Add “Toasted Skin Syndrome” from Laptops to Tech Hazards

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Place that laptop on your lap for too long and you may get burned, doctors say. Though computer manufacturers warn against placing portable computers on skin (see Apple’s MacBook Pro manual excerpt above), people do it — and toast their skin.

Medical researchers recently reported on cases of skin blotches caused by hot laptops on legs. In one, Swiss researchers found a 12-year-old boy developed a criss cross blotch on his left thigh after playing computer games a few hours every day over a period of several months.

‘He recognized that the laptop got hot on the left side; however, regardless of that, he did not change its position,’ Swiss researchers wrote in the respected medical journal Pediatrics. This is the youngest of 10 reported patients with what is known as laptop- induced dermatosis, nicknamed “toasted skin syndrome,” since its first description in 2004.

Computer manufacturers do warn in manuals to use common sense when propping up hot machines against skin.

Apple’s MacBook Pro warning reads, “When you’re using your MacBook Pro or charging the battery, it is normal for the bottom of the case to get warm. For prolonged use, place your MacBook on a stable, flat surface. Do not leave your MacBook on your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn.”

Another case involved an American law student with blotchy patches on her leg. Doctors were stumped until they learned the student spent about six hours a day working with her computer propped on her lap.

The temperature underneath the device reached 125 degrees Farenheit, essentially baking the skin on her legs until it resembled skin damaged by long-term sun exposure.

Via Daily Mail

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