Got a rash? Your iPad or other devices might be the cause

Unexplained rash? Check your iPad. It turns out the popular tablet computer may contain nickel, one of the most common allergy-inducing metals. Recent reports in medical journals detail nickel allergies from a variety of personal electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones. Nickel rashes aren’t life-threatening, but they can be very uncomfortable.

The length of time required to elicit an allergic reaction will vary from 5 or 10 minutes to never, depending on the sensitivity of the individual.

Nickel Institute advisory

But it was an Apple iPad that caused an itchy body rash in an 11-year-old boy recently treated at a San Diego hospital, according to a report in Monday’s Pediatrics journal. 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 an iPad his family had bought in 2010, and which he uses everyday. It’s not clear if all models of the iPad, or other Apple devices contain nickel.

Products are made from the highest quality materials and meet the same strict standards set for jewelry by both the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission and their counterparts in Europe.

Apple spokesman Chris Gaither

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