Law Student Suffers from ‘Toasted Skin Syndrome’ Due to Laptop Use
A dermatologist had a medical mystery on her hands when a Virginia law student showed up in her office with a mottled discoloration on her leg.
Dr. Kimberley Salkey was puzzled until she learned the student spent about six hours a day working with a laptop on her lap, the Associated Press reports. The diagnosis was “toasted skin syndrome,” a skin condition that is caused by long-term exposure to heat that can also be caused by heating pads.
Medical journals have chronicled 10 cases involving laptops and discolored skin in articles published in the last six years, the story says. Salkey’s case, from 2007, was one of them.
An article published Monday in the Journal Pediatrics says toasted skin syndrome can lead to permanent darkening of the skin and possibly skin cancer. The article does not cite any skin cancer cases related to laptop use, however.
