Mobile Phones: Potential Sources of Nickel and Cobalt Exposure for Metal Allergic Patients.

Pediatr Allergy Immunol Pulmonol

Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, New York.

Published: December 2013

The use of cellular phones has risen exponentially with over 300 million subscribers. Nickel has been detected in cell phones and reports of contact dermatitis attributable to metals are present in the literature. We determined nickel and cobalt content in popular cell phones in the United States. Adults (>18 years) who owned a flip phone, Blackberry, or iPhone were eligible. Seventy-two cell phones were tested using SmartPractice's commercially available nickel and cobalt spot tests. Test areas included buttons, keypad, speakers, camera, and metal panels. Of the 72 cell phones tested, no iPhones or Droids tested positive for nickel or cobalt. About 29.4% of Blackberrys [95% confidence interval (CI), 13%-53%] tested positive for nickel; none were positive for cobalt. About 90.5% of flip phones (95% CI, 70%-99%) tested positive for nickel and 52.4% of flip phones (95% CI, 32%-72%) tested positive for cobalt. Our study indicates that nickel and cobalt are present in popular cell phones. Patients with known nickel or cobalt allergy may consider their cellular phones as a potential source of exposure. Further studies are needed to examine whether there is a direct association with metal content in cell phones and the manifestation of metal allergy.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3869443PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ped.2013.0280DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

nickel cobalt
24
cell phones
24
tested positive
16
positive nickel
12
phones
10
nickel
9
phones potential
8
cobalt
8
cellular phones
8
popular cell
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!