Smartphones can actually cause allergic reactions.
These days, it is very rare to find somebody who does not have a cell phone with them at all times. We walk around with these small computers in our pockets, enjoying the convenience of communication that they offer. But according to American and Danish researchers, our smartphones might be causing something more serious: Allergic reactions.
While reviewing medical evidence, the teams studying the rise of allergies brought on by smartphones have questioned whether or not manufacturing companies are doing well enough to comply with international nickel standards. According to the report that was published in the journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonology, there was a 1,000 percent rise in reports of skin problems between 2000 and 2010, which coincides with the increased popularity of mobile phones.
The allergies, in most cases, are due to dermatitis, which is generally associated with cheap jewelry and belt buckles, and have happened in children. The researchers believe this is due to nickel and chromium metals that are used in cell phone buttons and cases. Because our smartphones are pressed to our faces when we are talking to them, this has caused the epidemic of allergic reactions visible on cheeks, chins and ears.
“As worldwide rates of mobile phone use rise, we show that cases of mobile phone-associated acute contact dermatitis are also increasing. Despite efforts to control allergen release in phones, many phones on the market release levels of metals such as nickel that are sufficient to induce acute contact dermatitis,” Clare Richardson, of the Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California, wrote in the report.
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