TechnicalEnglish#1.

ExternalPractice#2
(3Points)
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AllergictoNickel?MightWanttoTradeinThatFlipPhone
ByAmandaMacMillan|Health.comNov.09,2012

Intodaysgadgetobsessedsociety,Blackberrysandflipphonesareoftenderidedas
beingclunkyandoldfashioned,thankstotheirpushbuttonkeypads,lowresolution
screens,andstopandgowebbrowsing.
Peoplewitholderphoneswhocandowithoutthelatestfeaturesmaynowhaveabetter
reasontoconsiderupgrading:Accordingtonewresearch,Blackberrysandflipphonesare
morelikelythannewertouchscreenmodelstocontainnickel,ametalthatcantriggeran
eczemalikerashinsomepeople.
Allergistsanddermatologistsfirstnoticedphonerelatedskinproblemsabout10yearsago,
whenpatientsbegantricklingintotheirofficeswithpatchesofdry,itchy,red,orswollen
skinalongtheircheekbones,jawlines,andears.Theserashes,thedoctorssoonfiguredout,
tendedtoclearupontheirownifthepatientsstoppedusingacellphone.
Numerouscasereportshavesincelinkedcellphonestonickelallergy,whichaffectsan
estimated17%ofwomenand3%ofmen.Skinproblemsassociatedwiththeallergyare
usuallytriggeredbyearringsandotherjewelry(whichlikelyexplainsthehigherratein
women),aswellasbywatchbands,beltbuckles,dentalfillings,andmakeup.
Todeterminewhethersomephonesmightbemoreaggravatingthanothers,researchersat
theWinthropUniversityHospital,inMineola,N.Y.,testedatotalof72phonesspanningfive
brandsand16differentmodels.Theresearchersswabbedtheexteriorofeachphonewitha
specialnickeldetectingsolutioninatleastfiveplaces,suchasthekeypadandspeakers.
NotoneoftheiPhoneorDroidmodelstestedpositivefornickel,whereasthemetalwas
foundonroughly30%ofBlackberrysand90%offlipphonesincludingallsixofthe
SamsungandallnineoftheLGphonestested.Cobalt,anothermetalthatcantrigger
allergies,alsowasmorecommononflipphones,thoughitwaslessprevalentthannickel
overall.

Phonemanufacturersareusinglightermaterialsnow,andalotmoreplasticcasingsand
coppertomakethingslookfancyandpretty,saysLuzFonacier,MD,headofthehospitals
allergydepartmentandanassociateprofessorofclinicalmedicineatStonyBrook
University,inStonyBrook,N.Y.Forpeoplewithnickelallergies,thisjusthappenstobea
goodthing.
Morethan230millionpeopleintheUnitedStatesnowusemobilephones.Nickelcanbe
foundintheelectronicinnardsofnearlyeveryphone,butitsalsosometimesusedasan
exteriordesignelement,oftenaroundbuttonsandkeypads.Thatmayexplainthelackof
detectablenickelintouchscreeniPhonesandDroidphones,Fonaciersays.
JeannetteGraf,MD,adermatologistattheMountSinaiSchoolofMedicine,inNewYorkCity,
sayscellphoneallergiesareextremelyrarebutnotunheardofinpeoplewhohave
experiencedreactionstonickelinthepast.
Itispossibletohavedrynessandrashwithoutrealizingwhatthecauseis,Grafsays.But
itwouldbeunusualtoseeitfromacellphonewithoutseeingitfromearringsoronthebelt
linewherejeansarebuttoned,atthesametime.
Nickelisntalwaystoblameforskinissues,Grafadds.Insomecases,shesays,longhourson
thephonecancauserashlikesymptomsstemmingfromskinirritationorcloggedpores.
Cellphoneuserswhosuspecttheymightbeexperiencinganickelallergyshouldseetheir
doctorandifnecessaryanallergistforpropertestinganddiagnosis,Fonaciersays.
Simpleremediessuchaschoosingadifferentphone,usingawirelessearpiece,orbuyinga
plasticcaseforanexistingphonemaybeenoughtopreventnickelrelatedrashes,shesays.
FonacierpresentedthetestresultstodayattheannualmeetingoftheAmericanCollegeof
Allergy,AsthmaandImmunology,aprofessionalassociationforallergists.Unlikethe
researchpublishedinmedicaljournals,thestudyhasyettobethoroughlyvettedbyother
expertsinthefield
Questions:
1. Investigate2materialswherepeoplecanhaveallergyto
2. Listallunknownwordsandtheirmeaning
3. Listalternativematerialstomakecellphonesthatwontcauseallergies.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/09/allergictonickelmightwanttotradeinthat
flipphone/
Readmore:http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/09/allergictonickelmightwantto
tradeinthatflipphone/#ixzz2L1Aaue3j