DH Toffa & AD Sow (2020) The enigma of headaches associated with electromagnetic hyperfrequencies: Hypotheses supporting non-psychogenic algogenic processes, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 39:3, 196-205, DOI: 10.1080/15368378.2020.1762638

ABSTRACT

Although an electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is reported in numerous studies, some authors associate hyperfrequencies (HF)-related pains with a nocebo effect while others suggest a biological effect. Therefore, we aimed to suggest hypotheses about the complex mechanisms of headaches related to HF-exposure. We crossed basic features of headaches with relevant studies (from the year 2000 up to 2018) emphasizing on the HF effects that may lead to pain genesis: neuroglial dysmetabolism, neuroinflammation, changes in cerebral blood perfusion, blood-brain barrier dysfunction and electrophysiological evidences of hyperexcitability. We privileged studies implying a sham exposure (for in vivo studies) and a specific absorption rate lower than 4 W/Kg. HF-induced headaches may involve an indirect inflammatory process (neurogenic, magnetogenic or thermogenic) as well as a direct biophysical effect (thermogenic or magnetogenic). We linked inflammatory processes to meningeal dysperfusion or primary neuroglial dysfunction triggered by non-thermal irradiation or HF-induced heating at thermal powers. In the latter case, HF-induced excitoxicity and oxidative stress probably play a crucial role. Such disorders may lead to vascular-trigeminal activation in predisposed people. Interestingly, an abnormal oxidative stress predisposition had been demonstrated in overall 80% of EHS self-reporting patients. In the case of direct effects, pain pathways’ activation may be directly triggered by HF-irradiation (heating and/or transcranial HF-induced ectopic action potentials). Further research on HF-related headaches is needed.

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Jan 30, 2019

Tech Insider:

Americans spend more than seven hours a day starting at digital screens. This screen time often leads to blurred vision, eyestrain, and long-term vision problems like nearsightedness.

What’s more, screens emit blue light, which disrupts our circadian rhythms at night when we’re trying to fall asleep. And all of this screen time might even change our brains. A new and ongoing study supported by the NIH found that some pre-teens who clocked over seven hours a day on screens had differences in parts of their brains compared to kids who spent less time on screens.

Following is a transcript of the video:

It’s 11:00 pm. You should be asleep. But you’re watching a video on your phone. Tomorrow, you’ll wake up and go to work, where you’ll stare at your computer for 8 hours. When you get home, you’ll watch a movie on TV. And if you’re anything like the average American adult, you spend more than 7 hours a day staring at digital screens.

So, what’s all this screen time actually doing to your body and brain? Humans didn’t evolve to stare at bright screens all day. And our eyes are suffering the consequences. An estimated 58% of people who work on computers experience what’s called Computer Vision Syndrome. It’s a series of symptoms that include: – eyestrain – blurred vision – headaches – and neck and back pain.

Read the rest of the transcript at the above link.

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Speaker Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe, Founder of Physicians’ Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment (PHIRE) Trustee Radiation Research Trust Medical Advisor Oceania Radiofrequency Scientific Advisory Association (ORSAA) Member International Guidelines on Non-Ionising Radiation (IGNIR) Medical Advisor ES-UK

The post Protecting Children From Non-Ionising Radiation in Schools. Speaker Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe. 2019 appeared first on EMFSA.

June 16th has been created as International Electrosensitive Day to raise global awareness of  Electrohypersensitivity (EHS) / Electromagnetic Field Intolerance Syndrome (EMFIS).

We dedicate this post to all the dads out there and especially those with the above environmental illness. Men often overlook symptoms and warning signs because even in today’s society there is a hesitancy to address physical and mental problems. Depression and anxiety are sensitive topics still. In the case of EHS/EMFIS it is even more of a problem due to so few medical professionals being aware that the condition exists.

Disclaimer: the information given in the testimonies below is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.

Testimony 1:

In these 15 years of awareness I have tried various things and disciplines (although somewhat haphazardly….not having great ability to focus so much)…the ones that come to mind are Faraday cages, diet regimes (still don’t do gluten and hardly any sugar) orgone energy and Dianetics (not necessarily Scientology), which I still think is the one that was the most promising measure undertaken). The supplement Boswellia helped greatly with internal pain and daily rectal bleeding. I have personally felt benefited by natural fabric (hemp wool and pure cotton) close fitting garments, jackets and pants.

It has been a really rough ride these last 15 years…and with the future just promising more of the same and worse (5G and so on) one starts asking ‘where will I and my fellow South Africans be in the next year or two?

( Source: Anonymous)

Testimony 2

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/oUhSla4L_98

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The post Mother Speaks at Supreme Court About Wireless Radiation appeared first on EMFSA.

Question  Are there neurological manifestations associated with reports of audible and sensory phenomena among US government personnel in Havana, Cuba?

Findings  In this case series of 21 individuals exposed to directional audible and sensory phenomena, a constellation of acute and persistent signs and symptoms were identified, in the absence of an associated history of blunt head trauma. Following exposure, patients experienced cognitive, vestibular, and oculomotor dysfunction, along with auditory symptoms, sleep abnormalities, and headache.

Meaning  The unique circumstances of these patients and the consistency of the clinical manifestations raised concern for a novel mechanism of a possible acquired brain injury from a directional exposure of undetermined etiology.

Importance  From late 2016 through August 2017, US government personnel serving on diplomatic assignment in Havana, Cuba, reported neurological symptoms associated with exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena.

Objective  To describe the neurological manifestations that followed exposure to an unknown energy source associated with auditory and sensory phenomena.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Preliminary results from a retrospective case series of US government personnel in Havana, Cuba. Following reported exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena in their homes or hotel rooms, the individuals reported a similar constellation of neurological symptoms resembling brain injury. These individuals were referred to an academic brain injury center for multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment.

Exposures  Report of experiencing audible and sensory phenomena emanating from a distinct direction (directional phenomena) associated with an undetermined source, while serving on US government assignments in Havana, Cuba, since 2016.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Descriptions of the exposures and symptoms were obtained from medical record review of multidisciplinary clinical interviews and examinations. Additional objective assessments included clinical tests of vestibular (dynamic and static balance, vestibulo-ocular reflex testing, caloric testing), oculomotor (measurement of convergence, saccadic, and smooth pursuit eye movements), cognitive (comprehensive neuropsychological battery), and audiometric (pure tone and speech audiometry) functioning. Neuroimaging was also obtained.

