Health Hazards Of Laptop Use

By Staff

Friday, August 13, 2010, 9:39

The wonder of technology has made work easy for us but at the same time made it difficult for our body to cope up with it. The new baby of technology, laptop is a big threat to our health. It takes toil on your health without you being aware of it, says Kevin Carneiro, from the school of medicine.

Backache, sore arms and neck, are a result of spending long hours in front of the laptop. The laptop is so designed that while using a laptop one almost inevitably takes on a poor posture.

Continuous typing on the laptop can also cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, an injury to the nerve that passes through the wrist.

According to Carneiro, our body should form 90-degree angles at our elbows, knees and hips with eyes looking straight ahead at the top third of the screen, while working. But because the keyboard and monitor are combined in a laptop, they can't be positioned independently for typing and viewing.

The way one should work on a laptop is by using a docking station that either links a laptop to another monitor and keyboard or using a stand that raises the screen to a higher level.

You can also use a FireWire or USB cable to connect your laptop to an extra monitor or keyboard, which you can then adjust to the proper height.

Tip For Laptop Use?

1. While carrying the laptop make sure you don't put the whole weight on one shoulder.
2. Your chair should be very comfortable with back support.
3. Position your laptop in such a way that you don't bend your neck to see the screen.
4.Place the mouse in the same height as your laptop.
5.Don't work for long hours. Take short breaks in between your work.
6. Drink a lot of water. Drinking plenty of water keeps the discs in your back lubricated and healthy.
7.If you suffer from neck and shoulder pain, headaches at the top of your head, wrist pain or tingling in your fingers, particularly in your thumb, please consult your doctor.