Nickel in iPad causes allergic reaction in 11 year old boy: Report

A report in a respected pediatrics journal said an iPad was the cause of a strange and unexplained rash in an 11-year-old boy.

But it was an Apple iPad that caused an itchy body rash in an 11-year-old boy recently treated at a California hospital, according to a report in Paediatrics.

The report published in "Pediatrics," the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the boy was recently admitted to a San Diego hospital due to an itchy body rash.

It's the same reaction doctors see from things like jewelry and snaps on jeans. 

Nickel rashes aren't life threatening, but they can be very uncomfortable and require antibiotics.

"The simplest thing for most people is to put it in a case and have it be in a case, that's what most people are doing, which is why I don't think we see a lot of this yet, but it's being described now," said Dr. Todd Mahr, an allergist with Gundersen Health.

Apple spokesman Chris Gaither said the company's products "are made from the highest quality materials and meet the same strict standards set for jewellery by both the US Consumer Safety Product Commission and their counterparts in Europe".

"We have found that allergies like the one reported in this case are extremely rare," he said.

There are no reports about whether other iPad models and Apple products contain nickel. Apple, Inc. has not yet commented on the incident.