toasted skin syndrome

n.

A skin rash caused by lengthy exposure to a heat source, such as laptop computer balanced on the thighs for an extended period.

Example Citations:

Balancing your laptop on your knees could cause permanent discolouration of the skin and, in rare cases, cancer, doctors have warned. The heat generated by the computers can cause a nettle sting-like rash — a condition named 'toasted skin syndrome'.

—Fiona MacRae, " How the heat from a laptop can 'toast' the skin on your thighs: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317532/Laptop-heat-toast-skin-thighs.html," Daily Mail, October 5, 2010

Have you ever worked on your laptop computer with it sitting on your lap, heating up your legs? If so, you might want to rethink that habit. Doing it a lot can lead to "toasted skin syndrome," an unusual-looking mottled skin condition caused by long-term heat exposure, according to medical reports.

—Lindsey Tanner, " Warm laptop can cause 'toasted skin syndrome: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/No-laps-for-warm-laptops-skin-damage-is-possible-toasted-syndrome.html'," Orlando Sentinel, October 4, 2010

Earliest Citation:

Erythema Ab Igne: "Toasted Skin" Syndrome This condition occurs most commonly in women past middle age.

—M. H. Samitz, Cutaneous Disorders of the Lower Extremities, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, June 1, 1981

Notes:

Toasted skin syndrome is also called laptop thigh, and in the medical literature it's known as erythema ab igne (literally, "redness caused by fire").

Related Words:

data furnace

economy class syndrome

e-thrombosis

phone neck

put skin in the game

sedentary death syndrome

Categories:

Computers (General)

Diseases and Syndromes

I always thought it led to lower sperm count but I've recently made a baby. That's not too scientific, I realize.