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/
Don’t wear it over night goes one change
Turning off sensors be done, don’t bother trying. Wash more, wear less.
Have you reached out to apple yet?
Hello,
Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities.
We want to make sure you reach the right team for help with your device. We recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: Get Support.
Cheers.
I'm having the same issue.. The skin on my wrist where the watch was feels paper thin and is discolored. I'm actually really concerned about this! Has anyone noticed it getting better once the device is removed?
Same issue. Got my 7 series in April 2022. Wore it fine for months. Suddenly in Oct I get these burns and have to stop wearing it for about 3 weeks. All is good. Wore it for 2 days and it came back even worse! Left it off for almost 2 months wearing it on the opposite hand. How irritating is that! Decided to switch back to my original hand and wear it higher. Did great for about a week. Now I have another burn and worse higher up! It’s only on one arm not both. Bizarro! Didn’t think I needed to contact Apple about it but after reading here, I guess I do! The original burn has left a scar closer to my wrist also.
Yes, the same thing happened to me, I didn’t realize it until I took my watch off and had what appeared to be a circular burn mark (see attached). This is not just skin irritation, it’s a burn mark. I will go to see a doctor tomorrow to confirm it’s a burn mark.
There are many people having this same issue, and for whatever the reason, Apple does not seem to want to address the root cause issue! There are at least thousands going thru this same issue. I spent at least 5 hours with Apple and just got no where and ignored.
I had apple watch 6 for a couple of years, but recently it started to burn me too! Haven’t reached out to apple support as most people seems to say there’s no resolution, but hoping Apple know that this is a real issue!
Same for me. I've had a series 7 apple watch for about a year. This is my 2nd apple watch and I've had no problem wearing them for years, until the past 4-6 weeks. I switched wrists for a few weeks and the 'rash' seemed to be healing, but then I swapped back again and the rash came back with a vengeance. I'm still wearing it on the other wrist and I'm now noticing a 'stickiness' under the sensor when I remove the watch. I'm not a sweaty person so this is very strange. I haven't yet developed a rash on the other wrist, but I wonder if it's only a matter of time. Then I won't be able to wear my expensive apple watch! It's very frustrating to see that so many others are experiencing this and there's no resolution of it - most of you being seasoned apple watch wearers where it only recently started happening, as with me. I've cleaned the back of the watch many times. I don't suffer dermatitis in any other area and have no known allergies. It is not good enough for apple to suggest we all see a dermatologist! I've even started wondering if something could be leaking from the watch.
j_t_Hobbs wrote:
Yes. The problem is in the device not being able to handle the scenario it was supposedly designed and marketed to be able to handle.
Cleaning is NOT the answer!
Fixing the design is the answer!
I am sure Apple would like your design change suggestions
Don't make the changes too adventurous, the other 100+ million users with no skin problems may get annoyed.
Nic-Snoe wrote:
Dear apple,
I do not have any skin sensitivities and this morning got burned by my apple watch while eating breakfast. It’s getting redder and more painful. Why are you not listing warnings about burns? What are you doing to fix this issue?
Please contact me about this!
Nicole
This is a user-to-user forum. No one from Apple is going to read your post and reach out to you directly. Apple representatives have posted in this thread with information on how to contact Apple directly.
Meanwhile, you should always consult a doctor for any medical issues.
Unfortunately a replacement watch won’t help I’ve had it happen with 2 different versions. Both versions did the same thing.
it is a flaw in the design that Apple needs to fix.
With the lack of any response from Apple it may take lawyers to get action for this design flaw. And that is just sad.
would love to hear if anyone got any response other than clean it and you’re allergic even though you’ve worn it over a year but it’s suddenly an allergy on my part.
I guess if you re-define allergy to be I’m allergic to this design…?????
You can become suddenly allergic to somthing that has not been a problem in the past. But it is HIGHTLY unlikely and rare! Also, you're implying that all these people suddenly became allergic to the same thing???? EXTREMELY unlikely and you know it.
There is a design flaw of the watch whereby, over time, it causes irritations via its sensors. Something changes over time and it is a flow in the device. THAT is highly likely vs everybody becoming allergic all of the sudden.
I would highly recommend you go back to your friend and ask him (he would definitely know as a physician) what are the types and signs of an allergic reaction, and what are the types and signs of a burn.
Apple Watch Sensor burns