Results  Of 24 individuals with suspected exposure identified by the US Department of State, 21 completed multidisciplinary evaluation an average of 203 days after exposure. Persistent symptoms (>3 months after exposure) were reported by these individuals including cognitive (n = 17, 81%), balance (n = 15, 71%), visual (n = 18, 86%), and auditory (n = 15, 68%) dysfunction, sleep impairment (n = 18, 86%), and headaches (n = 16, 76%). Objective findings included cognitive (n = 16, 76%), vestibular (n = 17, 81%), and oculomotor (n = 15, 71%) abnormalities. Moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss was identified in 3 individuals. Pharmacologic intervention was required for persistent sleep dysfunction (n = 15, 71%) and headache (n = 12, 57%). Fourteen individuals (67%) were held from work at the time of multidisciplinary evaluation. Of those, 7 began graduated return to work with restrictions in place, home exercise programs, and higher-level work-focused cognitive rehabilitation.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this preliminary report of a retrospective case series, persistent cognitive, vestibular, and oculomotor dysfunction, as well as sleep impairment and headaches, were observed among US government personnel in Havana, Cuba, associated with reports of directional audible and/or sensory phenomena of unclear origin. These individuals appeared to have sustained injury to widespread brain networks without an associated history of head trauma.

Full text https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2673168

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Translation by the authors of this site:

Those with electrohypersensitivity are often misunderstood and accused of being crazy. These are the people who are getting sick from cell towers and wi-fi. Photographer Koen Verheijden compiled a photo series of people suffering with symptoms ranging from insomnia, ringing in the ears, a rushed feeling, allergies, headaches, extreme fatigue. It is only a sampling of the complaints that thousands of Dutch people ascribe to the radiation to which they are exposed to. They have EHS, which stands for electromagnetic-hypersensitivity, or over-sensitivity to radiation.

Radiation comes from high-voltage pylons and plug-in devices (low-frequency electromagnetic fields) and high frequency electromagnetic fields like Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS and LTE(3G and 4G). The latter sources are problematic, because the radiation is almost impossible to circumvent, such as Wi-Fi, GSM, UMTS and LTE (3G and 4G). More and more high-frequency electromagnetic fields are coming in at a faster rate – Are there any places without Wi-Fi?

People with EHS say they can hardly go anywhere without getting hurt or getting sick. They report to the general practitioner, who then writes “solk”(?Somatic insufficiently declared physical complaint) (?Somatoform Disorder) The government is unsuccessfully adhering to the preservation or establishment of radiation-free zones. These people do not feel that they are being taken seriously by the Health Council, which believes that the radiation from wireless communication is not harmful within the applicable exposure limits.

While residents of so-called ‘white’ areas are crying out for full-range mast coverage, people with EHS are looking for coverage against the same radiation. They move, wear protective clothing, wrap their home in foil or sleep under a silver wire mosquito net. In the meantime, they become isolated and do not know what to do.

He is 31 but feels 85

Rik Bodewes is 31, but he sometimes feels 85. Some eleven years ago his complaints started when the library where he often came got wi-fi. With the arrival of 4G and strong routers, it quickly went downhill with him. He gets tired very quickly, has sore muscles, can not relax, experiences a pressure on his heart and problems with his digestion. In the room he rented in Drunen, he sleeps under a radiation-resistant mosquito net. He usually wears protective clothing. Rik does not have a job, because even for simple, sedentary work, he lacks energy. He goes to the daytime activities. He does have a computer. Wired, of course.

Headache from Wi-Fi

This is how Dinette Keulen (52) looks when she buys groceries. Her gauze is made from stainless steel. Under her clothes she wears a self-stitched blouse and a pair of cotton trousers woven with copper and silver. All to exclude as much radiation as possible, because ten minutes of Wi-Fi gets two hours of headaches. Dinette previously lived in Haarlem. There she wrestled for years indoors and outdoors with headaches, restlessness, a ‘weird’ head, burning eyes and more becoming more dismal. After she had made the connection between her sickness, a radio mast and the Wi-Fi of the new neighbors, she left the ‘radiating’ city. There is less radiation in the Frisian countryside and it is peaceful. She feels like a radiation refugee.

In a silver Faraday cage

Two mosquito nets with silver wire have to protect Henk de Moei (64) against the high-frequency electromagnetic radiation of an umts mast. There is a radiation protection cloth on the floor. In 2012 Henk suffered from fatigue, insomnia and more complaints that were not explained. After endless searching and measuring, he came to the conclusion that it was caused by the new telephone network. Moving house would be a solution, but Henk lives close to the Utrecht station and within walking distance of the center. He reads his mail in the library. So Henk stays alive and sleeping on the tenth floor, in his silver ‘Faraday cage’ which repels radiation.

The highly sensitive Wally Verboog (60) from Werkhoven noticed thirty years ago that she is sensitive to radiation from wireless communication. And that has only come with WiFi and 4G. When she is exposed to it, she develops twitches, wheezing, banging in her head and “feeling her energy.” In an ‘overdose’ she gets a heartbeat of 240, against which no pill helps. To protect herself, Wally wears a home-made blouse and headscarf made of silver fabric. The fabric costs 100 euros per square meter, but it does contain 95 percent of the radiation. She also uses a lot of the material at home. There the walls are also treated with carbon paint and an aluminum fabric.

Moving did not solve anything

Letters to the municipality and the housing corporation and lawsuits did not help. Maria van Tongeren (71) finds no relief from her testimony that she has been suffering from exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic fields for fifteen years. Tinnitus, head pain and cramps in her stomach and abdomen: Nothing causes the radiation to decrease. It is a losing battle and she is at her wit’s end.
Moving from the heart of Amsterdam to Zaansta has not brought a solution and she does not have money for another house; Everything has gone into radiation-protection measures. One side of her house is covered with aluminum foil from top to bottom. Maria cannot go anywhere because everywhere there is more radiation instead of less. She sees no way out.

Radiation is also present in the church

Jan Janszen (77) has been living in a caravan on the grounds of a farmer in Zeewolde for more than nine years. Previously he lived in a nice flat with new stuff. But, he just moved in when he developed strange symptoms: insomnia, sore muscles, excess mucus and dizziness. He attributes his symptoms to the radio masts on the roof. Now, he only comes into the flat to take a shower and do the laundry. Once back in his caravan covered with foil, he needs days to recover. He is spending his days reading the Bible. He can not go to church anymore, because there is also wifi.

