The Apple Watch or its band can cause burns and strange reactions to some users’ wristss
Action 9’s Stoogenke did some research and discovered that 18 complaints similar to Bracey’s had been filed with the Consumer Product Safety Commission records. These complaints stated that the Apple Watch caused “blisters,” “burning,” “burns and parts of skin to peel away, a “circular red patch,” “severe skin redness,” an “itchy, dry rash,” and “skin irritation.” On Apple’s own online forum, the reporter found references to “red marks” that looked like “burns.”
New York City’s WABC-TV ran a story about a woman who claimed that her Apple Watch burned her wrist after heating up. Even though Apple tested the watch and found that it had not reached a temperature which would have caused any injury,” she gave the watch owner a full refund.
Apple’s website lists the materials it uses on the timepiece and the bands. While it doesn’t mention anything about users getting burns from wearing the device, it does say that there could be “potential skin sensitivities.” It also notes that a small number of people might “experience reactions to certain materials,” Apple blames this on allergies, exposure to irritants like soap or sweat, or environmental factors.
A dermatologist with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, Dr. Steven Feldman told Stoogenke that one of his patients had a “skin rash following use of an Apple Watch.” He said that such a reaction is rare. “I wouldn’t even worry about this. I think it’s such an uncommon phenomena, I wouldn’t pay it any mind when I was deciding what kind of watch to buy,” he said.
Nickel, commonly used in smartwatches like the Apple Watch, can cause reactions on the wrists of users
Dr. Feldman and a medical student teamed up to write a paper about the reactions they were seeing to the Apple Watch. They discovered that many smartwatches, including the Apple Watch, contain nickel which can cause allergic reactions. They also pointed out that smartwatch wearers might wear their timepiece tighter in order to get an accurate reading from the heart rate sensor, and that the bands are likely to be made up of synthetic polymers that create more friction.
If you are asked to send in the watch, you do have the right to say no. This way you can have the device tested yourself which might be the way to go if you don’t trust what the manufacturer will tell you.
Bracey isn’t the only Apple Watch user to have a strange reaction to the band or the watch itself. The video that accompanies this story was made by David Cavillo who claims that he was burned by his Series 6 Apple Watch.
