Question Skin degradation due to carrying smartphones?

[Enjo]

Hi there,

There's something that bothers me. I have a smartphone since 2012 and after about 2 years I noticed that the patch of skin under the place, where I carried the phone, started itching. Later on, I noticed that one, then two hair follicles became inflamed. Later on, after almost two years of only sporadically carrying the smartphone there, the skin patch partially restored its health, but was still itchy.

Since mid 2017, so a year ago, I was forced to carry two smartphones – one with a polish SIM card, one with a german one. I’ve noticed that the inflammation returned, but more to that – the patch of skin became bald!

Do you think it could be an effect of radiation (now double radiation), or simply an effect of the phones rubbing my skin or blocking its air exchange processes?

From now on I will stop carrying the phones there to let the skin heal itself, and then repeat the experiment with the smartphones in offline mode or completely switched off.

 

[Thorsten]

I'm not an expert on smartphones, but pretty much every radiation assessment I've read through were considering the radiation while you hold it to your ear and have a phone conversation - I didn't get the impression there's much emitted while it's in standby. If I remember correctly, the radiation peak occurs when you switch it on and it searches for a base station, later it dials down signal strength to the minimum needed to keep the connection.

So I'd bet on the effect constant rubbing (that, at least, is something I have experienced myself with things that don't radiate at all).

 

[Face]

Perhaps it is the heat that causes the skin to transpire only in that spot? I get a kind of "heat pickles" sometimes myself if some part of my skin is exposed to heat (e.g. wood burner, black watch strap in summer, BBQ grilling my belly, etc.).

Or it is just getting older. :shrug:

 

[Linguofreak]

How tightly do your pants fit, especially when you have a phone in your pocket?

My phone has never caused me trouble, but I tend to go for baggier pants and a belt. My watch fits more tightly to my wrist and causes me trouble every once in a while.

Were you carrying both phones in the same pocket? If so, I'd definitely put it down to mechanical irritation, particularly if your pants hold just the single phone fairly tightly to your skin. If that's the case, buy pants a size larger, and in a different style, if necessary, and carry the phones in different pockets. If you're hurting for pocket space, maybe buy some cargo pants.

 

[Urwumpe]

I would say, it is rather the rubbing of the phone than the radiation. I get the same when I carry my keys in my pants pocket over a longer period of time - and those should not be radioactive.

 

[boogabooga]

I have similar where I carry my wallet.

 

[Enjo]

Thanks for all the relieving input.

Were you carrying both phones in the same pocket? If so, I'd definitely put it down to mechanical irritation, particularly if your pants hold just the single phone fairly tightly to your skin. If that's the case, buy pants a size larger, and in a different style, if necessary, and carry the phones in different pockets. If you're hurting for pocket space, maybe buy some cargo pants.

Yeah, my pants are usually kind of tight. So two phones in the same pocket give more than twice the pressure of a single phone. I will carry them in my backpack from now on, whenever possible.

 

[MaverickSawyer]

I carry my phone in a belt holster. Seems to work just fine.

 

[steph]

I always carry it in the right pocket. A few times, I've felt pain (kinda like a pinch) on the same spot on my leg. I usually wear jeans. Another thing I've had happen was pain in my fingers while holding it in my hand. Again, like a sting or a pinch. It went away once I moved my fingers to a new position. Weird, though, it only happens if I hold it in like two positions ever. I thought it might be due to micro-abrasions on the phone, since I dropped it a few times, but it doesn't always happen. Again, the smartphones use way less signal strength than the old ones.

edit: about the irritations, I've had them too ,but on various areas along the leg. My best guess is the dye in the jeans
They go away , but they reappear in earnest when I wear one specific pair of jeans. After I got soaked during a rain, I also noticed a blue tinge on my feet, as the dye had basically leaked onto my skin. That can't be good.