Doctors baffled by an unexplained rash on people's ears or cheeks should be on alert for a skin allergy caused by too much mobile phone use， the British Association of Dermatologists said.
Citing published studies， the group said a red or itchy rash， known as "mobile phone dermatitis，" affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices.
Safety concerns over mobile phones has grown as more people rely on them for everyday communication， although the evidence to date has given the technology a clean bill of health when it comes to serious conditions like brain cancer.
"In mobile phone dermatitis， the rash would typically occur on the cheek or ear， depending on where the metal part of the phone comes into contact with the skin，" the group said in a statement.
"In theory it could even occur on the fingers if you spend a lot of time texting on metal menu buttons."
Nickel is a metal found in products， ranging from mobile phones to jewelry to belt buckles and is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis， according to the Mayo Clinic in the United States.
Earlier Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University in Providence， Rhode Island and colleagues tested 22 popular handsets from eight different manufacturers and found nickel in 10 of the devices.
英國皮膚科醫師協會稱，醫生們在發現患者耳部或兩頰出現無法解釋其原因的皮疹時應當注意，那可能是由於過度使用手機而造成的皮膚過敏。
協會援引已發表的研究成果稱，長期使用手機的人可能會對手機的鎳製外殼產生過敏性反應，進而生出紅色或發癢的皮疹，即患“手機皮炎”。
雖然迄今為止的證據都證明使用手機不會導致腦癌等重大疾病，但是由於越來越多的人依靠手機進行日常通訊，因而手機安全問題也日益受到關注。
該組織在一份聲明中說：“患手機皮炎者，其皮疹通常出現在臉頰或耳部，具體取決於手機的金屬部件與皮膚接觸的部位。”
“從理論上講，如果你長時間敲擊(手機的)金屬菜單按鈕發信息，皮疹甚至會出現在手指上。”
美國梅奧醫療中心指出，鎳這種金屬存在於各種產品中，從手機、珠寶首飾到皮帶扣中都有，它是引發過敏性接觸皮炎的最常見原因之一。
早些時候，位於美國羅德島州普羅維登斯市的布朗大學的萊昂內爾·貝爾科維奇與其同事對8家不同廠商的22款暢銷的手機進行了測試，結果發現其中10款都還有鎳。