Anyone worry about contact dermatitis from wearing Watch too long?

[msackey]

I recently bought an Apple Watch Ultra (upgrade from Series 4) and I've really enjoyed using this Watch in all sorts of way. New to me is using the Watch to track my sleep. While my Series 4 could have done that, its much shorter battery life meant it was really not a great tool to do that, given that I also track multiple workout activities during the day.

Now, I'm wearing the Ultra for much longer periods than I have with my Series 4 and it occurred to me that one could develop contact dermatitis simply from wearing the watch for such long periods of time. Just curious if anyone has worried about that or experienced it.

I had thought that it would be great if Apple could develop a quick shortcut so that for sleep purposes, the Watch is indicated to go on the other hand that doesn't normally wear the Watch.

 

[Frankfurt]

Depends on the watch band. That needs to be breathable. I could not wear the Solo Loops for that reason. Sport Loops or braided solo loop - no issue. I wear the watch 23 out 24 hrs due to sleep tracking. Only take it off to shower. I currently own the AWU with the trail loop. So far no issue.

 

[Howard2k]

For decades people have been wearing watches for 24/7.

 

[MisterSavage]

There have been several threads on here about allergic reactions to Apple watch bands you can search for. I had a rash develop from the silicone band. I switched to metal bands and the sport loop to solve the problem.

 

[magooch]

I wouldn't think it too big of an issue but it might depend on the band. I did have some knockoff Sport Loop-type bands that would give me a bit of irritation at times but that was because they'd get wet or something and I'd keep wearing without drying it off properly. The fabric/elastic-y material would cause some really mild chafing.

But I stopped using those probably 6 months ago. Since then I have pretty much only used the plain old silicone (or whatever material it is) Sport Band and it's on for probably ~22 hours a day, minimum. Take it off for about an hour in the morning after waking up to charge while I shower and get ready, wear it all day, take it off for an hour at night to "top off" before bed, then it gets worn all night. No problems at all.

Of course if you have some known sensitivities to certain materials that would change things

 

[Night Spring]

I had thought that it would be great if Apple could develop a quick shortcut so that for sleep purposes, the Watch is indicated to go on the other hand that doesn't normally wear the Watch.

No need to switch the orientation, just put the watch on the other wrist. The buttons will face the "wrong" way, but you won't be using them much while you sleep.

However, people have been using Apple watch to track sleep for years now, and if many people were getting skin rashes from wearing them overnight, we will have heard about it by now.

 

[Dc2006ster]

I suffered from that with my Fitbit and older watches and straps that contained nickel or where sweat would gather under the band. Not with my AW 7 and the Nike sport band (the one with holes in it). I take my watch off to shower.

 

[MisterSavage]

However, people have been using Apple watch to track sleep for years now, and if many people were getting skin rashes from wearing them overnight, we will have heard about it by now.

We have.

Yes, Your Apple Watch Is Giving You A Rash. Here's What To Do About It

Dermatologists say it's not a problem with the Apple Watch; it's just what happens when millions of people wear the same product.

www.ibtimes.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235224101630024X

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/solo-loop-material-silicone-possible-allergic-reaction.2254419/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/allergic-reaction-to-midnight-blue-band.2044584/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/yikes-i-think-i-might-be-allergic-to-my-watch.1894150/

 

[msackey]

Depends on the watch band. That needs to be breathable. I could not wear the Solo Loops for that reason. Sport Loops or braided solo loop - no issue. I wear the watch 23 out 24 hrs due to sleep tracking. Only take it off to shower. I currently own the AWU with the trail loop. So far no issue.

Interesting. Hadn't thought about the breathability aspect. I have the trail loop which works fine but it's not so pretty. Recently ordered the Ocean band -- I hope that's breathable enough for me!

For decades people have been wearing watches for 24/7.

Oh really? For decades? Before smart watches, I don't know of anyone who wore their watch 24/7. It was not uncommon to remove one's watch before going to bed and then putting it back on when one wakes up.

There have been several threads on here about allergic reactions to Apple watch bands you can search for. I had a rash develop from the silicone band. I switched to metal bands and the sport loop to solve the problem.

Ok, will look for those. I did a quick search before posting this and didn't find anything. I must have been using the wrong keywords

I wouldn't think it too big of an issue but it might depend on the band. I did have some knockoff Sport Loop-type bands that would give me a bit of irritation at times but that was because they'd get wet or something and I'd keep wearing without drying it off properly. The fabric/elastic-y material would cause some really mild chafing.

