Adverse effects of Apple Watch Ultra
I am a physician Board Certified in Internal Medicine. In October 2022, I purchased an Apple Watch Ultra and began wearing it nearly 24 hours per day taking time off to recharge it every 2-3 days when the battery level reached levels below 20%. Starting April or May 2023, I began to notice a "burning" sensation directly under the watch itself. This sensation felt very much like a mild sunburn localized to that square inch of skin underneath the blood oxygen and heart rate sensors but did not show any discoloration. It was never what I would describe as "painful" but was uncomfortable enough that I was constantly aware of it. I tried loosening the band and taking the watch off entirely for hours at a time without improvement. Beginning about a week ago, I noticed that the skin and/or extensor muscles directly beneath the watch were becoming slightly atrophic (wasting) so I removed the watch completely and have not used it since that time. After 5-6 days not wearing the watch, my skin is not quite as sensitive and the apparent atrophy may be resolving.
My watch has all of the features available including the Titanium case, cellular features, and Apple Pay authorization.
A photo of my wrist is included. Unfortunately, I did not take the photo until I had stopped wearing the watch for about five days at which point the atrophy seemed to be resolving. I should note that I wore a Fitbit for several years prior to the Apple Watch and had to discontinue after developing pain in the wrist and hypertrophy (enlargement) of the distal ulnar head which persists to this day. The pain stopped within days but the hypertrophy has not diminished. I realize that my body may be abnormally sensitive to these things and these conditions may be rare but, in my case, I seem to have clear, objective, changes.
My reason for this post is to see if this condition is very common and whether others have experienced similar issues. Does Apple offer some kind of "fix" for this?
I appreciate any input and consideration!