This photoshoot has won the Zilveren Camera award:

http://www.zilverencamera.nl/wi…/documentair-nationaal-2017/)

It also featured in the De Volkskrant newspaper:

https://verhalen.volkskrant.nl/leven-met-ehs#14833)

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Is your child presenting with unexplained medical issues? Spent a fortune on medical consultations and supplements?

Stickers and crystals not doing the trick?

Make sure to read and understand:

https://www.emfsa.co.za/ehs-research-update-june-2021/

PDF https://www.emfsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/World_Health_Organization_International.pdf

Explanatory videos available on https://www.buymeacoffee.com/EMFSA

Two courses on offer by a top university: Light, Water and Magnetism

1. Introduction to Sub-Molecular Medical Sciences
2. Introduction to Sub-Molecular Agricultural Sciences

Open to Bachelor and Master’s students, PhD candidates, and professionals from all disciplines: Neurologists, surgeons, physicists, medical practitioners, radiologists, food scientists (human, veterinary, climate change, food security), dieticians, etc.

Highly recommended for physicians treating Electrohypersensitives. 

Vetted course material taught by a quality educational panel. 

There are many adults worldwide suffering from electrohypersensitivity. But, how many parents consider that their children’s symptoms might be caused and aggrevated by wireless technologies and EMF’s? Is your child’s healthcare provider aware of this issue? Has your child’s paediatrician enquired about his/her EMF exposure?

Common symptoms of electrohypersensitivity include:

Headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, sensory up-regulation, palpatations, unusual pain in multiple sites, visual disturbance, auditory disturbance (especially tinnitus), membrane sensitivity, muscle twitching, dermatalogical complaints, hyperactivity/fatigue, restless leg syndrome, memory/concentration disturbance and anxiety, dyslexia, attention disorders and concentration, loss of memory attachment, sometimes behavioral problems (child refusing to go to school without reason).

Dr Mallery-Blythe states that many children are currently affected, but undiagnosed. Children are likely to be more vulnerable to developing EHS since their exposure is higher and outcomes may be worse given their developing systems and greater time for latent effects. (1)

Challenges for Physicians

A Case study from the Physicians For Safe Technology website

R.W., an 8 year-old boy, comes into your office accompanied by his mother with a chief complaint of dizziness and depression. She states that since her son started the new school year he had episodes of dizziness at school, nausea and at times vomited. He said he only gets dizzy when they turn on the white board to project images and videos to the class. She took him to his regular pediatrician who could find nothing out of the ordinary. She noticed over time he was developing symptoms of depression. She wondered why he was dizzy only at school and why this had never happened in all the years before at the same school. There were no changes in his diet, exercise or health. He had many friends and was quite social. He did not use a cell phone.

If this were your patient how would you approach this? What other questions would you ask?  Would you think that the wireless radiation from the white board could be responsible for the symptoms? Here is what happened.

His mother found out that the white boards were new at school and were wireless. Her son’s symptoms persisted when at school but not at home.  After reading about the issue and thinking he may be electrosensitive his mother went to the school and talked to the principal and the teacher. She asked that a consultant do measurements to determine the levels of radiation he was exposed to. She was told that there was no scientific evidence of harm and that they would not turn off the white boards in class nor do any measurements.  The best that could be done was to allow her son to be farthest away from the white board in class.

Her son was able to cope with this situation for a while. One day her son wanted to go to on a school field trip to an art gallery. The mother was concerned as she was convinced he was sensitive to wireless radiation and it would likely be stronger in the gallery. She asked him not to go but he wanted to be part of the group. She took him there and came back an hour later to see how he was. He was quite agitated and couldn’t sit still. His short term memory was impaired. After that he also became hypersensitized to wireless devices such that he could tell if someone had a cell phone on across the street.

His mother then removed all wireless devices from the house. He was home schooled after that and once his symptoms calmed he was placed in a public school where he received a 504 ADA accommodation such that wireless devices were turned off in his classroom and surrounding areas until he was symptom free. He still has to avoid wireless devices but otherwise is doing well.

More cases:

The case of Jenny Fry, from Oxfordshire, England. For over two and a half years, Jenny had been feeling ill, complaining of headaches and exhaustion. She couldn’t concentrate at school and couldn’t sleep at night. She developed nosebleeds. Her mother replaced the Wi-Fi in her family home with wired Ethernet connections, and pleaded with Jenny’s school to do the same. The school refused. Jenny continued to suffer, returning home from school with splitting headaches that would dissipate at home. Jenny Fry  killed herself in 2015. (2)

Quebec: An electrosensitive student who could no longer attend his school in Ville Mont-Royal,  because the Wi-Fi  in his school make him sick. The symptoms are very real for this student who preferred not to reveal his face or his real name, being afraid of being ridiculed.
“I have headaches, sleep problems,” the young man told TVA Nouvelles. This student’s doctor  even set up a special waiting area for his electrohypersensitive patients at the hospital. His problems started with the  arrival of smart meters. According to the article this is not a unique case and other parents are looking to enroll their children in a classroom sheltered from wireless internet. (3)

Quebec:  Tachycardia, tinnitus, headaches –  A Montreal lawyer  filed a discrimination complaint against the Montreal Public Health Division (DSP) and the Quebec government, who refused to grant  his three children reasonable accommodation for electrohypersensitivity. The lawyer said his 9 year girl often bled from the nose when exposed to Wi-Fi. According to their doctor the children had developed a severe intolerance to radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by antennas and wireless devices, such as Wi-Fi modems and routers.A  complaint was filed with the Quebec Commission on Human Rights (4)

Massachusetts:  After a more robust school Wi-Fi was installed in Spring 2013, a 12 year old boy started to experience troubling symptoms, which he reported to his parents when he came home from school. These included severe headaches, itchy skin, and rashes. The school nurse indicated that various children in the same classes were reporting increased headaches, dizziness, nausea and chest pressure. The symptoms were present whenever he was at school. The child was diagnosed with Electrical Hypersensitivity (EHS) after several tests.  An ADA Federal Complaint was laid against the school. (5)

One family had a non-verbal ten-year-old boy who screamed every night from 10pm until 3am.  Within three days of turning off their Wi-Fi at night and unplugging their cordless phones, this boy spoke a complete sentence. This family lived on a military base, and still they kept reducing their own EMR emissions, and the doctor (Dr. Jelter) prescribed therapeutic-grade fish oil. After three weeks, the boy’s screaming stopped. He slept through the night. His mother’s seizure disorder also decreased. (6)

South Africa: Twelve year old autistic girl Skyla Collins from Montrose Park, Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town: The house where Skyla lives has a cell tower almost on her doorstep. Skyla’s condition and that of her single mother has worsened significantly since the tower was installed. The City of Cape Town is not interested to have this matter resolved despite numerous appeals.

