News Alert: Cell Phone Usage Connected to Health Risks
Posted Nov 01 2008 12:00am
by Mallory Creveling, beat blogger
You may have heard the rumor that too much cell phone usage can lead to brain cancer, which researchers later found untrue, but doctors in London have recently discovered a new cell phone health risk. This time, it’s a skin rash.
Skin allergy, according to MSNBC, caused by too much cell phone use, caused a rash on patients’ ears and cheeks, according to the British Association of Dermatologists. The red and itchy rash, termed “mobile phone dermatitis,” can come from an allergic reaction to the nickel surface of cell phones, the article said. The rash can occur on your ears, cheeks or even your fingers if you text for countless hours throughout the day.
Nickel is a metal found to commonly cause allergic reactions, according to the Mayo Clinic in the United States on MSNBC.com. People are in contact nickel when using cell phones, headsets, belt buckles or jewelry.
As the popularity of mobile phone use continues to grow across the country, it becomes almost inevitable that researchers will find possible health risks. It can only get more interesting to see the side effects of hours of cell phone use as the college generation gets older.
For now, keep in mind the possibility of too much cell phone use if you find your face itching or a red rash popping up on your ear – it could be a sign that you need a cell phone break.
Mallory Creveling is a senior magazine journalism major with a minor in nutrition. Creveling, who was a fitness editorial intern at Shape magazine this past summer, plans to pursue a career in health journalism after graduation. She attributes her internship and writing and researching for on campus publications to her growing knowledge of where and how to research health topics more sufficiently. Creveling is also a senior editor for the print version of What the Health this semester. She will update her column every Thursday with health news alerts on new studies about issues affecting the U.S. population.
by Mallory Creveling, beat blogger
You may have heard the rumor that too much cell phone usage can lead to brain cancer, which researchers later found untrue, but doctors in London have recently discovered a new cell phone health risk. This time, it’s a skin rash.
Skin allergy, according to MSNBC, caused by too much cell phone use, caused a rash on patients’ ears and cheeks, according to the British Association of Dermatologists. The red and itchy rash, termed “mobile phone dermatitis,” can come from an allergic reaction to the nickel surface of cell phones, the article said. The rash can occur on your ears, cheeks or even your fingers if you text for countless hours throughout the day.
Nickel is a metal found to commonly cause allergic reactions, according to the Mayo Clinic in the United States on MSNBC.com. People are in contact nickel when using cell phones, headsets, belt buckles or jewelry.
As the popularity of mobile phone use continues to grow across the country, it becomes almost inevitable that researchers will find possible health risks. It can only get more interesting to see the side effects of hours of cell phone use as the college generation gets older.
For now, keep in mind the possibility of too much cell phone use if you find your face itching or a red rash popping up on your ear – it could be a sign that you need a cell phone break.
Mallory Creveling is a senior magazine journalism major with a minor in nutrition. Creveling, who was a fitness editorial intern at Shape magazine this past summer, plans to pursue a career in health journalism after graduation. She attributes her internship and writing and researching for on campus publications to her growing knowledge of where and how to research health topics more sufficiently. Creveling is also a senior editor for the print version of What the Health this semester. She will update her column every Thursday with health news alerts on new studies about issues affecting the U.S. population.
Her e-mail is mbcrevel@syr.edu.