A new computer-associated occupational skin disorder: Mousing callus

Computer-associated disorders have become more common as more people use computers for extended periods, either for fun or work. We would like to report a new computer-related occupational dermatosis that we have named “mousing callus,” which results from friction and pressure on the hand secondary to computer mouse use. We recently saw a 35-year-old man who presented with a 2- × 1-cm yellowish, painless thickening on the palmar side of the wrist of his right hand (Fig 1). He also had mild, intermittent wrist pain when working. He was an academician who had spent 3 years using a mouse on average of approximately 10 hours a day. The patient used the computer mouse with his right hand in such a way that the affected part of the wrist made contact with his table. Seemingly, recurrent friction and pressure between the wrist and the table led to the evolution of his callus. When the arm and hand rest on a table in the anatomic position, pressure on the bony prominence of the carpal bone, the pisiform prominence, can induce trauma in the overlying skin