"Lap burn" from laptops

Doctor warns of 'lap burn' from laptops

A medical journal is warning about "lap burn" from laptop computers. In a report in The Lancet, physician Claes-Goran Ostenson of Sweden's Karolinska Institute warns of a "previously healthy" 50-year-old scientist who placed his laptop on his lap to work for an hour. Despite wearing trousers and undershorts, the man developed burns and blisters on his genitals, reports Ostenson, who says the case "should be taken as a serious warning against use of a laptop computer in the literal sense."

An advisory on the computer recommended against contact with bare skin. "Laptops can get uncomfortable, but I've never heard of this," says Will Rodger of the Computer & Communications Industry Association. "We don't think laptops are a health threat. We recommend people avoid falling asleep with them in their laps."

USA Today
12/04/02