Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Prolonged Gaming Spurs New Class of Skin Sores

by Warren Riddle on February 24, 2009 at 04:06 PM


While the name's not as catchy as "Wiiitis," go ahead and add "PlayStation palmar hidradenitis" to the growing list of video game-related maladies. The term was coined soon after a 12-year-old girl's recent visit to a Swiss hospital, where she complained of intensely painful sores on the palms of her hands.

Doctors at the Geneva University Hospital deduced that the girl, who had begun playing a PlayStation game a few hours a day, suffered from "ideopathic eccrine hidradenitis," a skin disorder which typically affects the hands and feet. The disorder is linked to intense sweating, and had previously been seen, for the most part, on the feet of heavily active children. The doctors proposed that the girl, who fully recovered after 10 days of no gaming, developed the sores as a result of a tight and prolonged grip on the controller, compounded by sweating and the pressing of buttons.

While researchers have reported cases of video game addiction, physical symptoms are just now beginning to emerge. To prevent video game-related injuries and health complications, utilize common sense, monitor your playing time and take frequent breaks. Or, you could just get some rocking gloves to protect your dainty little hands. [From: BBC Health]
Related Stories:

Tags: health, ideopathic eccrine hidradenitis, IdeopathicEccrineHidradenitis, top, video game addiction, video games, VideoGameAddiction, VideoGames, wiiitis

Comments

8

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular