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Hot laptop causes injury

J

JohnStrass

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
177
147
Miami, USA
Well, its for real. The heat put out in some laptops causes long-lasting thermal injury to the skin , called "erythema ab igne", similar to a slow roast of the legs from space-heaters.

http://www.eblue.org/scripts/om.dll...Bfor=art&artType=letter&id=as0190962203032948

Erythema ab igne induced by a laptop computer
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
June 2004 • Volume 50 • Number 6

I use some sort of insulator like a pillow between my legs and my toasty PBG4 1.5 15".
 
The cause of that could of been from any portable computer from various levels of usage. And anyone that keeps their portable computer on themselves while it's burning hot has to be seriously braindead.
new_shocked.gif
 
King Cobra said:
The cause of that could of been from any portable computer from various levels of usage. And anyone that keeps their portable computer on themselves while it's burning hot has to be seriously braindead.
Click to expand...

LOL :), but that's exactly the thing. :( From the article, this condition results from sub-burning-hot exposure. He even stopped using it because he "experienced discomfort." OTOH I'm pretty sure this amounts to a "rash" that will "go away" if you "ignore it" for a week or so. ;)
 
A similar case was in the news last year with a scientist who was rendered sterile because of a hot laptop... which btw is why they call them notebooks.
 
virividox said:
u would think if it was hot people would stop using it
Click to expand...

To some extent, it's like the frog and boiling water. If you through a frog in boiling water he'll immediately jump out. But if you put a frog in cool water and slowly bring it to a boil, it won't recognize the heat change and it'll be boiled alive.

I don't think that the burns happen after a few minutes of use, but rather they occur after prolonged use, probably hours a day over weeks or months.
 
JohnStrass said:
I use some sort of insulator like a pillow between my legs and my toasty PBG4 1.5 15".
Click to expand...

Using a pillow is a bad idea. The manual that came with mine said not to use it on a soft surface. It needs the small space beneath it for heat dissapation. I use a folding desk made of hard plastic.Don't want to fry my book.
 
stoid said:
To some extent, it's like the frog and boiling water. If you through a frog in boiling water he'll immediately jump out. But if you put a frog in cool water and slowly bring it to a boil, it won't recognize the heat change and it'll be boiled alive.
Click to expand...

That's actually false but the concept has some merit in this context. I've had personal experience with accidentally cooking part of my body over an extended period without noticing. I'd just picked up my "pre-owned" touring motorcycle and took off on a 750 mile trip. Got to my destination, hopped in the shower, and noticed the beginning of a big bruise on the inside of my right knee. Turns out the duct that was supposed to guide the hot air out the vents in the fairing was slightly out of place and it let a small stream of hot engine air blast my knee all day. The flesh had begun to cook and I didn't notice a thing until I happened to look at my knee.
 
*sticks his hand in boiling water...*
Wow this is hot...oh well

*begins burning*
cool....the water is turning red! Hmmm my hand is bleeding...

*sues the company that made his gas stove*
What...its america...im alowed to do this....

*wins lots of money*
woohoooo!



That just about follows the same logic as putting a hot laptop on your lap.....that is why they are called "notebooks" nowadays :D (as well as the point they are replacing regular notebooks...)
 
Did you guys notice the line that said "Rare cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and Merkel cell carcinoma arising in lesions of EAI have been reported.17-19 Thermally induced cancers are usually SCCs and occur even after 30 years.20,21"

The infrared radiation from the laptop could give you cancer!
 
Its more common than you think

topicolo said:
Did you guys notice the line that said "Rare cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and Merkel cell carcinoma arising in lesions of EAI have been reported.17-19 Thermally induced cancers are usually SCCs and occur even after 30 years.20,21"

The infrared radiation from the laptop could give you cancer!
Click to expand...

Yes, no more pillows; a hard tray is a better idea.

Erythema ab igne is a real disease. It is due to low-dose intermitent exposure to heat. The most common is for people in the winter to sit next to a fireplace or quartz heater and feel the nice warmth. The risk of skin cancer is real and I follow up closely with my patients with EAI.
I never had one of the hotter PB (I cant remeber which ones were the hottest) but it might be safer to have one burn you, so that you keep it off of your legs, rather than deal with the low-level heat.
 
Good article hopefully laptop users take heed and use hard surface protection between them and the notebook. I agree with not using a pillow or something soft it would give support to the notebook or allow for heat dissipation.
 
King Cobra said:
The cause of that could of been from any portable computer from various levels of usage. And anyone that keeps their portable computer on themselves while it's burning hot has to be seriously braindead.
new_shocked.gif
Click to expand...

sort of ironic they call it a LAPtop then :rolleyes:
 
JohnStrass said:
Yes, no more pillows; a hard tray is a better idea.

Erythema ab igne is a real disease. It is due to low-dose intermitent exposure to heat. The most common is for people in the winter to sit next to a fireplace or quartz heater and feel the nice warmth. The risk of skin cancer is real and I follow up closely with my patients with EAI.
I never had one of the hotter PB (I cant remeber which ones were the hottest) but it might be safer to have one burn you, so that you keep it off of your legs, rather than deal with the low-level heat.
Click to expand...

Hey cool, you're a dermatologist then John? Is dermatology as great a residency as everyone makes it out to be?

Just curious
 
silentrage said:
I have an iLap stand that can be used while sitting or on a desk. It allows air to flow under my laptop while I'm sitting and puts it an angle that easy to type and read.

http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilap.html
Click to expand...

Me too

Fantastic device - keeps my powerbook cool when recording audio too - so no more pesky fan noises on my recordings!

It also raises the powerbook off my desk which is alot better ergonomically too.
 
That iLap looks very interesting -- quite a shocker on the $60 price though. Perhaps I'll try to roll-my-own and see how it turns-out. I've also got a couple of the cheap plastic "laptop coolers" that cost about $10 each and have USB-port power fans in them. Even if not using the fans, the hard plastic base works on your lap/desk and provides additional airflow.
 
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