Tyler Hoffmann  – Colwood BC: In April 2012, Tyler began coming home from Sangster Elementary School in the Sooke School District with extreme headaches, fatigue, and he was having trouble sleeping at night. When asked to touch the part of his head that hurt, he would point to the top, his mother Lori recalls. But as the headaches grew worse over the next few weeks—to the point of nausea—Tyler was no longer able to touch the source of it, stating it was now in the middle of his head. “After a few weeks of using Advil and Tylenol to alleviate the severe pain in Tyler’s head, we knew something was seriously wrong,” Lori says.

The following month, she discovered what it was.

“We accidently discovered, through another parent, that the school district had just finished installing commercial wi-fi networks throughout every school,” Lori explains. “This was done without informing parents. We were denied any opportunity for input,” she adds.

Tyler’s pediatrician recommended that the school shut off the wi-fi router closest to Tyler’s classroom, so that Tyler could remain in school and complete Grade 2 with his friends.

“I don’t have a cell phone, wireless router, cordless phone, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse or any other wireless devices in my home because I have made the choice of not exposing my children or myself to microwave radiation. The school district has now decided for me that Tyler will be exposed to it,” she says. Lori pulled Tyler out of school that same day rather than risk his health any further. “After we removed Tyler from school, his headaches and associated nausea completely stopped,” says Lori. 

In September 2012, his mother enrolled Tyler in an elementary school in the neighboring Victoria School District, where there would be no wi-fi router in his classroom.  Free from the toxic effects of commercial wi-fi in the classroom, Tyler performed at the top of his math and reading classes at his new school.  (7)

The Jeske Family Langford, BC

Jaden and Evan Jeske  – both boys are electrosensitive. Jaden was lucky enough to be attending a school that had minimal wi-fi and none near his classroom. Evan was not. The Jeskes removed all computer wi-fi, cordless phones and other sources of microwave radiation from their upscale home in Langford, a western suburb of Victoria, and replaced it with hard-wired equivalents. At night they shut off the electricity to the bedrooms, and all members of the family slept under special shielding canopies to block the wireless radiation from four nearby cell phone towers.

The boys remember what their lives were like before their sensitivity was discovered and the wireless radiation removed from their home.

“I had heart palpitations when wi-fi was on,” Evan tells me. “And I had headaches because I had a metal plate in my mouth, which amplifies it and shoots it right to my brain.” Jaden recalls his own allergy-like symptoms before the family got rid of the wireless router for the computers: “My throat was really sore. I had a lot of trouble breathing and a lot of mucus. Then they turned off the wi-fi, and right away I could breathe—within one day.” “It’s not about doing without technology,” says  their mother Tammy. “It’s about using it as safely as possible. Our family uses the Internet like every other family—we just choose to do it with wires.”  (8)

Cases of children developing symptoms after smart meter placement:

1. “I am the proud parent of six, of the six children we have four children who are under the age of six. Our children started to exhibit health symptoms and health signs that alarmed myself and my husband. The children began to have fevers out of nowhere, essentially their bodies were boiling and their fevers would go from 101 to 104 and sometimes to 105. My husband is a Clinical Partner at (name witheld for privacy) Hospital in the ICU so he is versed in the area of taking care of patients in extreme health decline, but he was not prepared to handle the weekly and monthly bouts that our smaller children began to have. Our children also began to have problems with the inability to control their bodily fluids, our five year old began peeing and pooping herself, our four year began to display the same problems, soon many of the smaller children were all displaying these symptoms and concerns. The children became depressed, and essentially we began to realize that our children were not the children who we cared for prior to the smart meter being placed on our property. “

The mother wrote that after the Smart Meter was removed the children’s symptoms “diminished greatly, they no longer get high fevers, or suffer from loss of their bodily function.”  

2. Debilitating symptoms, including headaches, diarrhea, nausea, hand numbness, chest pains, neck pains, and extremely upsetting cognitive impairment. My ten year old son and I had to start finding different places to sleep. I soon began to realize that some of the symptoms he had been having disappeared away from the apartment – chest pains so alarming I had to take him to a pediatric cardiologist, “stinging” headaches, and bouts of fatigue.

 3. Within days after our smart meter was installed I experienced a very painful miscarriage. After the miscarriage I started experiencing mysterious pain throughout my body that could not be explained. My two children who are diagnosed autistic regressed in their autism after much work with behavioral therapy and other interventions. (9)

Professor Belpomme: An oncology professor at Paris Descartes University, Prof. Belpomme is President of the Association for Research and Treatments against Cancer (French acronym ARTAC, artac.info), which shifted to cancer prevention from 2004 on. Since May 2008, his team has been studying what he named Electromagnetic Fields Intolerance Syndrome (French acronym SICEM). “I have 450 patients and I see up to 20 new patients each week, including children with headaches, memory loss, attention or language troubles. We have the biggest cluster in Europe of electrosensitive patients. This is a major problem in public health.  Alzheimer’s may appear at age 15, 20, 25.” He describes some of the young people he has seen:

– a 15 year-old comes into the office holding his mother’s hand – he had slept 3-4 years with his cell phone switched on beneath his pillow. He could not find his way out of the office and was suffering from behavioral disorders.
– a young person with a pre-Alzheimer’s condition – who, after birth, had been using a babyphone for 3 years.
– a 14 year-old who did not know how to read and was dyslexic. (10) (11)

Californian doctor Karl Maret measured higher levels of cumulative exposure in a hypersensitive child at his school than those measured in an internet café. “Electrohypersensitive children and pregnant women,” he said in a conference at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in June 2015 , are most at risk. They are like the canaries that were once sent to the mines and tell us that there is a problem and that it is high time we took care of it. ” (12)

Increasingly, children in school with WiFi, where wireless tablets and laptops are commonplace, complain of headaches, difficulty concentrating and feeling tired. Children are put on medications for insomnia, anxiety, ADHD,  and much more, when the root of the problem is sensitivity to the artificial man-made electromagnetic fields.

