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Jackbequickly

macrumors 68040
Aug 6, 2022
3,159
3,257
View attachment 2124067

Just chiming in to say that I picked up my AW Ultra last week and noticed it being sore the other day, and today my skin appears to be blistering. I'm going to switch my watch to the other arm tomorrow and see what happens. I basically took my AWS7 off and put the new one on in the exact same spot. Have owned several and have never had this happen. Not sure if this is because I tend to wear the Alpine Loop pretty tight or what.

‘Have you tried loosening to band a bit?
 
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GP1138

macrumors member
Feb 1, 2008
32
4
‘Have you tried loosening to band a bit?
I’m trying it at the same tightness on my other wrist. I’ve had an Apple Watch since the first one came out, and I’ve never had this issue. The AW7 I took off mere moments before I strapped on the Ultra had a pretty tight stretchy band on it, which likely holds the watch just as tight as the Alpine Loop I’m using right now.

The back of the AWU seems to be a slightly different shape, but the actual irritated part of my wrist seems to fall within the lower-right of the circle outline the watch leaves on my wrist when I remove it. I am not at all closed off to the proposition that there is some serendipity to this sudden issue, but I can’t fathom wearing an Apple Watch pretty much daily for literally years, and suddenly having this brand new watch manifest some sort of hygiene issue, nor do I actually think it’s the tightness of the band having realized just now that my previous band was just as tight. It’s something with the new watch, be it a sensor issue or the shape of the sensor array being different enough to cause my wrist to chafe.
 

iamasmith

macrumors 6502a
Apr 10, 2015
842
417
Cheshire, UK
I got something like this with th S0 and S3 when I first got them and figured there was some kind of residue on the ceramic backs. I make a point of giving the back a good buff against my jeans now with a new watch before wearing it and doing that occasionally after washing it and had no problems since.
 
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ADAM10138

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2022
1
1
I got the new Apple Watch Ultra on 10/4/22. It was definitely a great upgrade from my watch 6 specially the longer battery. This past Tuesday 10/11/22, I had a tingling sensation and when I took the watch off noticed a burned area on my skin. This happened on the skin that touches the inside glass where the sensors light are. I spent 2 days on the phone with Apple. Got transferred to safety department and waited 24 hours for their response... they came back saying it was a rash from the wristband and that I needed to clean the watch.

I had been wearing Apple watches since the first one and never had an experience similar to this. It has been very disappointing the way Apple handled this proble

I have had Apple Watches from the start, with no issues. Additionally, I use hypoallergenic soaps etc and the watch is cleaned regularly. No issues with any watch. Until that is the Ultra. Exactly the same as others on here, picture attached. The area is just to the left of where the sensor sits on the wrist, is blistered and weeping. I do believe that this is an allergic reaction to an ingredient in the watch. I purchased it on 9/11/22, went into the Apple Store in Reading, UK - they unsurprisingly had “never” seen anything like it before, but didn’t want to know as I had not purchased it through Apple themselves (even though it’s THEIR product that I have a problem with). I took it back to the store I pirchased it from and obtained a full refund today. Why?, well I also had Apple AirPods Pro’s which have given me serious symptoms in both ears (and similar symptoms to that experienced with the Ultra), and following an appointment with an ENT specialist, he recommended I never wear them again (they were scrupulously clean) and surprise surprise, Apple support didn’t want to know then either and I couldn’t obtain a refund then, hence my haste in getting a refund for a product which to me is essentially useless (but which I loved).
 

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alunjunkinsuk

macrumors member
Dec 8, 2016
36
20
Update from me
I’ve been keeping the watch extra clean ( I never ever ever cleaned my 4 ) and I haven’t had a reoccurrence
So at the moment all is ok but I am washing the back daily
 
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earthdog

macrumors 6502
Sep 25, 2014
377
215
You can add me to the list too. I have had from the AW0 to the Ultra only model I have never owned is the AW8. Never had this until now. I will post a picture tomorrow. It's not bad but just a red bloch where the sensor is located. I wear mine 2 days on 1.5 hours off to charge. I have wore my previous models 24/7 as well I would were my AW7 and while it charged overnight I'd were my AW6. Never have the issue before and not complaining but something is different...
 

bthompson

macrumors 6502
Jun 29, 2009
256
91
Me too. I've had every watch since the Series 2, and never had this happen. The ultra has left two red blotches on my wrist.
 

