Doing it a lot can lead to "toasted skin syndrome", an unusual-looking mottled skin condition caused by long-term heat exposure, according to medical reports.
In one recent case, a 12-year-old boy developed a sponge-patterned skin discolouration on his left thigh after playing computer games a few hours every day for several months.
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"He recognised that the laptop got hot on the left side; however, regardless of that, he did not change its position," Swiss researchers reported in an article published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Another case involved a Virginia law student who sought treatment for the mottled discolouration on her leg.
Dr Kimberley Salkey, who treated the young woman, was stumped until she learnt the student spent about six hours a day working with her computer propped on her lap. The temperature underneath registered 51 degrees.
It's generally harmless but can cause permanent skin darkening. In very rare cases, it can cause damage leading to skin cancers, said the Swiss researchers, Drs Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin from University Hospital Basel.
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