Man burns penis with laptop
Yes, yes, but what make?
By Drew Cullen
Published Friday 22nd November 2002 10:10 GMT
And now for proof that some laptops run hotter than a badger. A
50-year old scientist, previously healthy, burned his penis after
placing his laptop on his, err lap, for an hour. Oh, he was fully
dressed in trousers and underpants, according to this letter
printed in the Lancet, the UK's best-known medical journal. (reg
req'd, free.)
The following is not for the squeamish:
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.
Thank goodness. The Register is happy that the patient was in such
able hands, but disappointed in the lack of technical detail in
Claes-Goran Ostenson's report. What was the make of laptop*? Did it
have a desktop chip in it? Roll on Banias.
The unnamed laptop maimer may have to change the caveats in its
instruction manual. Ostenson notes the branding iron firm's safety
instructions:
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."
Don't trousers and underpants count?
The 50 year-old scientist has learned a lesson, although we're not
sure what. And we are relieved that this is not a case of objectum
sexuality, most commonly expressed in sexual love for cars, but
also a phenomenon among... owners of PowerMacs (they are nice,
aren't they?). Here is a snippet from a recent Wired piece.
That's when Mark realized it wasn't Bryan he fancied, it
was his Mac.
"Bryan, my cyberboyfriend, was in a lot of ways, my PowerMac G3,
webcam and telephone," Mark wrote on his website. "He literally
lived inside of this machine ... that I myself could control like a
light switch. The perfect boyfriend."
Quite. ®
*Reg Reader Peter Dudek of Switzerland
writes:
Just thought I'd mention that by doing a google search with "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" as the
search string, I believe, reveals the mystery laptop brand.
It's a Dell Latitude. The search pulls up a support website from
support.jp.dell.com, that has, essentially, the exact same warning
in the
"User's Guide". ®