darkheroz

macrumors regular
Jan 4, 2012
122
170
Bulgaria
Obviously a lot of us have such wrist problems... not good ... and a lot of us this happens on left wrist, am I right ?
 

sifpilsen

macrumors member
Jun 11, 2012
76
65
What I noticed when I starting to use the Ultra, was that the bigger form factor of the Watch, plus the new bands, tended to pull at the hairs around the watch, as they got trapped occasionally. It stopped after a week of wearing it.
I can definitely see a scenario where an infection in the hairsack of a pulled hair could lead to irritated skin. That said, as it is hard to see the difference for people without medical education. Go to the doctor. They might be able to shed more light on issues like this, especially skin specialist.
 

Dguitarnut

macrumors regular
Dec 3, 2018
220
550
St Petersburg Fl.
Come on guys….wash your wrists and watch backs daily and you won’t have problems.
Don’t apply lotions, insect repellents, perfumes and if working with chemicals wash your wrists often.
I have had this happen to me and I can always trace it to some residual substance on my wrist or watch.
A little antibiotic with a little cortisone cream mixed in will clear it up in about 3 days or so.
The proof is if you switch wrists and it does not develop on the other wrist it was chemical contamination.
Some band materials could be suspect if rash only develops where the band touches the skin and not the watch area.
FYI I am a dermatologist.
 

JT2002TJ

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2013
2,057
1,386
Come on guys….wash your wrists and watch backs daily and you won’t have problems.
Don’t apply lotions, insect repellents, perfumes and if working with chemicals wash your wrists often.
I have had this happen to me and I can always trace it to some residual substance on my wrist or watch.
A little antibiotic with a little cortisone cream mixed in will clear it up in about 3 days or so.
The proof is if you switch wrists and it does not develop on the other wrist it was chemical contamination.
Some band materials could be suspect if rash only develops where the band touches the skin and not the watch area.
FYI I am a dermatologist.

I appreciate this comment. But would like to point out, I have never had an issue on any Apple Watch, even with the Ultra. My wife had a S4 for years then all of a sudden had a reaction. She did not start using any new skin products.

Some people may have reactions to chemicals trapped on the back of the watch, or skin (you are a perfect example). But there are others that it is something else. Not sure yet what it is for my wife, but it definitely isn't simply needing to be cleaned.
 

Nhwhazup

macrumors 68040
Sep 2, 2010
3,472
1,718
New Hampshire
Come on guys….wash your wrists and watch backs daily and you won’t have problems.
Don’t apply lotions, insect repellents, perfumes and if working with chemicals wash your wrists often.
I have had this happen to me and I can always trace it to some residual substance on my wrist or watch.
A little antibiotic with a little cortisone cream mixed in will clear it up in about 3 days or so.
The proof is if you switch wrists and it does not develop on the other wrist it was chemical contamination.
Some band materials could be suspect if rash only develops where the band touches the skin and not the watch area.
FYI I am a dermatologist.
My daughter had the tingling/burning sensation with the Apple 7 watch. Shr tried multiple different bands that didn’t help. She only experienced this with the watch turned on. I told her to wear it with the watch turned off to determine if it was the physical watch or something with the electronics. She had no issues when she wore it for a day but turned off. Turned it back on and the tingling/burning again which resulted in red burn marks on her wrist. She returned it.
 

Piscestg

Cancelled
Dec 11, 2022
168
190
My daughter had the tingling/burning sensation with the Apple 7 watch. Shr tried multiple different bands that didn’t help. She only experienced this with the watch turned on. I told her to wear it with the watch turned off to determine if it was the physical watch or something with the electronics. She had no issues when she wore it for a day but turned off. Turned it back on and the tingling/burning again which resulted in red burn marks on her wrist. She returned it.
Just out of curiosity, was that her first AW ever?
 

