Are Your Gadgets Making You Sick? (7)
Seizures, Blood Clots and Death
The condition(s): Here's a medical mystery worth at least one 'House' episode: A 14-year-old British boy is rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment on a blood clot that had developed in his leg. A teenage girl in Iowa is hospitalized after lapsing into a violent seizure. On the other side of the planet, a 28-year-old South Korean man collapses and dies of exhaustion. What vicious and mysterious strain of bird-borne illness is responsible for striking these young people down? Actually, it's video games.
Dominic Patrick, the British boy, spent a rainy day inside playing games. Tucking his legs underneath himself for 10 straight hours caused Deep-Vein Thrombosis, a serious condition that often affects long-haul air travelers who sit in one place for too long.
After five hours behind the controls of a game called 'True Crime: New York City,' Amy Kopaska of Iowa was found by her mom thrashing around, eyes dilated and foaming at the mouth. According to her doctor, long-term exposure to light patterns in the game had triggered Amy's seizure.
The South Korean man, identified only as Lee, spent 50 straight hours playing the game 'Starcraft' in an Internet café, pausing only for toilet breaks and brief naps. Lee had eaten next to nothing in that time, and his death following a collapse was attributed to heart failure caused by extreme exhaustion.
How to prevent or cure it: So, how can video gamers avoid ambulance trips? In all three cases the answer is simply to limit the amount of time you spend gaming, and take plenty of breaks. As we recently reported, the Chinese government is actually writing this bit of advice into law.
Get more info on gaming addiction at Joystiq.
Related Links:
Engadget: Engadget Gets A BlackBerry Massage
Engadget: When Cell Phones Attack...
AOL News: Video Game Addicts Now Have Detox Clinic
Dominic Patrick, the British boy, spent a rainy day inside playing games. Tucking his legs underneath himself for 10 straight hours caused Deep-Vein Thrombosis, a serious condition that often affects long-haul air travelers who sit in one place for too long.
After five hours behind the controls of a game called 'True Crime: New York City,' Amy Kopaska of Iowa was found by her mom thrashing around, eyes dilated and foaming at the mouth. According to her doctor, long-term exposure to light patterns in the game had triggered Amy's seizure.
The South Korean man, identified only as Lee, spent 50 straight hours playing the game 'Starcraft' in an Internet café, pausing only for toilet breaks and brief naps. Lee had eaten next to nothing in that time, and his death following a collapse was attributed to heart failure caused by extreme exhaustion.
How to prevent or cure it: So, how can video gamers avoid ambulance trips? In all three cases the answer is simply to limit the amount of time you spend gaming, and take plenty of breaks. As we recently reported, the Chinese government is actually writing this bit of advice into law.
Get more info on gaming addiction at Joystiq.
Related Links:
Engadget: Engadget Gets A BlackBerry Massage
Engadget: When Cell Phones Attack...
AOL News: Video Game Addicts Now Have Detox Clinic
