Help! Itchy rashes after pole (developed recently)

Emikoisabella · 2014-01-15T07:22:15+00:00

Hi Veeners! I'm a little concerned because I woke up this morning and had very itchy rashes on parts of my body that were used as points of contact from my class yesterday (under my armpit and knee pit from brass monkey and my side from a sad girl drop). Also, the class was only an hour and I did these moves 2 - 3x tops so it's not like I was training for hours. I have been poling for over a year and this has NEVER happened to me before. I am allergic to nickel but I have been using a chrome xpole for the past year (both at home and at my studio) and haven't had any issues until now. I haven't changed or used any new grip aids, shower gels/soaps, body lotion, etc., I always wipe down my pole with rubbing alcohol and these rashes are only in the areas that made contact with the pole from last night so I know that it must be from pole. The only thing that has changed recently is that I switched to a new studio. However, the new studio also uses chrome xpoles and are cleaned with rubbing alcohol so I'm a little baffled. So, my question is, can it be possible for me to develop a sensitivity to pole over time? Maybe something like overexposure to the metal? If this were true though, I don't see why it would take over a year to manifest when I've had plenty of exposure to pole over the last year (I've been poling an average of 4 hours a week). I've put cortisone cream on it to reduce the itching, which has helped, but are there any preventative measures I could take that could possibly help with my problem? Switching my studio again is out of the question and I would never give up pole for something like this so any tips/pointers are much appreciated!

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IrishOrla · 3/24/2014
I too get really bad rashes and they are so hard not to itch. I just put it down to friction with the pole and maybe creams other girls are using etc before they come to pole because my skin is usually pretty sensitive anyways.
Madfelice · 3/25/2014
I have a nickel allergy and react more to recently made x poles than older ones, but I have a reaction to both. I also react to some brands of brass poles that obviously have a different alloy to others. I wipe the poles at the studio with a cloth I bring from home with acetone on it regularly during my time there which helps to a point, I think, but I always get a reaction after using a chrome pole. I react to a lot of jewellery too.
Polefit Korea · 3/25/2014
The same thing happened to me. I had had no problem from using a chrome pole although I'm allergic to Nickle, but skin rash suddenly developed one day. It had gotten me to the point that I couldn't pole at all. Once it was triggered, it didn't go away unless I stopped poling. Now I'm using a stainless pole and a brass pole since they are absolutely allergy free in my case.
Jadey21 · 4/4/2014
The reason why you can develop the nickel reaction over time is because the finish of the pole will be wearing away (like you say it looks dull). Brass is allergy free which is why my instructor recommends it but be sure it's solid brass, not just a coating which will corrode over time! (Try the magnet test: if it sticks to the pole it's not solid brass)
Dancing Paws · 4/4/2014
In reality, any of the poles can cause allergies, maybe with the exception of powder coat, but I'm just guessing on that one. Chrome seems to be the worst, but I would not be surprised to see people eventually react to their TG poles, only because it is the same process as the chrome, just with an extra coating on it. Stainless has nickel in it, it's just not a layer like the chrome. Instead, it's intercolated (sp?) into the entire pole. Someone said Felix Cane mentioned being allergic to ALL poles. Not sure if it's true or not, though.