Magda Havas, expert in EMF effects at Trent University, Ontario states that Wi-Fi exposes many children to annual doses of RF much greater than those received from a cell phone. Since 2010, there have been several cardiac arrests in schoolchildren in Collingwood. The incidence of this in the Collingwood region seems abnormally high for a small community in Canada; and such symptoms should be extremely rare in children. One student was encouraged to have exploratory heart surgery. However, her parents provided her a MW-free environment at the end of the school year and her symptoms disappeared. No surgery was required. (13)

Professor Martha Herbert is a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and on the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is Board Certified in Neurology with Special Competency in Child Neurology, and Subspecialty Certification in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. “Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from wifi and cell towers can exert a disorganizing effect on the ability to learn and remember, and can also be destabilizing to immune and metabolic function. This will make it harder for some children to learn, particularly those who are already having learning or medical problems in the first place. And since half of the children in this country have some kind of chronic illness, this means that a lot of people are more vulnerable than you might expect to these issues” (14)

New Studies Show Health Risks from Wireless Tech: Warnings from the BioInitiative Working Group/ University at Albany, Rensselaer, New York /April 16, 2014: The extent and severity of long-term health effects among children and adolescents using wireless technology are not known. However, there are already numerous peer-reviewed studies showing health hazards from wireless devices.  Mobile wireless devices like phones and tablets are big sources of unnecessary biological stress to the mind and body that can chip away at resilience over time.  (15)

We urge parents to apply the precautionary principle. Not only because of the cancer risk but also to prevent electrohypersensitivity as described above. Children with existing neurological problems that include cognitive, learning, attention, memory, or behavioral problems should as much as possible be provided with wired (not wireless) learning, living and sleeping environments. All children should reasonably be protected from the physiological stressor of significantly elevated EMF/RFR (wireless in classrooms, or home environments).(16)

Cell tower exposure can be problematic for children:
At least five new cell tower studies are reporting bioeffects in the range of 0.003 to 0.05 μW/cm2 at lower levels than reported in 2007 (0.05 to 0.1 uW/cm2 was the range below which, in 2007, effects were not observed). Researchers report headaches, concentration difficulties and behavioral problems in children and adolescents.

The connection between ill health in students and dirty electricity: Dr Magda Havas, studied the effect of dirty electricity in  schools with sick building syndrome. After after remedial action was taken, the number of students needing inhalers for asthma was reduced in one school and student behavior associated with ADD/ADHD improved in another school. Blood sugar levels for some diabetics respond to the amount of dirty electricity in their environment. Type 1 diabetics required less insulin and Type 2 diabetics had lower blood sugar levels in an electromagnetically clean environment. (17)

Note: We do not advise the indiscriminate placing of dirty electricity filters, one should first measure. We prefer the filters from EMF Fields Solutions. These have an internal electric field screen which greatly reduces the electric field around the outside of the filter plus an internal safety fuse. 18.

We hope that more in the medical community will take heed and consider the electromagnetic exposure environment of their pediatric patients. The chronic burden from artificial electromagnetic radiation is an important biological factor that should not be overlooked in the diagnosis of diseases and chronic symptoms.

Solutions and recommended reading:

Consider the steps in the two links below as first course of action. Then determine your exposure levels by having an EMF assessment done by a qualified professional who can further advise on remaining issues. This assessment should include measuring your exposure levels to high frequency, low frequency and dirty electricity. Beware of products that claim to ‘protect’ harmonise’ or ‘neutralize’. Always apply the precautionary principle  –  reduce your exposure levels first by using technology in a safer way.

A helpful tip is to disconnect the electricity to the bedroom at night, including the lighting circuits and not to put the child’s bed or cot next to a wall that contains a power outlet. Ideally there should not be a power point  or any electrical appliance on the other side of the wall either.

As for wi-fi in schools  – campaign together with other parents to have it replaced with a wired system.

Nicosia Declaration on Electromagnetic and Radiofrequency Radiation – 2017

The Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)-Lowering Protocol (That Has No Cost Or Side Effects)

EMF Remediation should take precedent over medication. Treat the cause and not the symptoms.

The above information was compiled by EMFSA. We would appreciate a mention if this information is used.

References:

1.   Mallery-Blythe-v1-EESC(1)
2. http://www.bioinitiative.org/new-studies-show-health-risks-from-wireless-tech/   http://www.newsweek.com/2016/07/08/electromagnetic-hypersensitivity-wifi-allergies-474404.html
3. http://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2016/04/26/les-ondes-wifi-gardent-un-etudiant-a-la-maison
4. https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmaisonsaine.ca%2Fsante-et-securite%2Felectrosmog%2Felectrohypersensibilite-a-l-ecole-une-mere-devant-les-tribunaux.html&edit-text
5. http://safetechforschoolsmaryland.blogspot.co.za/2015/08/parent-brings-federal-complaint-against.html
6. https://ratical.org/ratville/AoS/KSinger102514.html
7. https://electroplague.com/2013/08/15/tyler-hoffmann-colwood-bc/
8. http://c4st.org/two-electrosensitive-brothers-in-bc/
9. http://emfsafetynetwork.org/smart-meters/smart-meter-health-complaints/
10. http://mieuxprevenir.blogspot.com/2012/06/electrosensitivity-es-ehs.html
11. Los efectos de las ondas electromagneticas – Conferencia Dr.Belpomme You Tube
12. https://www.saferemr.com/2015/07
13. https://www.emfsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Declaration-of-Dr.-Magda-Havas.pdf
14. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Oub2Nx5eSLNU11Z3FoRThBOVk/view
15. http://www.bioinitiative.org/new-studies-show-health-risks-from-wireless-tech
16. https://bioinitiative.org/
17. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15368370601044192?journalCode=iebm20
18. https://emfields-solutions.com/

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Malikova MA

DOI: 10.15761/SCRR.1000104

Abstract

Objective : This is a study to assess the impact of the global system for mobile communication (GSM) mobile phone electromagnetic radiation on the main vessels of the brain.

Material and methods: This was a cross sectional study which included 55 volunteers between 18-66 years old, who were examined by stationary device Philips HD 11 expert class phased sectoral sensor with a frequency of 2-4MHz at the Ultrasonic and Functional Diagnostics Department of the Mirotvortseva hospital, which is affiliated with Saratov State Medical University (SSMU) and in the clinic ” Stroygrad Medical Center ” in Kirsanov city, Tambov region.

Results: The study included 55 volunteers between 18-66 years old (average age was 38.95 years) with permeable trans-temporal acoustic windows and without chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic cerebral ischemia, coronary heart disease and no initial spasm in middle cerebral artery (MCA). The study was conducted in the supine position with enabled mobile phone in talk mode for 7 minutes. The blood flow velocity (BFV) and resistive index (RI) in the MCA (middle cerebral artery) were measured on both sides at baseline and after 7 minutes of talking on a mobile phone. Cerebral vasospasm was considered if detected RI was 0.65 and above.

