Parents often worry that too many video games will rot their kids’ brains, but maybe they should be worrying about their children’s feet instead.

A major upside of online gaming is that at any moment there’s likely to be someone in the world who’s up for a match or raid with you. Ironically, that’s also major downside of the hobby, as it means there’s never a definitive “Stop playing games and go to bed” cutoff line. Or a “Stop playing games and wash your feet” cutoff line either, for that matter.

On June 22, police in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang Province, discovered a 19-year-old man lying unconscious in the bushes next to a railroad track. Upon rousing the man, they found that he had recently gone on a six-day gaming binge at an Internet cafe. Once his money ran out, he had wandered the streets, without food or water, for three days, before collapsing where the officer found him.

However, the young man (whose name has not been revealed) had more pressing concerns than even hunger or thirst, as he was bleeding from visible and widespread infections on the soles of his feet. It’s not clear whether he developed the condition during his six days of gaming or the three days he spent on the street afterwards, but the infections were serious enough that he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Doctors confirmed his condition as necrosis, in which cells begin to destroy themselves through their own enzymes.

In other words, the man’s feet had begun to rot.

The medical staff performed emergency surgery to remove the affected potions of his skin, and thankfully the operation was a success. The police also contacted the man’s father, who said that while he hadn’t seen or heard from his son in 10 days, he had no need for a child who has no interest in anything other than online games.

It’s unclear whether or not the son and father have since patched things up, but even if they have, the son is likely to be spending at least a few days recovering at the hospital before he is released. Hopefully there’s a way for him to pass the time that doesn’t involve online gaming.

Source: Shanghaiist via Tech Insight via Jin