But I stopped using those probably 6 months ago. Since then I have pretty much only used the plain old silicone (or whatever material it is) Sport Band and it's on for probably ~22 hours a day, minimum. Take it off for about an hour in the morning after waking up to charge while I shower and get ready, wear it all day, take it off for an hour at night to "top off" before bed, then it gets worn all night. No problems at all.

Of course if you have some known sensitivities to certain materials that would change things

Re: knock-offs. I had been considering for days whether I should shell out the big bucks for the Ocean loops versus get some cheap imitation from eBay which costs like 10 times less! Finally decided that maybe it's more likely that these knockoffs have a higher chance of causing irritation. Don't know if that's a reasonable conclusion, but it is one I came to. Chalk this up to ignorance! LOL

 

[msackey]

I suffered from that with my Fitbit and older watches and straps that contained nickel or where sweat would gather under the band. Not with my AW 7 and the Nike sport band (the one with holes in it). I take my watch off to shower.

Yes, currently about the only time I am not wearing my watch is when I'm taking a bath/shower, or when charging the watch. I feel like my wrists need more of a break than that.

 

[msackey]

No need to switch the orientation, just put the watch on the other wrist. The buttons will face the "wrong" way, but you won't be using them much while you sleep.

However, people have been using Apple watch to track sleep for years now, and if many people were getting skin rashes from wearing them overnight, we will have heard about it by now.

Oh? I was under the impression that somehow that the Watch needed to know the proper orientation in order to accurately measure blood pressure and other biometrics. I know at least that for blood pressure monitoring, there is a difference between right vs. left arm measurment but that has to do with where one's heart is located.

I'm less worried about getting skin rashes overnight and more about skin rashes developing because of wearing the Watch for much longer duration overall.

 

[msackey]

We have.
[...]

Thanks for all these links, and to that journal article documenting a case from Wake Forest Baptist!

 

[Howard2k]

Oh really? For decades? Before smart watches, I don't know of anyone who wore their watch 24/7. It was not uncommon to remove one's watch before going to bed and then putting it back on when one wakes up.

For sure. I always did. It does depend on the watch, some watches are more comfortable for 24/7 wear than others but yes, in my experience, and in my circle of friends growing up, most of us wore our watches 24/7. Batteries lasted for years, we just took them off for cleaning and stuff.

I'm not saying everyone did, but certainly the concept of wearing a watch 24/7 is not a new phenomenon.

 

[Night Spring]

Oh? I was under the impression that somehow that the Watch needed to know the proper orientation in order to accurately measure blood pressure and other biometrics. I know at least that for blood pressure monitoring, there is a difference between right vs. left arm measurment but that has to do with where one's heart is located.

I'm less worried about getting skin rashes overnight and more about skin rashes developing because of wearing the Watch for much longer duration overall.

I doubt that the watch's biometrics are *that* sophisticated. I've done workouts with the watch on either wrist, depending -- sometimes the band feels tighter on one wrist than the other, so I wear it on whichever wrist gives the tighter feel that day. I haven't noticed any difference in the heart rate readings either way.

As for rashes, yes, some people get them, but it can't really be THAT common, or else there'll be a huge uproar. It's the kind of thing where if you do develop rashes, then figure out how to deal with that. Otherwise, just use the watch the way it feels comfortable to you, and don't worry about it.

 

[sjperformance]

Been wearing watches all my life. No issues. Only thing in Miami because of all year summer weather my wrist is lighter skinned because of the sun. That's about it.

 

[tennisproha]

Yes this is something where Apple needs to do better, specifically by offering more natural watch band materials.

I have very sensitive skin. My watch came with the sport band and initially it gave me contact dermatitis. I spent a lot of time and money, researching and finally settling on rotating between a few modern buckles. They worked for me for a number of reasons but at $150 each, it basically doubled the cost of my watch.

With sleep stage tracking introduced recently, I also started wearing mine overnight. But the leather modern buckle doesn’t work for ~24/7 wear because it’s not breathable. Previously I was only wearing my watch about 12 hours so it allowed the skin to recover.

I’m in the middle of trying to find a permanent solution but for now I wear the sport loop. It’s somewhat breathable but i’m not a fan of the nylon.

I tried out a wool band from a 3rd party and while it’s well built, I don’t like the clasp and buckle closure option because it didn't allow for more incremental sizing.