In order to minimize the measurement error, the same modern mobile phone was utilized for all studied subjects. The analysis of the data revealed an initial increase in the BFV and RI in the MCA in all patients by the end of 7 minutes of conversation.  Unilateral spasm of various degree was detected by ultrasound in the middle cerebral artery of 27 out of 55 examined patients (50%) after 7 minutes of them talking on a mobile phone. Average RI value was 0.66 ± 0.04 on the ipsilateral side of MCA with range of a minimum RI detected at 0.59, and maximum value of 0.75. On the contralateral side of MCA an average RI value was detected as 0.66 ± 0.04, with range of 0.60-0.74. Therefore, interaction with mobile phone for period of time up to 7 minutes in most cases gave rise to moderately expressed spasm on both sides. The results were independent of gender and blood pressure.

Conclusions: MCA spasm recorded as a result of prolonged mobile phone call (about 7 minutes), was detected in 60% of examined subjects, which may indicate the importance of this potential risk factor in causing headaches and other negative psychological factors (i.e. lack of attention, sleep disturbances, irritability etc.).

Introduction

The 21st century is the time of high level technology. There are a lot of gadgets of telecommunications in everyday use. The most popular gadgets are cell or mobile phones and smartphones. The dramatic worldwide increase in use of cellular phones has prompted concerns regarding potential harmful effects of exposure to radiofrequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs). Of a particular concern has been the potential carcinogenic effects from the RF-EMF emissions of cell phones. [1] However, the results of epidemiologic studies, which examined association between the cell phone use and prevalence of brain tumors, have been inconsistent. Some studies showed increased risk, but the issue remains unresolved. [2]. RF-EMFs emitted by cell phones are absorbed in the brain within a range that could influence neuronal activity. [3] Thermal effects from RF-EMFs have also been invoked as a mechanism that could affect neuronal activity, although temperature changes produced by current cell phone technology are likely minimal. [4] Numerous studies have examined the effect of RF-EMR on a persons’ psychological status, the correlation between the duration of a call, and the development of cancer disease, etc. We found no results in current publications that demonstrated RF-EMR effect on brain vessels. It is well-established fact that persistent cerebral vasospasm causes persistent headaches, reduces efficiency, causes irritation, fatigue and disturbed sleep patterns. [5-8]

Discussion

When analyzing the data obtained, an increase in BFV and RI in the MCA was found in all 55 examined subjects (100%) after 7 minutes of exposure to electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phone device.

The spasm of various degree was detected bilaterally in the MCA in 22 examined subjects by the end of a long conversation on a mobile phone (40 %). The moderately expressed unilateral spasm (mean RI value 0.72) was observed in 11 subjects out of 55 studied in total (20 %), including men with average age of 23.3 years old and women with average age 36.6 years. We noted a trend that patients who were 45 years old and above were less affected by EMR. This observation can be attributed to the more rigid arterial walls in older patients.

The spasm with mild to severe degree was detected in the younger group of subjects (18-45 years old). The artery walls are more elastic and probably more prone to be affected by EMR at a younger age. Thus, ultrasound exam allowed to see changes in the brain artery in majority of patients bilaterally after 7 minutes of interaction with EMR emitted by the mobile phone.

Conclusions

In this pilot study the talk for more than 7 minutes on a cell phone in most cases (60%) led to the spasm of the main cerebral artery in the assessed subjects, which indicates the high importance of EMR as a potential risk factor for headaches and other negative psychological factors (i.e. lack of attention, disturbance of the structure of sleep, irritability, memory impairment, etc.). When comparing the occurrence of spasm between ipsilateral and contralateral sides of MCA, it was noted that in most cases the ipsilateral side of the MCA got affected mostly. However, in some patient’s unilateral changes of RI and BFV were observed in either ipsilateral or contralateral side of the MCA. This is a pilot study which requires further prospective, randomized, controlled investigations to fully understand the degree of the effect of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the cell phones on the blood vessels of the brain.

http://www.oatext.com/the-effect-of-mobile-phone-electromagnetic-radiation-on-brain-vessels.php#Article

References

1. Volkow N.D, Tomasi D, Wang G.J, Vaska P, Joanna S. Fowler J.S (2011) Effects of cell phone radiofrequency signal exposure on brain glucose metabolism. JAMA 305: 808–813 [Crossref]
2. Dubey RB1, Hanmandlu M, Gupta SK (2010) Risk of brain tumours from wireless phone use. J Comput Assist Tomogr 34: 799-807 [Crossref]
3. Kleinlogel H, Dierks T, Koenig T, Lehmann H, Minder A (2008) Effects of weak mobile phone–electromagnetic fields (GSM, UMTS) on event related potentials and cognitive functions. Bioelectromagnetics. 29: 488–497 [Crossref]
4. Wainwright P1 (2000) Thermal effects of radiation from cellular telephones. Phys Med Biol 45: 2363-2372 [Crossref]
5. Logg C.R, Tai C.K, Log A, Anderson W.F, Kasahara N (2001) A uniquely stable replication-competent vector achieves efficient gene delivery in vitro and in solid tumours. Human Gene Therapy. 12: 921-932 [Crossref]
6. Benson V.S, Pirie K, Schuz J, Reeves G.K, Beral V, Green J (2013) Mobile phone use and risk of brain neoplasms and other cancers: prospective study. Int J Epidemiol 42: 792-802 [Crossref]
7. Frei P, Poulsen A.H, Johansen C, Olsen J, Steding-Jessen M (2011) Use of mobile phones and risk of brain tumours: update of Danish cohort study. BMJ 11: 343

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Almost everyone nowadays has a smartphone. We use them so much every day that it is a good idea to consider their possible detrimental effects on health. The observed detrimental effects and risks of smartphone use will henceforth be discussed.

1. The use of smartphones and tablets weakens eyesight

The use of smartphones and tablets has significantly increased myopia or short-sightedness. According to ophthalmologists this is caused by two factors. Too much time is spent viewing at close distance and not enough time is spent outdoors during daylight hours.

Two years ago the scientific journal Nature published an article, The Myopia Boom. This feature article addressed the rampant, epidemic-like increase in myopia. The article considered the possible causes for the increase in myopia and possible remedial measures.

