Toasted Skin Syndrome Is Real, Caused By Heat From Laptop

If you have a laptop, there's a chance that you use it, say, on your lap. And, as you've probably learned on your own over the years, is that doing that for any extended period of time, usually means that your thighs get pretty hot. The heat from the bottom of a laptop, no matter how well ventilated it is, can be pretty intense, and now it seems that those who have been affected by its heat, permanently, have a name to call their altered skin: toasted skin syndrome.

According to a new article published today by Swiss researchers Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, the Toasted Skin Syndrome is a real thing, and it is dangerous. In one particular case, a 12-year-old boy actually developed a skin condition that looked like a sponge-pattern. The discoloration was a result from the boy playing computer games for several hours every day over the course of several months.

The researchers point out that the syndrome is harmless for the most part, but it is possible to cause permanent skin damage. Furthermore, in very rare cases, it can have damage leading to skin cancer. Back in 2007, there had been 10 cases of laptop-related incidents of dermatosis reported for the last six years. The main takeaway would be not to put your laptop on your lap for too long, and if you need to, put something between the laptop and your legs.

[via CNET]