Argyria caused by an earring.

The staining of skin by silver is termed argyria and is grey-blue in colour. This may be caused by a number of mechanisms such as ingestion and direct implantation. We report an unusual case, caused by an impacted earring, where the skin discoloration was not entirely typical of argyria. This may have been due to copper impurities present in the earring. The literature on the subject is also reviewed. Copyright 2001 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons.