--- ---  # Quit Texting All the Time Because You Might Get WhatsAppitis by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 7:48 PM UTC  Icons for the WhatsApp Inc. mobile-messaging application WhatsApp and the Facebook Inc. application are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple Inc. iPhone in this arranged photograph taken in London, U.K., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014\. Facebook, the worlds largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. for as much as $19 billion in cash and stock, seeking to expand its reach among users on mobile devices. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Icons for the WhatsApp Inc. mobile-messaging application WhatsApp and the Facebook Inc. application are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple Inc. iPhone in this arranged photograph taken in London, U.K., on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014\. Facebook, the worlds largest social network, agreed to acquire mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. for as much as $19 billion in cash and stock, seeking to expand its reach among users on mobile devices. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGetty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Mar 26, 2014 7:48 PM UTC A 34-year-old woman in Granada complaining of sore wrists was diagnosed with “WhatsAppitis” — named for the popular instant messaging service WhatsApp — after the doctor ruled out carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve damage, the _Guardian_ [reports](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/26/can-instant-messaging-damage-health-doctor-warns-whatsappitis). The woman had spent at least six hours with her phone in her hands, exerting her thumbs to respond to a deluge of messages she had received. Soon, she felt pain in both her wrists. Prestigious medical journal the _Lancet_ [wrote about](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960519-5/fulltext#bib1) the diagnosis, explaining that the treatment consisted of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Sure, fine. But treatment also included — wait for it — “complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages.” ([Gasp!](http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr%5Floqidn2G3p1qmfoslo1%5F500.gif)) Because the woman was pregnant, however, she only took acetaminophen and also, she did not completely abstain from smartphone messaging. The _Lancet_ warns doctors to be mindful of disorders like this, but perhaps it should also warn everyone to be mindful of, you know, not spending six continuous hours texting. WhatsAppitis Doctor Says Overuse Of WhatsApp Messaging Harms Health ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/"},"headline":"Quit Texting All the Time Because You Might Get WhatsAppitis","datePublished":"2014-03-26T19:48:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:08:12.760Z","description":"One doctor says it's a real thing, caused by too much smartphone use","url":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Technology","apps","Tech","whatsapp","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd2d9f33035cacbd5/69868761169ab03c98278713/470653989.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Images of WhatsApp As Facebook Inc. Makes Acquisition For $19 Billion","caption":"Images of WhatsApp As Facebook Inc. Makes Acquisition For $19 Billion","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/38952/whatsapp-health-damage/","name":"Quit Texting All the Time Because You Might Get WhatsAppitis"}}]}] ```