Over the last several months, I have noticed a large patch resembling a bruise on my left leg. It gets more sensitive after I shave my legs. That is the side where my laptop heat sink fan blows out heat. It gets really warm on this old HP. It made sense to me that it had to be from the laptop, but I wear heavy 100% cotton jeans and I can't believe that the heat coming through my jeans, which wasn't hot enough to burn, could cause that much damage. I speculated that maybe the hot air had some kind of dangerous chemicals, but I know enough about electronics that I quickly dismissed that idea. A search online reveals this is common among long-hour laptop users, especially those that wear shorts. There are no reports of it being a problem, other than looks and sensitivity, and documented cases of skin cancer have never been reported, only speculated. I remedied the problem by using a padded laptop board. I am still experimenting with what I can put on it. I am trying aloe vera for a week to see if that helps. Has anyone else experienced this syndrome?
I never had the problem, but I bought a laptop board when I bought my old laptop, mostly to preserve the battery and save it from overheating. I never had any problems with skiin. Of course, I don't shave my legs so maybe that helps.
Although I own a couple of laptops, I have never used them on my lap. I use them on tables, desks, and restaurant counters, where I don't already have a computer.
I have always sat my laptop on my legs too. Sometimes my legs would get pretty warm. I got to wondering also, if it was harmful. I have sat my laptop on my legs for years. I guess it is a little late to be worrying about it now. But I have recently started to use a small light weight cutting board to set my laptop on. It is actually better. It is just hard to get in the habit of having two things on my lap. Well, 3 things. My cat always wants to squeeze in and sit between me and the computer sometimes.
Not related to a laptop, but I think just the heat would do it. I have one room in the house over the porch that gets cold on the floor sometimes in the winter because the floor isn't insulated. In the winter I keep a space heater under a table in that room where I sit a lot at the computer just to keep my feet warm. Sometimes the heater gets really hot, but I'm too distracted to bother adjusting it. I'm pretty sure the heat has caused little spider veins to appear near the ankle of the leg that's nearest the heater. There are none on the other ankle. They are permanent.
Compared to cell phone batteries I'm sure a laptop battery is packing a lot more energy. I was talking on my cell the other day and I kept hearing a background buzzer or something while talking to my sister and I hung up and the phone went completely dead. I could feel a lot of heat on the backside of the phone, much more than ever before on any of my cells over the years. I thought the battery might have shorted and after fiddling around for about 15 minutes I decided to plug the charger into the phone and it actually started charging. So all is well now and I am sure from day one after buying this phone over two years ago when they forced everyone to go to 4g minimum I have been leaving the phone on 24/7 never turning it off. I thought it was off when the screen was flipped close. I thought all these months that the battery was bad when I first got the phone. Now I turn it off and the battery is staying charged. One thing that did happen I have a left over ghost notice for a spam number, it is not located anywhere on my phone but yet every time I start the phone I get that voicemail notice with the spam number. I have tried three days to get rid of that notice. There is no way to block the number either. I am just about ready to change numbers and reset the entire phone with no more personal numbers and a page of cat photos it would not be a hassle to change numbers.
Do you have any skin damage in that area? Here is what my damage looks like and it hurts like a mild sunburn. @Ken Anderson please don't ban me for showing some leg. It is necessary for advancement in medical science.
Oh my! No, my leg doesn't look like that. A portion of my legs might get a little red at times from the heat of the computer but it never burned. I usually have long pants or pajama bottoms on with my computer on my lap, but I could still feel the warmth. When I got my new laptop, the booklet suggested not to set it directly on the lap because of the heat coming off the computer. But it is a laptop, damnit! In all the laptops I have owned, not once was it ever mentioned not to set directly on the lap. Or maybe I just didn't read that part.
One sure answer is that all of us that are older have very thin skin. I was looking at my arm the other day and really noticed how thin mine has gotten just over 5 or 6 years. I read a long time ago our skin actually dies as we get older. I can just touch a wall or object and get a bruise or cut. I wish some of this fat would die
Faye, you might consider a "Table Mate" folding table; they are convenient and lightweight (but don't work well with recliners.) https://www.amazon.com/stores/Table-Mate/Table-Mate/page/C9EE9546-05B2-4F78-A615-002C26C3D777 I have one of these that I use if I want my laptop on my lap. It has those "beaded bags" on the bottom that conform to your legs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N9LDMF8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I have the beaded bag board and started using it a few days ago. It is in use as I type. That will stop any more damage. I have one of the legged ones from the three years I spent in bed, should that need ever arise again. I do all my computer work from my recliner. I am treating it with aloe vera, vitamin E cream, and an antibiotic.
And I think the loss of fat in the skin affects women more than men, mostly because they carry more lipids in their skin. That is what gives them the wonderful curves. Smokers tend to lose lipids in their skin as well. That is why you can identify a long-time heavy smoker by sight. Perhaps that is part of the issue.
Nope, never smoked! No doubt that as we age our skin becomes easier damaged. It is definitely a discoloring of the skin and a light "burn" caused by the laptop heat and the fact that over the last couple of years, I spend around 6 hours a day on this evil box. I haven't had wonderful curves for years. I don't bruise easily or have skin problems except on my head from sun damage.