Recently purchased a cellular Apple Watch series 7 and after a few week of wearing I'm noticing that my wrist is red and begin to burn and blister on the skin where the sensor part sits, no marks where the strap is in contact. Is this a known problem and any solutions?
Hello, this is not an Apple Watch issue. I do not own any Apple products, but came looking for "Apple Watch Wrist Burn" and landed here, because my Garmin watches have done the same thing three times. Replacement of the watch doesn't really help. Like other respondents here, the issue may not arise for a long time, or it may come back after a short while or a long while. Every sports watch with wrist sensors I have investigated has this same problem.
A dermatologist may not be able to tell you more than that you have contact dermatitis. There doesn't seem to be a solution, despite all the manufacturers being aware of the problem.
Advice from multiple sources says to scrupulously clean the sensors and get them completely dry before putting the watch back on (a completely dry) wrist. Don't use perfumed, scented soaps or moisturizers on the wrist. Don't leave the watch on if you are going to have a wet wrist (kind of difficult if you run and sweat...the idea is to remove the watch as soon as possible after a sweaty session).
The basic advice is to keep the back of the watch clean.... There are myriad articles online like this linked one suggesting what to do: https://gadgetsandwearables.com/2023/01/24/fitness-tracker-rash/
I hope this helps. This is a very frustrating problem for all wrist sensor wearers...you never know if you're going to have it happen to you.
I won't be back to reply to comments...as I said, I'm not an Appleite. Good luck/
Apple support asked a litany of questions, had me take multiple pictures and had their engineers look at the pictures.
In the end it was basically: nothing wrong with the watch, don’t wear it too tight, clean it regularly, and If it continues, stop wearing it.
Molimu wrote:
1. What I have learnt about the Apple Watch.
never let your wrist get wet or sweaty under the sensor - dry it straight away and remove the watch until the skin is very dry.
2. don’t wear the watch 23 hours a day - give it a rest.
Excellent advice! I would add one other thing. Avoid lotion or other products under the watch. The combination of product, heat and friction can cause a rash.
Search <contact dermatitis images> on Google and you’ll see the same images. Consult a dermatologist or your primary care physician.
I’ve had that happen, too. About a year ago with series 7, after I started tracking sleep so was wearing watch almost 24/7. Wore the watch for a month on other (right) wrist while left wrist healed, and stopped sleep tracking. Still, a darker brown patch of skin remains on my left wrist. Noticed increased reddening recently on left wrist under watch, after new watch OS 10 arrived. I just got a series 9 watch, and have turned off all sensors except heart rate. Fingers crossed that will help. I may use other sensors occasionally but will not leave them on very long.
So happy to have found this thread today. I had been looking, but hadn’t seen anything helpful until today. I am not happy this skin reaction is happening to us. Hopefully, Apple will respond and acknowledge.
Don’t wear it at night.
Cleanse skin morning and night with a face cloth and mild skin cleanser.
Wash the watch with the same cloth daily.
Moisturise at night.
Wear it on the other wrist until the skin heals.
Try the other wrist, only wear it during the day, wash wrist and watch morning and night with water . If it still happens, this is not the Watch for your skin.
The SE hardly ever raises these complaints by the way.
It’s most likely you simply got a chemical irritant under the watch and it needs to be washed off. Recommend routinely cleaning it- and your wrist. I know it sounds crazy- I’ve had the same thing a few times and able to trace it back to a residual irritant from earlier in the day or previously. Usually cleaning agents.
Turned off the heart monitor no longer burns my skin
Jeff Donald wrote:
Search <contact dermatitis images> on Google and you’ll see the same images. Consult a dermatologist or your primary care physician.
That completely accurate suggestion rarely goes over well.
My Apple Watch 7 is burning my wrist as well. i don't think it's an allergic reaction to the strap or materials but is caused by the watch running too hot. When i first used it (May 2022), setting up the apps etc caused it to run quite hot. Once it settled down the irritation passed. This week (Dec2022) i have activated the sleep tracking app which has resulted in increased battery usuage and i assume added heat. As a result i now have burns and blisters on the point of contact with the sensor
it seems like. I did the whole process and they ended up sending me an article of how to clean my watch. According to them it’s a skin reaction to some product that I use and got between my skin and the watch lol. So I have to clean my watch more often and that will keep me safe lol
I agree. My recommendation for people with such delicate skin is
Firstly wear it in the other wrist for a while to allow healing
Wash your wrists night and morning.
Moisturise at night
Use a damp facecloth to wash your watch back and strap every night.
Do not wear it at night.
If it persists, stop wearing it and see a doctor, and if you suspect nickel sensitivity or cement burns for builders and DIY consider either a barrier cream or the plastic backed SE watch
Search <contact dermatitis images> on Google and you’ll see the same images. Consult a dermatologist or your primary care physician.
See a dermatologist and contact Apple Support.
Stop wearing them and contact Apple as advised many times above.
Then your doctor.
None of the volunteers on here can help you.
Apple Watch Sensor burns
