Placing Laptop Computer Next To Skin For Long Periods May Lead To “Toasted Skin Syndrome.”
The UK’s Telegraph reports that, according to an article published Oct. 4 in the journal Pediatrics, placing a laptop computer “next to skin for long periods of time can lead to ‘toasted skin syndrome,’ an unusual-looking mottled skin condition caused by long-term heat exposure.” The Telegraph adds, “The condition also can be caused by overuse of heating pads and other heat sources that usually aren’t hot enough to cause burns.”
The Canadian Press reports, Dr. Anthony J. Mancini, dermatology chief at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, “noted that chronic, prolonged skin inflammation can potentially increase chances for squamous cell skin cancer, which is more aggressive than the most common skin cancer. But Mancini said it’s unlikely computer use would lead to cancer since it’s so easy to avoid prolonged close skin contact with laptops.”