Skin Sores From Game Consoles
We are all very well aware of the dangers of video game addiction. It eats one up psychologically, emotionally, mentally and the most obvious manifestation of all — physically.
The British Journal of Dermatology recently came out with a report that too much addiction to game consoles may have caused the development of this new skin disease. It has been identified as PlayStation palmar hidradenitis, a condition in which the palms become painful and sore from handling the control pads all the time.
In fact, according to the report, a 12 year old girl recently suffered from this and was treated at a Swiss hospital. Her treatment also involved an abstinence from playing video games for 10 days.
Doctors who examined her at the Geneva University Hospital concluded she had a condition known as ‘idiopathic eccrine hidradenitis’, a skin disorder that generally causes red, sore lumps on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The condition has been previously found on the soles of the feet in children taking part in heavy physical activity, such as jogging. It is thought to be linked to intense sweating.
For the disorder to only affect the hands is very unusual. The patient had not participated in any sport or physical exercise recently, and could not recall any recent trauma involving her hands. However, her parents did say that she had recently started to play a video game on a PlayStation console for several hours a day, and had continued to play even after developing the sores.
The doctors suspect that the problem was caused by tight and continuous grasping of the console’s hand-grips, and repeated pushing of the buttons, alongside sweating caused by the tension of the game. The researchers said cases of addiction to using games consoles had been recorded, but the symptoms had initially been thought to be psychological. However, some physical symptoms, such as acute tendonitis, dubbed Wiitis, had begun to emerge. They said ‘PlayStation palmar hidradenitis’ could now be added to the list.
Meantime, Sony, the makers of Playstation issued a statement to address this:
“We firmly believe that video gaming is a legitimate entertainment pastime like watching movies, listening to music, or reading books. As with any leisure pursuit there are possible consequences of not following common sense, health advice and guidelines, as can be found within our instruction manuals. PlayStation was launched in 1995 and has sold hundreds of millions of consoles over the last 13 years. We do not wish to belittle this research and will study the findings with interest. This is the first time we have ever heard of a complaint of this nature.”
The most practical and logical thing to do, really? As with any physical activity, if you’re feeling your hands starting to sore and tire out, it might be a good idea to take a break and relax your muscles. Don’t push it. Because you will end up with a physical ailment to complain about.
Source: BBC Health News
