'Toasted Skin Syndrome' a side effect of warm laptop on skin

In this undated photo provided by the journal Pediatrics, a 12 year-old boy is pictured with evidence of "toasted skin syndrome".

Lindsay Goldwert - There’s a downside to the toasty feeling of a warm laptop against your legs -- mottled and discolored skin.

Keeping the heated surface of the laptop against one’s skin can for extended periods of time can cause ‘toasted skin syndrome’ – a condition caused by long-term heat exposure, reports the Associated Press.

While laptop computers (similar to heating pads or hot water bottles) rarely get hot enough to cause burns, the syndrome can cause the skin to darken and can, in rare cases, lead to skin cancers, said the Swiss researchers, Drs. Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin from University Hospital Basel.

Researchers do not cite any skin cancer cases linked to laptop use, but advice using a ‘heat shield’ under the computer if you work with it on your lap. ...

via 'Toasted Skin Syndrome' a side effect of working with warm laptop against exposed skin.