 According to researcher Ian Morgan, who was interviewed for the article, children should spend at least three hours daily in an environment with a minimum luminosity of 10,000 lux. This means, in practice, that children should spend more daylight hours outdoors (Dolgin 2015).

 Smartphone users have also been diagnosed as having more eye-related problems such as reddening of the eyes, eyesight disturbances, eye secretions, inflammation, tears, or dryness of the eyes.

 A Korean study highlighted the connection between smartphone use and the eye-related problems of teenagers. The study noted that teenagers whose daily smartphone use was very frequent had more than double the amount of eye-related problems than those whose use was much more limited.

 The same study noted that life-long smartphone use was even more strongly connected to a greater risk of suffering from a number of eye-related problems – those with the most frequent life-long smartphone use had three times the incidence of eye-related problems in comparison with teenagers whose life-long use was much more restricted (Kim 2016).

 If we would choose to promote the sustenance of good eyesight in children, school lessons should be conducted in the open air during daylight hours without any gazing at mobile devices. Physical exercise should be practised mainly outdoors and many lessons could be held in nature.

2. The use of smart gadgets hampers posture

 Hours are spent daily in the company of smartphones. Usually smartphones are used in a hunched position with the head bent forward. It has been observed that this type of usage leads, already in children, to a hunching of the upper back (Savela 2017).

 An article in the Helsingin Sanomat has noted that young people’s and children’s posture has transformed into a sitting-type position whereby the person is somewhat hunched with the shoulders pointing forward (Kylmänen 2016).

 According to the Finnish Move study as many as thousands of girls and boys are unable to sit with a straight back. According to the same study 16 percent of fifth grade boys are unable to go down into a crouched position.

 The effect of smartphones on the position of the neck and upper back has also been studied. In a study focused on young Korean adults it was observed that those using smartphones at least 4 hours per day were more hunched at cervical spine than those exhibiting less frequent use (Jung 2016).

 It was also noted in the same study that the way of breathing of very frequent smartphone users was shallower.

 The researchers concluded that frequent smartphone use can have a detrimental effect on both posture and breathing.

3. Frequent smartphone use diminishes physical health

School children’s physical activity has diminished steadily, according to the Finnish Liitu study, the results of which were made public at the end of 2016. Secondary school students, especially, were found to engage in too little physical activity.

Lack of physical activity, even in the case of children, is seen as a significant public health risk factor. Nearly 40 percent of ninth graders are so sedentary and are seated so much of the time that the risk of suffering from lifestyle diseases in later life such as type 2 diabetes goes up significantly.

 In an article in the Helsingin Sanomat, Dr Tommi Vasankari has said that if the current lifestyle of youngsters continues unabated, lifestyle-related illnesses will become the norm considerably earlier than in today’s over fifty year olds (Kylmänen 2016).

The exacerbated use of wireless devices is seen as the reason for the lack of physical activity. The fiddling and game-playing with smartphones takes up so much of children’s time that physical activity is squeezed out. According to the Liitu study, only 5 percent of Finnish children and young people currently fulfil the screen time recommendation which is less than two hours of screen time per day (Kokko 2015).

The physical condition of students that are frequent cell phone users is also worse. In a US study, a comparison was made between the physical condition of approximately twenty year old students reporting frequent and non-frequent daily cell phone use, respectively. The study ascertained that the aerobic fitness of students who were frequent cell phone users was worse than that of low frequent users (Lepp 2013).

The researchers also clarified through questionnaires the reason why the physical activity of frequent cell phone users diminished. It turned out that the frequent cell phone users were more likely to forgo opportunities for physically active pursuits in favour of spending time in Facebook or Twitter, for example. The researchers concluded that cell phone use can diminish physical activity and can weaken the degree of aerobic fitness.

4. Headaches from long cell phone calls

 The relationship between cell phone use and poor health was highlighted in a Korean study. The study found that cell phone use is a risk factor in the case of headaches. Long cell phone calls were especially associated with the risk of headaches. The study also underlined that the headache producing effect can be chronic (Cho 2016).

 It has also recently been found that migraine headaches among young children have become increasingly common. The reason may be the pronounced increase in the radio frequency radiation produced by wireless technology.

 5. Cell phone use increases the risk of tinnitus

 Tinnitus is a ringing in the ears which usually does not have a physiological cause. In a case-control study published in 2010, it was noted that continuous cell phone use for more than four years almost doubled the risk of tinnitus compared to those subjects that had not used cell phones during this period (Hutter 2010).

A more recent review article concluded that prudence in cell phone use is advisable in order prevent hearing damage and the onset or worsening of tinnitus (Medeiros 2016).

6. Smartphone use induces strong dependency

A study conducted by a Hungarian university focused on the reactions of 18-26 year old young adults when they were forced to part with their smartphones. The phones of the test subjects were stashed away in a locked cupboard, and the researchers monitored how the subjects reacted to this.

The researchers observed that the separation of the young adults from their phones brought about post-traumatic stress symptoms such as a speeded up heartbeat, fidgeting and scratching. Similar symptoms can, for example, be seen in small children when they are separated from their parents. The subjects who were separated from their phones tried to rectify the situation by approaching the cupboard where the phones were locked up (Konok 2017).

It is a healthy phenomenon when mutual attachment develops between a child and a parent or between a couple, for example. It is unhealthy, however, when strong attachment develops between a person and a technical gadget.

7. The use of cell phones hampers students’ sleep

According to a meta-analysis comprised of 20 separate studies, cell phones hamper the sleep of children and teenagers. According to the meta-analysis published in the scientific journal Jama Pediatric, the use of wireless devices during time spent in bed was strongly correlated with insufficient sleep, poor quality sleep, as well as pronounced daytime fatigue (Carter 2016).

Noteworthy in the results of the study is the fact that the mere technical possibility of using wireless technology during night-time, without it actually being used, was connected to insufficient sleep, poor quality sleep and pronounced daytime fatigue.

This latter observational anomaly may, for example, be due to the fact that switched on wireless networks are adversely affecting sleep because of radiofrequency radiation. Another possibility is that the daytime use of the devices may hamper sleep later at night.

8. The use of wireless devices weakens sperm quality

Meta-analyses comprised of many separate studies are high up in the hierarchy of scientific evidence. Significantly, there is already now meta-analytic evidence of the fact that cell phone radiation weakens sperm quality.

A meta-analysis was published in 2014 which underscored the effects of cell phone radiation on the mobility, vitality and quantity of spermatozoids in seminal fluid. According to this meta-analysis based on nine previous studies, cell phone radiation weakens the mobility of spermatozoids by 8 percent (Adams 2014). The study also indicated that cell phone radiation diminishes the quantity of spermatozoids in seminal fluid. The results pertaining to the latter remain less conclusive, however.

