Case report links daily laptop use to 'toasted skin' marks on boy's abdomen
A case report published in BMJ Case Reports describes a boy in mid-childhood who developed "toasted skin" marks on his abdomen after using a laptop every day, according to Ars Technica.
The report was written by two UK doctors, Mara Znagoveanu and Edward Artley. It describes the boy arriving at an emergency department with marks on his abdomen. The marks covered a patch roughly 15 centimeters (six inches) wide and consisted of flat, reddish-brown "interlacing lines forming irregular circles and a lace-like morphology," the doctors wrote.
The boy was not in pain, and the rash was neither warm to the touch nor tender, according to the report. He and his parents said they could not think of any recent injury or trauma that might explain the marks. He was otherwise healthy, had not been ill recently, and had no systemic symptoms such as fever or fatigue. Everything about the boy's health, growth and medical history looked normal, the doctors wrote.
Ars Technica reported the case under the headline that the boy developed the "toasted skin" condition from using a laptop every day. The account published by the publication did not include the doctors' further discussion of the diagnosis or the boy's outcome.
Fears that modern electronic devices may harm children are not new, Ars Technica noted. Gadgets with screens of any size have long been alleged to melt, rot or corrupt the brains of youths for decades, the publication wrote. The case report, as Ars Technica described it, offers a new and alarming way in which digital devices may cause physical harm.