Apple really needs to offer watch bands out of natural materials like wool, linen, and cotton. It seems the only reason they don’t is because those materials are expensive and plastic is cheap. Technically they could easily reinforce a merino wool band with vectran like they do for the modern buckle and solve any stretch/shrink issues.

They know people with skin conditions are allergic to synthetics, it’s been medically well documented in dermatology. Their whole “hours of testing” narrative is so disingenuous.

 

[msackey]

For sure. I always did. It does depend on the watch, some watches are more comfortable for 24/7 wear than others but yes, in my experience, and in my circle of friends growing up, most of us wore our watches 24/7. Batteries lasted for years, we just took them off for cleaning and stuff.

I'm not saying everyone did, but certainly the concept of wearing a watch 24/7 is not a new phenomenon.

Interesting! I wore watches for decades too and always took them off. But also, I lived in the tropics so it was just nice to have some breathing room at the end of the day.

I still remember the Seiko watch my father gave me; an autochronograph (self-winding) with a date field. I loved that watch and had it for a long time until someone finally stole it from my office one day when I had taken it off for my wrist to breathe. Heh.

 

[ndouglas]

Yes this is something where Apple needs to do better, specifically by offering more natural watch band materials.

I have very sensitive skin. My watch came with the sport band and initially it gave me contact dermatitis. I spent a lot of time and money, researching and finally settling on rotating between a few modern buckles. They worked for me for a number of reasons but at $150 each, it basically doubled the cost of my watch.

With sleep stage tracking introduced recently, I also started wearing mine overnight. But the leather modern buckle doesn’t work for ~24/7 wear because it’s not breathable. Previously I was only wearing my watch about 12 hours so it allowed the skin to recover.

I’m in the middle of trying to find a permanent solution but for now I wear the sport loop. It’s somewhat breathable but i’m not a fan of the nylon.

I tried out a wool band from a 3rd party and while it’s well built, I don’t like the clasp and buckle closure option because it didn't allow for more incremental sizing.

Apple really needs to offer watch bands out of natural materials like wool, linen, and cotton. It seems the only reason they don’t is because those materials are expensive and plastic is cheap. Technically they could easily reinforce a merino wool band with vectran like they do for the modern buckle and solve any stretch/shrink issues.

They know people with skin conditions are allergic to synthetics, it’s been medically well documented in dermatology. Their whole “hours of testing” narrative is so disingenuous.

Sorry to hear about that, can you let folks know what kind of material the “modern buckles” you found that don’t irritate you, are made of? I don’t have that issue so far, but it would be good to know going forward.

 

[tennisproha]

Sorry to hear about that, can you let folks know what kind of material the “modern buckles” you found that don’t irritate you, are made of? I don’t have that issue so far, but it would be good to know going forward.

Yeah sorry I should’ve worded that better. It’s the Apple Modern Buckle. It’s made of soft leather. Very nice band but quite fragile. Aside from the breathability issue, the leather is very thin so it will wear out if you wear it 24/7.

I ended up buying 3 of them so I could rotate through them. I clean it often with a damp cloth, pat dry with microfiber, then let it air out while I wear the other.

Just to add some more info, contact dermatitis is caused by an allergic response to the material itself but friction also exacerbates the issue so a good fit is very important. This is why the infinitely adjustable bands (like sport loop) are much better with sizing than the ones with adjustable holes (like modern buckle).

So it’s a trade off. Personally, that is one con of the modern buckle and pro of the sport loop. I wish apple would put more thought into the design. Like I love the slim clasp on the Modern Buckle, but I wish they’d embedded a track for adjustment instead of the 5 punched holes.

 

[Night Spring]

Yeah sorry I should’ve worded that better. It’s the Apple Modern Buckle. It’s made of soft leather. Very nice band but quite fragile. Aside from the breathability issue, the leather is very thin so it will wear out if you wear it 24/7.

I ended up buying 3 of them so I could rotate through them. I clean it often with a damp cloth, pat dry with microfiber, then let it air out while I wear the other.

Just to add some more info, contact dermatitis is caused by an allergic response to the material itself but friction also exacerbates the issue so a good fit is very important. This is why the infinitely adjustable bands (like sport loop) are much better with sizing than the ones with adjustable holes (like modern buckle).

So it’s a trade off. Personally, that is one con of the modern buckle and pro of the sport loop. I wish apple would put more thought into the design. Like I love the slim clasp on the Modern Buckle, but I wish they’d embedded a track for adjustment instead of the 5 punched holes.

