I've had similar things happen (not with a Garmin watch). Is it under the band or the watch? If the band, I would try a different band from Amazon and see if that solves the problem. It might not be an allergy, but just an irritation.

Watched that steroid use. You don't want to get popped :) JK

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Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.

It’s just under 1 side of the band. Not under the watch itself. I would think if it was an allergy it would also happen on my right wrist. Which it doesn’t. I just can’t stand wearing a watch on my right wrist 😫

This happened to me with my Fenix. 2+ years of daily wear on the same wrist, no issues, then dermatitis developed out of no where.
I always cleaned my watch daily after my workouts.
Switched wrists for a few weeks and it cleared up. It came back as soon as I put it on the other wrist.

Bought a different band. That helped for a while then my issue seemed to be coming more from the backside of the watch vs the band.

I stopped being able to wear it on either wrist.
I stopped wearing it for a few months and used two different creams from my dermatologist. It would clear up when not using it and come back the same day with use, on either wrist.

I only wear it during runs and swims. It causes some very minor irritation but nothing like daily wear.
I wasn’t able to find a solution but I hope you’re able to!

I constantly had breakouts with the stock band on my 920XT. A few years ago I switched to a cheap silicone aftermarket band, and haven't had any problems since...

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"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"

I used KT tape on my wrist, it helped me be able to wear it without the watch aggravating it while the dermatitis was clearing up. If it's under the watch, put some clear nail polish on the watch

I'm in the same boat. Wore a Garmin for years and then spent a few years wearing an Apple Watch 24/7. First had a minor issue with that (under the HRM area, the skin would get 'soft'), but then switched to a Fenix and was fine for 18 months until a breakout which won't abate.


The watch is clean (scrubbed with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol) but even wearing for short bouts causes a relapse. I get it in two spots, one either side of the watch body. Notably, this issue is not where the HRM sits.

I was getting similar mostly from the back of my watch. Cleaning the back of my watch thoroughly seems to have improved it greatly.