergic to either of these materials!  Still choose a shape that won’t sit on the skin, and wash regularly. It may also be worth investing in two different shapes that sit in slightly different areas of your face. This gives skin a chance to recover from the constant presence of the frame. Stainless Steel is another hypo-allergenic material, but make sure you find one that is 100% pure, not an alloy.