A week after discovering that the Apple Watch's health features were not compatible with tattooed skin, users are now complaining about a rash they're getting from the gadget.
Within two weeks of the Apple Watch launch, people are posting photos on Twitter and Instagram of a red rash appearing where their Apple Watch was. And this isn't just the Watch chafing the skin. It's a full-on reaction. "You take enough people, and you put something tight-fitting on their arm and they do their day-to-day, whether it's sweating or washing their hands, potential irritants can push through the outer barrier and disrupt the skin cells, disrupt the skin," Dr. Adam Friedman told the International Business Times.
Apparently, Apple knew this would happen, and it prepared for it. The tech giant hired a dermal toxicologist to study the results and determine if there was actually a risk there or not. Most of the rashes are likely dermatitis, which occurs when a substance creates enough friction and irritation to bother the skin and create redness.
"The moisture itself can cause irritation, but it's probably sweat," Friedman noted. "Sweat is also comprised of salt, and the reason people can get these kind of of itchy rashes is, as the sweat dries, it deposits salt on the skin."
All Watch users have to do to avoid this reaction is keep their watches and wrists clean, as well as make sure they're not building up salt deposits.
But the rash could also be coming from a physically allergic reaction to the nickel in the watch. If so, IBT recommends that users paint the bottom of their watch with clear nail polish to create a barrier between the nickel and their arm. Users could also change out the Apple Watch Band for either a rubber or wood one so that they don't have to come in contact with the nickel in the device.
While Apple Watch users should take time to consider the consequences of wearing the watch, these early rashes are part of the early adoption period, where users figure out what having the wearable device in your life means. Hopefully, Apple will be able to use this data to make a device that is less likely to give users a rash in the future.
