Corrosive Skin- Does Anyone Else Have This Issue?

**ForresterModern** · 16th February 12, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

Does anyone else have this issue or know of someone who does? Any idea WHY it might happen?

ith:

The biggest component of sweat besides some oils is salt and water, and virtually all exposed skin sweats to some degree, some places more than others (thank goodness for Right Guard). Hands actually sweat pretty significantly in certain situations and salt and water are corrosive to certain metals. Water by itself can be corrosive but adding salt really increases the rate and varieties of corrosion that occur. Free Chloride anions (Cl-) and sodium cations (Na+) from salt form in water, which also itself dissociates into free hydrogen cations (H+ like in acid) and free hydroxide anions (OH- like in lye), so you have a lot of dissolved ions wating for something they have a higher affinity for than each other (particularly the metals you are handling---base metals and copper and tin and lead containing elements in particular) to be available to bind with = corrosion. Copper binds tightly with chloride forming copper chloride which alonng with oxides is part of the green patina we see on copper and certain brass items with aging, and what sometimes causes cheap metal watches to leave black or green stains on our wrists). There are also a number of other less concentrated chemicals in sweat (potassium, carbonates, zinc, etc...) that can also contribute.

Also, believe it or not, some people have strange and unusual electrical conductivity patterns in their bodies that can drain or kill a watch in short order. Some of that may be related to the fact that sweat is a great electical conducting liquid, even better than water. I had a friend years ago who could not wear a wrist watch of ANY variety that had a battery, as they would drain and die within about a day of putting them on. Old style wind up watches were less of a problem, but also tended to die within a few weeks, presumably becasue of internal corrosion messing up the delicate moving parts. His solution was a variant of a pocket watch which he clipped on a belt loop that remained separated from contact with his skin by his clothes. He also use to get freebies from drug companies (now a no-no) with things like pens with digital clocks, a clipboard with a calculator/clock, etc... which usually worked unless he had regular long term contact with them to his skin.

Stranger than fiction.

**CDNSushi** · 16th February 12, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by ForresterModern

Also, believe it or not, some people have strange and unusual electrical conductivity patterns in their bodies that can drain or kill a watch in short order.

Stranger than fiction.

Yeah! I've heard of it too. A friend of mine was telling me about a friend of his who has the problem. Not only can she not wear watches, but anything electrical around her goes nuts. Apparently she can't even have her own car because it won't start half the time!

Go figure!