Temperature via laptops causing cases of toasted skin syndrome

Probably the most recent danger from extreme laptop use to emerge is something called “toasted skin syndrome”. Previously associated with such occupations as foundry workers, fried skin syndrome causes skin in affected areas to assume patchy discolorations. A case involving a boy who developed toasted skin syndrome playing video games on a laptop for hrs on end has drawn attention to the condition, which could lead to cancer of the skin.

Laptops to blame in several toasted skin syndrome instances

Toasted skin syndrome is something that happens to people who have laptops. The laptops are put on a user’s thighs for a long period of time. In a recent case, CBS News reports that a 12-year-old boy came to his doctor with “sponge-patterned” skin on his left thigh. For months at a time he would spend time playing computer games for a few hours each day. Another recent case involves a law student who sought treatment for mottled skin on her leg. The student’s physician, Dr. Kimberley Salkey, diagnosed toasted skin syndrome after learning that she studied about six hrs a day with her computer sitting in her lap. 125 degrees was the average temperature her laptop got to.

Get skin cancer through your laptop

Workers who are around intense heat often are the only ones that are diagnosed with toasted skin syndrome until now. The Associated Press accounts what Salkey said the toasted skin would look like under a microscope. It just looks like sun exposure that went too far. Toasted skin syndrome can also be brought on by overuse of heating pads that are not very hot enough to burn. The skin gets discolored, but has been considered harmless until now. There have been more recent updates by Swiss researches who published in the medical journal Pediatrics an article about fried skin syndrome. It suggests that cancer of the skin can come via it.

Obtain a laptop heat shield

The Pediatrics article didn’t say there were any specific cancer of the skin instances that were looked at by the Swiss researchers. They did suggest that you put something underneath it to protect you. This could possibly be something like a carrying case or a heat shield. Heat generated laptops generally give warnings via major computer makers of the heat. Yahoo News published this report. The Associated Press explains that in the report, it points out that 1 in 10 cases in medical journals since 2004 talks about fried skin syndrome. One of these was about how scrotum temperatures being too high can lead to a decreased sperm production.

Data from

ABC News

abcnews.go.com

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com

PC World

pcworld.com

CBS News

cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20018447-10391704.html

Pediatrics

pediatrics.aappublications.org/

Yahoo News

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101004/ap_on_hi_te/us_laptop_toasted_skin