Yet another thing to worry about - Toasted Skin Syndrome

Here's yet another way that technology is trying to kill you - Toasted Skin Syndrome.

Apparently, if you spend a long time with a notebook resting on your upper legs, you could be at risk from this form of dermatosis.

Researchers from Switzerland, reporting in the Nov. 5 issue of Pediatrics, focus on the case of a 12-year-old boy who developed a sponge-patterned discoloration on his left thigh after playing computer games with his laptop resting on his upper legs a few hours per day for several months.

“He recognized that the laptop got hot on the left side,” the researchers write. “However, regardless of that, he did not change its position.”

...

The researchers say mild-to-moderate heat between 109.4 to116.6 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to cause burns. However, 111.2 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to cause toasted skin syndrome.

Nasty.

It takes temperatures between 109.4 to116.6 degrees Fahrenheit to cause burns, but exposure to 111.2 degrees Fahrenheit for prolonged periods can cause this toasted skin effect. And notebooks can easily hit these sorts of temperatures.

Bottom line, it's time to think of laptops as notebooks. They've been too hot to comfortably use of laps without some sort of cooler for years.

Anyone here toasted their thighs with a notebook? For the record, I've survived unscathed so far!