Today I am here to talk about a condition that I seem to have developed that I have dubbed laptop leg. You see, while working from home, the most comfortable place for me to use my computer is to set it on my lap—I mean, it’s called a laptop for a reason, right?

Well anyway, my laptop is dual core and so it comes equipped with 2 fan vents to keep it cool. Sometimes though, I tend to let blankets get in the way of the vents and then the laptop becomes quite hot on the left side. On warm days, I of course like to wear shorts, and so the laptop sits on bare skin. There are times when I have noticed that the laptop is ALMOST too hot to tolerate, but I suppose I leave it there for so long that I just sort of get used to it. When I get up and move the laptop find that the area touching the computer is all sweaty and blotchy red from the heat.

I didn’t think too much of it, because it always went away, but a few weeks ago I happened to look at my left leg on a day when I hadn’t even had my computer on my lap and noticed that the spot where the laptop sits was noticeably darker than the other parts. Lest I think it was my own imagination, Ben had happened to glance at my leg that same day and asked if I had somehow bruised myself. So ok, it’s not just me. Since that time I have vowed to never have the laptop sitting directly on bare skin—if possible, I try to have several layers of blankets in between to act as a barrier. So far this has been working out, but I fear I will have to come up with a different plan come summertime.

I think my leg is slowly turning lighter. I am hypothesizing (hoping) that the warmth just affected the top layer of skin, and didn’t somehow cause deep skin cell damage or something. It is my hope that when all that skin finally sheds that I am left with a normal looking leg! That area of leg has been more dry lately, so maybe it’s almost like a sunburn in that you damaged it a bit and then it all just comes off.

Anyway I just thought I’d share as a bit of a cautionary tale. I mean, my leg doesn’t hurt or feel any different, but it has been a bit odd to look at this one giant dark splotch on my otherwise super pale legs. I certainly did not anticipate that this would be a hazard of working from home!

Posted at 3:54 PM |

Yikes!

It makes me glad that I’m usually sitting at a table using my macbook.
Though I have to confess that my chair is becoming less and less comfortable as the hours progress ;-)

1 | Posted by: Leonieke on March 29, 2008 @ 4:26 PM

http://lifehacker.com/369689/top-10-diy-laptop-stands

these might work ;-)

5 | Posted by: Leonieke on April 07, 2008 @ 9:43 AM