White Gold Belly Button Ring?

Q: My partner has had her belly button pierced with a 9 carat gold piece of jewellery and it has become very sore about 2 months after the piercing. Is it safe to change to a surgical steel piece whilst it is so sore?

A: It might be an idea to go to a good piercer and ask them to change it, especially if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself ... there is nothing worse than scrabbling around trying to get a ball on when you are unfamiliar with them :) If you do decide to do it yourself, make sure the jewellery is clean, take it slow, clean the pierce and old jewellery first (to get rid of crusties), and make sure your hands are clean! :) The least irritating material is ptfe. Its worth a change to that in preference to ssteel. 9 carat gold has too much nickel zinc and copper in it. Its only 1/3rd gold. Pure gold on its own is also good but very expensive. Just a quickie, I posted my comment about the 9ct gold problem just after 9pm .Ive just checked the newsgroup again and youve posted a comment too. However it shows the time of your posting as 13.23pm. Can you explain why this is so? Ive checked the time on my pc and its correct. Ive had 2 persons mentioning the time as being incorrect on my pc. I just dont get it. I disagree with Ted, I don't see that there is any need for gold for body jewellery to contain

*any* zinc or nickel, nor would pure gold (24 carat) be any use as its too soft. The proper metals for gold alloys are IMHO silver and copper, and it must be made properly - silver for instance is not recommended on its own for body jewellery. Plated gold is also a NO-NO. Look up the chemistry of batteries or electro-plating if you ever get tempted, it should put you off. Whilst PTFE is hypoallergenic and good for new or problem piercings, its not that wonderfully attractive, and quite often a simple change to a different material such as titanium or niobium will do the trick, or even a different brand of stainless steel from a reputable source.