Skin Rash under Watch Body

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Anyone else develop a rash from wearing the S3? I've been wearing mine constantly (unless charging, showering, or doing something where I risk damaging the watch) until a few days ago, when I discovered a round, red rash right where the watch body sits. Looks a lot like a sunburn, and itches slightly. It's slowly receding now, and some dead skin is flaking off. Another 2-3 days and it should be pretty much gone.

I've read about similar symptoms from wearing an Apple watch, but most of those refer to the nickel content in the stainless steel body as an allergy trigger. The S3's back is glass as far as I can tell, so it shouldn't have the same allergy concerns as other materials.

I can't find much in the way of preventative information, other than to maintain proper hygiene and keep the back of the watch clean (which I thought I was already doing).

 

[Outbreak444]

I take mine off when I shower at night and wash the back of it while I have it off and I haven't had any problems. Maybe give that a try and see if it subsides.

 

[luckykat]

no issues , all perfect

 

[afblangley]

Any watch has the potential to be a skin irritant in susceptible individuals, some of us are more sensitive than others. The solution is to reduce the amount of contact with the skin. Wear it a looser so that it for flops around a bit, and not in constant contact with the same area of skin. Change locations slightly, wear it a little higher one day and lower on the wrist the next day. Or change arms. Experiment to discover what works for you.

 

[AL904]

I have same issue

I am experiencing the same issue. However, I only wear mine during the day and not while I'm sleeping. When it first occurred, I thought the spot might have been just a bug bite. It went away but came back a few days later. I have the AT&T LTE version, and was a little concerned that it was caused by radiation. I did some web research, but couldn't find anyone else (until now) with the same problem.

 

[Outbreak444]

I am experiencing the same issue. However, I only wear mine during the day and not while I'm sleeping. When it first occurred, I thought the spot might have been just a bug bite. It went away but came back a few days later. I have the AT&T LTE version, and was a little concerned that it was caused by radiation. I did some web research, but couldn't find anyone else (until now) with the same problem.

Well I have the T-Mobile version and I haven't had this problem. With that, I don't really use LTE on the watch but I can say that I highly doubt you would get a rash from the radiation since you don't hear about it from phones in general, assuming that a phone is able to emit a stronger signal and it stays in your pocket most of the day, and no problems occur from that.

 

[10urshin]

Heart rate monitor comes to mind. If you have body hair on your wrist, the light heart rate monitor emits can burn it without you actually feeling or you might have a photosensitive skin. Try disabling S-Health's heart rate monitoring.

 

[obsydian]

Not a rash but very sore and marked using the leather strap, hence why I swapped to the Samsung leather version

Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

 

[LRE]

Most of us that got the rash, it came from the rubber band. Once we changed it, we had no problems!

 

[AL904]

Most of us that got the rash, it came from the rubber band. Once we changed it, we had no problems!

I'm pretty sure my issue came from the watch, not the strap. I had an itchy, red spot (about the size of a small bug bite) appear after wearing the watch all day. That spot was right under the watch itself. After scratching the spot several times, it became sore, and went away after a few days. It happened two or three times over a couple of weeks.

That all happened a couple of months ago, and hasn't recurred.

 

[Tel864]

I'm pretty sure my issue came from the watch, not the strap. I had an itchy, red spot (about the size of a small bug bite) appear after wearing the watch all day. That spot was right under the watch itself. After scratching the spot several times, it became sore, and went away after a few days. It happened two or three times over a couple of weeks.

That all happened a couple of months ago, and hasn't recurred.

That irritation came from the tiny tracking chip that was injected by the watch. They're watching you. [emoji2]

 

[Fclem10]

I have the exact same problem. It began developing about 2 weeks ago. Started out itchy. Now it's a red scaly itchy rash about the size of a quarter. I wear my watch face down so it developed on the underside of my wrist where the battery sits. I only wear mine during the day as well.

 

[Tel864]

I finally got around to asking the wife about this (works for a dermatologist) and she said it's most likely Contact Dermatitis. Apparently a lot of stainless steel has nickel in it and a lot of people are sensitive to nickel. If you wash it with hot water and soap it will look worse because that drys it out and causes more irritation. Go to the drugstore and get some Hydrocortisone 1% which is available over the counter and use that twice a day and avoid strong soap on the rash. Anything stronger than the hydrocortisone is by prescription. All this from her, not me. ☺

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

 

[MichaelGG]

I'm not sure that the allergy is caused by steel - most of watches have back made of stainless steel. So the owner should learn about his allergy before. The watch contacts the skin with HR area, which is not SS but covered by some kind of glass-like polymer. This polymer can also cause allergy...

 

[AL904]

I finally got around to asking the wife about this (works for a dermatologist) and she said it's most likely Contact Dermatitis. Apparently a lot of stainless steel has nickel in it and a lot of people are sensitive to nickel. If you wash it with hot water and soap it will look worse because that drys it out and causes more irritation. Go to the drugstore and get some Hydrocortisone 1% which is available over the counter and use that twice a day and avoid strong soap on the rash. Anything stronger than the hydrocortisone is by prescription. All this from her, not me.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

Thanks, Tel864!

I'm relieved to know, now, that they are NOT watching me.

 

[Zerotwo]

I got my s3 about 2 months ago a day have been dealing with this problem for some time. I thought at first it was a pimple or ingrown hair. At one point my wrist got swollen inbetween the bones. So I stopped wearing the watch thought I slept on it funky or something. Then another pimple like thing cam about just next to the healing one and I realized my new band had moved the sensor a little bit over on my wrist. I know have a rash the size of the watch head. I wear the leather band, rubber , and metal. I don't get any issues were the band is on my skin just were the watch touches me. My wife swore the small dot was a small burn blister and it did pop clear stuff out. I really think there is more to this and would like to know if there's any new information. I know it's an older thread.

 

[AL904]

I had the pimple appear twice in the first couple of months I had my S3. I was using the original band that came with the watch. I purchased a metal-link style band, and the pimple hasn't been back since. The new band is slightly looser than the original, so that may be why I'm not getting that irritation (or whatever it was) under the watch.

Zerotwo, if I had a rash that large exactly where the watch touches your skin, I would see a doctor.

 

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Interesting that this thread is still getting posts. After I made the original post, I had to stop wearing my S3 for nearly a month to allow the rash to fully clear. I've been wearing it with the same consistency since, though, and haven't seen a recurrence. I have been a bit better at keeping the back of the watch clean, so that may be helping. That said, it did take a couple of months for the rash to appear the first time around.

 

[Damokkles]

Same here, developed after a month of wearing it, did clean it though but maybe not as often as I should.

 

[Jesiah]

You are probably experiencing silicone allergic dermatitis. I'm no Doctor but my boss has the same problem, so the best thingo to do is swapping the OEM band for a metal or leather one.