Cell Phones Making People Sick --Is It All In The Mind?
"With WCF, all messages are SOAP messages" -- Juval Lowy
A lot of noise has been made lately about the supposed health dangers of WiFi and other types of wireless communications. -- The media stories about them are generally full of crummy reporting and bad science. The reports usually feature a person who claims to have "electrosensitivity," and that radiation from WiFi or mobile phone networks (or the phones themselves) makes them sick. I have some personal experience with this as my S.O. (Significant Other - who is perfectly normal in all respects) claims she has electrosensitivity and in fact I remember one time when I was sitting in a chair on the other side of the living room, and my cell phone vibrated (no noise at all) because of an incoming voicemail, she suddenly startled and complained of a sharp pain in her leg. Coincidental, yes - but it doesn't prove anything.
Despite the claims, these people generally fail double-blind tests to see if they really can feel the presence of WiFi or other wireless networks, and several studies have now confirmed this. Researchers said that people claiming to have electrosensitivity weren't faking it, and really were displaying the symptoms they claimed -- but that they were brought about by the people's belief that they were being harmed by radiation, and not by the radiation itself. Just two of 44 people claiming to be "electrosensitive" correctly determined when the wireless signals were being emitted in six out of six tests; this compares evenly to the 5 out of 114 control participants.
In fact there are well over thirty published studies looking into this question. The studies typically ask electrosensitive volunteers to record their symptoms in the presence of suspect devices like mobile phones. The trick is, though, that the researchers and the subjects are not told if the devices are really on or not, i.e. the trial is blind. The thirty or so studies all do things a little differently, but generally center around this theme. Of the studies, only seven so far have shown there is a difference between on and off, that is, that the mobile phone had some sort of effect. However, five of these positive results could not be repeated by the same researchers and the other two are thought to be statistical flukes. In other words, the vast majority of the experiments have shown that electrosensitivity has not been demonstrated to be due to exposure to EMR emitting devices.
Now, we can continue doing studies for the next 30 years, but as long as the studies are scientifically accurate and conducted fairly with no hidden agenda, I strongly suspect that the results will continue to be similar.
A systematic review of most of the studies that have been done concluded, "The symptoms described by “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” sufferers can be severe and are sometimes disabling. However, it has proved difficult to show under blind conditions that exposure to EMF can trigger these symptoms. This suggests that “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” is unrelated to the presence of EMF, although more research into this phenomenon is required."
For some strange reason this whole thing smacks of that "Al Gore Apocalypse" global warming theme. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. Maybe we should just ask Uri Geller to come in, bring his cell phone, and bend a few spoons over it, hmm?
Is it all in the mind? I don't think so. My mother has quite bad EMS but only with specific equipment (e.g. she's fine with most Nokia phones but Samsung cause a lot of pain). I very much doubt it's psychosomatic - she just finds it downright irritating.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this can be dismissed because of a lack of conclusive research - it's early days. The University of Essex have just conducted a study on the effects of mobile phone radiation where they had to conclude that unless the tests were conducted over a long period of time in very tightly controlled conditions it was difficult to get accurate results. So there are issues of practicality getting in the way of definitive research.
In any case, there are some things where a lack of scientific evidence isn't conclusive proof that it's rubbish. For example, there is a higher probability of childhood leukaemia if you live near an electricity pylon - but there is no causal link between pylons and leukaemia. I intentionally didn't buy a house next to a pylon - call me paranoid but I'd rather not take the risk just yet.
ROFL - You could not have ended this post better!
ReplyDeleteAll well and good. What continues to bother me is that if EMF is truly debilitating and dangerous, give the worldwide health implications, why more solid research is apparently not being done, then.
ReplyDeleteSomething to do with research grants I guess :-)
ReplyDeletei think the tests are flawed. i first felt 'sensations' from a micro wave oven i used to have about 4-5 years ago.
ReplyDeletei then started to suffer only when using cell (mobile) phones - nokia 3310. getting burning sensation in my ear.
i stopped using a mobile. i didnt have any trouble with mobile masts - but
then along came wireless routers.
at first i got burning sensations in my head - around both ears. the effect worsened if the router was used in conjunction with wifi enabled laptop computers.
i now suffer with mobile phones -not through my use but the use by others. the phone my line manager has, has both wireless and bluetooth connectivity. when i complained to him i thought his phone was causing my symptoms he decided to blind test me - rather like russian roulette.
i do feel that with the growth in more powerful mobile phones, increased use of wifi in public places (like my library). I also believe (but cant confirm) that some mobile/Cell phone operators push out stronger signals.
this maybe why i can now tell when my brother receives text messages on his phone.
i am unable to use DECT phones (cordless home based phones). Also cant use the Wii.
I think i am gradually getting worse and think that this maybe why tests are different - we have all experienced differing levels of exposure.
i have worked in IT for 20 years and have a computer science related degree - i am no crock!
certain countires have banned wifi from schools - why are they not good for kids yet ok for adults. it all stinks.
the phone companies have invested too much in this technology to have it switched off because of a few sensitives. i dont mind wifi - just not around me. if you were allergic to nuts i would tell you the cake i baked had them in. i rarely see signs indicating "wifi zone - cover your head" around.
Well your symptoms sound to be very real, and I certainly respect your detailed comment. However, what you experience does not make valid scientific tests invalid. Have you ever been the subject of a double-blind test on this?
ReplyDeletehi peter, thanks for the respone. No i have not been tested. however i do have an appointment with a neorologist in spetember - maybe then onto to testing.
ReplyDeletethe guys i work with do try me out though and i am pretty much consistant. a recent example was that someone told me that a laptop had the both wireless and bluetooth disabled (the wireless router was off). I told her i could definately feel something (i get a strong tinnitus sensation for just laptops moving onto severe pain when the router is enabled). I was right she hadnt disabled the wireless. So this may disprove the psycho sematic element. i was pretty happy to believe that she had turned off the signal.
what i do think though is that environmental/atmospheric conditions also seem to make a difference in the sensations i feel. obviously unable to prove, but pretty convinced air pressure makes a difference to the pain.
regards