We are constantly hooked on to our cell phones. We may not be on calls all the time, but our emails, messages, surfing, social media all is encompassed on our smartphones, making them our companions. With the over-dependency on this devices, we are almost addicted to it, although we may not easily accept it. A few minutes without the phone and we feel we are missing out on something important. An overdose of anything is harmful, and we might not realise it, but smartphones are affecting our skin. The radiations from the cellphone can affect the nervous system. You may blame your lifestyle of stress and unhealthy eating to your skin problems, but your smartphone usage is equally to blame.

Let us look at a few ways in which smartphones affect and your skin and the solutions for them

1. Acne: Acne is the most common skin problem and your long phone conversations could be one of the cause. The area from your temple to your chin has a lot of oil which can cause pimples to breakout. Your mobile phone screens carries a lot of bacteria and it resides on your skin causing more acne.

Solution: Always make sure you clean your phone screen and also the back cover regularly. This will not make it completely bacteria free but reduce the chances of getting acne. Also, after every long conversation, wipe off the sweat with a good clean cloth.

2. Allergies: One of the studies had revealed that nickel and chromium in cell phone casings can cause a reaction on the skin. You may get rashes most probably if you have a sensitive skin. So do not blame it on some insect or mosquito bite, it is your phone's mineral.

Solution: Not all phone cases are made using that material. But in case if you have a very sensitive skin, use a plastic cover at maximum times.

3. Dark circles: The brightness from the phone can cause a damage to your eyes. Ever noticed that you squint your eyes a little, especially if you are using your phone in darkness. These habits causes wrinkles around your eyes. Not just wrinkles, the continuous strain on the eyes due to the LED light in some phones, can disturb your skin. If you are using too much of your phone in the night, you'll notice the rising dark circles.

Solution: Try to keep your brightness at the lowest level and best is to reduce your usage in total darkness. Also apply an eye cream regularly. Do not strain your eyes, instead increase the font of your phone a bit.

4. Dark spots: Being glued on your phone while you are on calls, can cause heating in some phones. You may get used to it after a point but this heating can cause dark spots. The heat can mess up with the melanin in your skin and cause discolouration in some areas.

Solution: Whenever you are on a long call, make sure you use your headphones or a Bluetooth device. The heating phone on your skin is a strict no-no.

5. Wrinkles on the neck: To use our phone, we are constantly looking down. Check a notification, reply to an email or play a game, your neck is down. This causes the collagen in your neck to break down and thus cause wrinkles. It is definitely not a good sign to have early wrinkles on your skin.

Solution: Well, you cannot really avoid not looking down when you are on the phone, so you may have to resort to using anti-aging products.

These are some of the ways your smartphone use is damaging your skin. If you are leading a healthy lifestyle and still have any of the above skin problems then you know what's the cause. Make sure you take the necessary steps and follow a healthy skin routine. The best way is to try and reduce the usage as much as possible.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2018 09:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).