Piscestg

Cancelled
Dec 11, 2022
168
190
Yes it was. Prior to trying the AW she had one of the cheaper Fitbits. She really wanted the Apple Watch due to all the features. She ended up with the Fitbit watch. She has no issues with that one
Dang, I never heard of an AW problem to that extent. Luckily she was able to return it.
 

earthdog

macrumors 6502
Sep 25, 2014
377
215
You can add me to the list too. I have had from the AW0 to the Ultra only model I have never owned is the AW8. Never had this until now. I will post a picture tomorrow. It's not bad but just a red bloch where the sensor is located. I wear mine 2 days on 1.5 hours off to charge. I have wore my previous models 24/7 as well I would were my AW7 and while it charged overnight I'd were my AW6. Never have the issue before and not complaining but something is different...
Here's my pic
IMG_0622.JPG
 

Hustler

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2010
412
59
I’ve worn a watch since the 0. I wear it to work as my tool watch. I work on cars. Used oil, brake dust, brake cleaner…you name it, it gets it. Sure it gets dirty. But I use it often at work and deal with cleaning it as needed.
I got the ultra on day 1 and noticed with the longer battery life I could do sleep tracking (after it was washed up LOL). Awesome! By after a week or so noticed a light rash/burn on my skin under the sensor.
I hydrocortisone’d the spot, stopped wearing it for a few days until the spot went away and then wore the watch just during the day noticing no more spot.
I tried sleep tracking a couple weeks later, came back!
Same thing, waited a few days, cleared up, and now since I’ve just worn it up until bedtime, the burn spot hasn’t reappeared.
I took it as either it searching too hard for a reading when I’m sleeping on a sensor, or my skin just having enough of the sensor altogether and then rashing up.
Either way, hasn’t come back since I stopped sleep tracking.

Note, the irritation only happened right under the sensor, not around the band, and never happened before with my years of watch 0,1,3,or 5 iterations. The ultra was the first time I’ve sleep tracked though.
 

bruinsrme

macrumors 604
Oct 26, 2008
7,197
3,063
Why is that laughable? This used to happen to me quite often. Started about a year after I'd gotten my first AW. I'd notice irritation under the AW, right where the sensor sits on my wrist. Sometimes, the skin would even be broken. I'd switch to the other wrist, until my regular wrist healed. Never had an issue with the other wrist.

It was a confusing problem and I thought it was due to prolonged exposure on my regular wrist.

Someone on MR mentioned soap, and I too thought that was a dumb idea. But then I started to think deeper. Every time I had this problem, I recalled that I had washed my hands maybe an hour or two prior. I also recalled that I wasn't particularly careful with splashing. Did a quick test by letting some suds splash onto my AW band and the results were SHOCKING! I got a rash within 30 minutes or so.

Now, when I wash my hands, I'm very careful to not splash soap too high up my wrists. If I do, I rinse my watch and my wrist. As long as I'm careful, I have zero issues.
This is why I mentioned soap. Some of the soaps used in soap dispensers, anti bacterial soaps as well as deodorant contain some rather harsh chemicals.
 

TheTipsyRooster

macrumors newbie
Dec 27, 2022
1
2
I tried to read through quite a bit of responses on here and only those that have explained the “burn” feeling such as myself, aren’t kidding.

As a random bit of scientific, “process of elimination”… those that have had the feeling of some sort of burn, what color is your hair and how fair complected are you?

I have worn an Apple Watch since the Series 2 (every series owned has been aluminum) and have never experienced this feeling beneath the wrist. Now, before someone says, “Maybe you’re allergic to titanium!?” The answer is no. I have zero allergies to most known elements (except maybe plutonium :insert nerdy radioactive joke here:)

I personally feel as though this is a “flash burn” (a burn caused by intense light) or basically a concentrated sunburn by the beams that monitor your BP, Heart rate, etc.

Not sure about the frequency and strength of pulses in the pervious series in comparison to the much newer models with updated firmwares and possibly stronger lights, but this is what my wrist looks like currently. Please keep in mind, I CONSTANTLY wear my Apple Watch Ultra (Ultra Orange Alpine Band) since purchased, only take it off to top off the charge and to charge it while I shower (this negates the possibility of irritants between the skin and the ceramic and sapphire crystal back) I also make sure that my wrist is completely dry before putting the Watch back on.

Additionally, I know many have mentioned hand wash being the culprit and I can also remove this from the possible causes as I never get the watch wet when washing my hands (When I wash my hands, I don’t make it a habit of washing my wrists also; I’m not a surgeon 🤦‍♂️)

I’m a new member so I’ll do my best to keep up-to-date on this particular thread as I am very curious as to why this is happening.

I have turned off all the monitoring sensors (12/27/2022 @ 10:45pm) to see if this helps, but I will continue to wear the watch as I normally do to rule certain possible irritants out.
 

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