Have you tried the leather loop? Or Hermes leather band? They are expensive, but by the time you buy three modern buckles, aren't you close to the price of one Hermes band? Also, many third party leather bands out there.

Also, fabric bands:

Iwatch Band Fabric - Etsy

Check out our iwatch band fabric selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our watch bands & straps shops.

www.etsy.com

 

[newellj]

I recently bought an Apple Watch Ultra (upgrade from Series 4) and I've really enjoyed using this Watch in all sorts of way. New to me is using the Watch to track my sleep. While my Series 4 could have done that, its much shorter battery life meant it was really not a great tool to do that, given that I also track multiple workout activities during the day.

Now, I'm wearing the Ultra for much longer periods than I have with my Series 4 and it occurred to me that one could develop contact dermatitis simply from wearing the watch for such long periods of time. Just curious if anyone has worried about that or experienced it.

I had thought that it would be great if Apple could develop a quick shortcut so that for sleep purposes, the Watch is indicated to go on the other hand that doesn't normally wear the Watch.

I'm pretty sure different people can have different experiences with this, but in my case I've been wearing AWs more or less 24/7 since AutoSleep was introduced. I don't remember the date, but I think that goes back at least to Series 4. I've never had any skin problems from either the bands (until recently I only wore various Nike Sport Bands, which are some sort of silicone rubber or similar product) or the watch.

YMMV, but I wouldn't be concerned about trying it. You can always discontinue the nighttime wear.

 

[newellj]

Oh? I was under the impression that somehow that the Watch needed to know the proper orientation in order to accurately measure blood pressure and other biometrics. I know at least that for blood pressure monitoring, there is a difference between right vs. left arm measurment but that has to do with where one's heart is located.

I'm less worried about getting skin rashes overnight and more about skin rashes developing because of wearing the Watch for much longer duration overall.

Absolutely not. Since S3 I've worn AW's on my right wrist without changing the configuration of the watch. In other words, I'm wearing a watch that's set up the way Apple expects a right-handed person to wear the watch on the "wrong" wrist (my right wrist) with the crown pointing toward my elbow. Never any issues at all.

 

[newellj]

Yes this is something where Apple needs to do better, specifically by offering more natural watch band materials.

I have very sensitive skin. My watch came with the sport band and initially it gave me contact dermatitis. I spent a lot of time and money, researching and finally settling on rotating between a few modern buckles. They worked for me for a number of reasons but at $150 each, it basically doubled the cost of my watch.

With sleep stage tracking introduced recently, I also started wearing mine overnight. But the leather modern buckle doesn’t work for ~24/7 wear because it’s not breathable. Previously I was only wearing my watch about 12 hours so it allowed the skin to recover.

I’m in the middle of trying to find a permanent solution but for now I wear the sport loop. It’s somewhat breathable but i’m not a fan of the nylon.

I tried out a wool band from a 3rd party and while it’s well built, I don’t like the clasp and buckle closure option because it didn't allow for more incremental sizing.

Apple really needs to offer watch bands out of natural materials like wool, linen, and cotton. It seems the only reason they don’t is because those materials are expensive and plastic is cheap. Technically they could easily reinforce a merino wool band with vectran like they do for the modern buckle and solve any stretch/shrink issues.

They know people with skin conditions are allergic to synthetics, it’s been medically well documented in dermatology. Their whole “hours of testing” narrative is so disingenuous.

I haven't tried to research this, but a lot of people have wool allergies, so I don't think that would be a great solution. It might also create a lot of concern for people with sensitivities about treatment of animals. This may be an area where you're never going to be able to make everyone happy (or even comfortable).

 

[newellj]

Another potential idea for the OP: the Alpine Loop might work. It should be pretty high on the breathability spectrum. There are other possible issues, ranging from cost ($99) to some issues that I guess I'd lump together under the heading of "ergonomics" but those are more personal opinions and preferences than "facts" and it might work for you. (If it doesn't, Apple does have a two week return period and they're not going to give you a hard time if the band doesn't satisfy you.)

 

[Vundu]

Oh really? For decades? Before smart watches, I don't know of anyone who wore their watch 24/7. It was not uncommon to remove one's watch before going to bed and then putting it back on when one wakes up.

Very common to wear a mechanical watch 24/7 if you are into your watches yes. You maximise wrist time for each of your pieces.