Laptop user be careful!

[ringlo (imported)]

This letter was sent to the medical journal "The Lancet":

Lap burn due to laptop computer

Sir--The following story should be taken as a serious warning against use of a laptop computer in a literal sense. The patient, a previously healthy 50-year-old scientist and the father of two children, had been writing a report one evening in his home. Sitting comfortable in an armchair, he had placed his laptop computer on his lap while writing for about 1 h. The next day he noticed irritation and oedema of his penile prepuce. Furthermore, the ventral part of his scrotal skin had turned red, and there was a blister with a diameter of about 2 cm. These findings were verified when I saw the patient 1 day later. There were no signs of phimosis or balanitis. The patient recalled that, while sitting 2 days earlier with his computer on his lap, he occasionally had felt heat and a burning feeling on his lap and proximal thigh, a sensation that was relieved at least temporarily when the computer was moved slightly.

After the first 2 days, the penile and scrotal blisters broke and developed into infected wounds that caused extensive suppuration. More than a week later, the wounds were covered by dry crusts and thereafter were healing quite rapidly. No antibiotic treatment was needed.

When retrospectively checking the manual of the computer, the following safety instructions were found: "Do not allow your portable computer to operate with the base resting directly on exposed skin. With extended operation, heat can potentially build up in the base. Allowing sustained contact with the skin could cause discomfort or, eventually, a burn." In the present case, however, the patient had lap burns although being dressed in trousers and underpants.

Claes-Goran Ostenson

ringlo