It was ascertained in the meta-study that the detrimental effect on sperm is not primarily due to increased temperature. Cell phone radiation was seen as having a detrimental effect on sperm in terms of the mechanism of oxidative stress and subsequent damage to DNA.

Cell phone radiation was already viewed as nefarious before the publication of the above meta-analysis. Stanton Glantz is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School. In his renowned graduate level statistics textbook, Primer of Biostatistics, he concludes:

“Taking all the information we have discussed on cell phones and sperm allows us to confidently conclude that exposure to cell phones adversely effects sperm.” (Glantz 2012)

In addition to cell phones, WiFi equipped laptop computers have also been observed to have a detrimental effect on men’s fertility. WiFi equipped laptop computers have been observed to diminish the mobility of spermatozoids as well as accentuating the breaking up of their DNA (Avendaño 2010).

The use of cell phones has also been correlated to erectile dysfunction. In a small-scale study, 20 men complaining from erectile dysfunction were compared to 10 men that did not have erection problems.

It was ascertained in the study that there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, weight, tallness or testosterone levels. However, the men complaining of erectile dysfunction were observed to keep their cell phones connected longer than the men who didn’t suffer from erectile dysfunction (Al-Ali 2013).

9. Smartphone use is suspected to be the cause for the increased prevalence of thyroid cancer

 The prevalence of thyroid cancer has increased globally and it is the most common form of cancer in South Korea at present. Thyroid cancer has also become more common in the Nordic countries (Carlberg 2016).

The reason for the increased incidence of thyroid cancer is seen as having to do with improved diagnostic methods but also with the increased use of computed tomography, as well as the increased use of smartphones. Unlike the cell phones of the previous generation, smartphones also include antennas in their lower parts, thereby exposing the neck of the user and the area around the user’s thyroid gland to a lot of radiation, especially in the case of long phone conversations without a handsfree.

 To date, at least 11 scientific articles have evaluated the effect of cell phone radiation on the activity of the thyroid gland. For example, one Israeli study ascertained that in humans radiofrequency radiation accelerates the division of thyroid gland cells in humans.

 Dr Joel M. Moskowitz has highlighted the scientific evidence concerning the relationship between cell phone radiation and the activity of the thyroid gland in his science blog (Moskowitz 2016).

10. Radiofrequency radiation from cell phones causes brain tumours

 A new systematic study has found that long-term cell phone use increases the risk of brain tumours. It was found that long-term or frequent cell phone use correlates with a 33 percent increase in the risk of brain tumours. The study defined long-term use as a minimum of ten years.

Scientific evidence that cell phones cause cancer is further substantiated by the results of the $25 million NTP study conducted in the US. Considered a high-quality study, the large-scale NTP study found that radiofrequency cell phone radiation caused tumours or pre-cancerous cells in every twelfth male laboratory rat (Wyde 2016).

 Many notable institutions, such as the European Environmental Agency and the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend the application of the precautionary principle in order to offset the negative effects of cell phone use. In practice, this may mean, for example, reducing cell phone use or using a hands-free headsets, as well as substituting wireless networks in schools and homes with wired Internet connections.

 When researchers singled out the best quality studies in terms of methodology, they observed that these studies underscored the relationship between cell phone use and its associated risks to a greater extent than methodologically inferior studies. In the highest quality studies, the risk of brain tumours was anywhere between 1.2 and 2.6 times the risk associated with individuals that did not use cell phones (Prasad 2017).

 The risk can actually be even greater given that many of the studies only focused on cell phone use by adults. Yet nowadays cell phone use begins at a very early age. In Finland, use already begins before children are of school age. A scientific article notes:

 “Studies carried out in Sweden indicate that those who begin using either cordless or mobile phones regularly before age 20 have greater than a 4-fold increased risk of ipsilateral glioma.” (Davis 2013)

 The more detailed analyses of Interphone’s studies also show that tumours have been observed as being more likely to occur close to the area of the brain in the vicinity of which the cell phone was used. This in turn strengthens existing scientific evidence that cell phones really are a causal factor of tumours (Grell 2016).

 Need for measures to reduce the use of smartphones and gadgets

The rampant use of smart gadgets is thus seen to be detrimental to health in many ways. All in all it can be said that life around smartphones and tablets has become a public health problem. It should therefore also be addressed as such.

The World Health Organization WHO has indeed expressed its concern in the matter (Pasha-Robinson 2017). In most countries, on the other hand, the public health authorities have not yet done anything to curtail the over-use of smart gadgets. The passivity of these institutions may have to do with corruption or simply be the result of the intense lobbying of the mobile industry.

It is high time to address the issue in a concerted manner. The rampant use of smart gadgets should be approached as a risk factor akin to cigarettes. The health jeopardizing over-use of these devices, which is especially pronounced in the younger generations, should be restricted through concrete measures.

References:

Adams JA, et al. Effect of mobile telephones on sperm quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ Int. 2014 Sep;70:106-12.

Ahlfors K. Kännyköiden ja tablettien käyttö lisännyt lasten näköongelmia – silmälihakset jumissa, ei näe lähelle eikä kauas. MTV Uutiset. 2.2.2017.

Al-Ali BM, et al. Cell phone usage and erectile function. Cent European J Urol. 2013;66(1):75-7.

Avendaño C, et al. Use of laptop computers connected to internet through Wi-Fi decreases human sperm motility and increases sperm DNA fragmentation. Fertil Steril. 2012 Jan;97(1):39-45.e2.

Carlberg M, et al. Increasing incidence of thyroid cancer in the Nordic countries with main focus on Swedish data. BMC Cancer. 2016 Jul 7;16:426.

Carter B, et al. Association Between Portable Screen-Based Media Device Access or Use and Sleep Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2016 Dec 1;170(12):1202-1208.

 Cho YM, Lim HJ, Jang H, Kim K, Choi JW, Shin C, Lee SK, Kwon JH, Kim N. A follow-up study of the association between mobile phone use and symptoms of ill health. Environ Health Toxicol. 2016 Dec 29;32:e2017001. doi: 10.5620/eht.e2017001. PMID: 28111420; PMCID: PMC5365277.

Dolgin E. The myopia boom. Nature. 2015 Mar 19;519(7543):276-8.

Glantz SA. Primer of biostatistics. 7th ed. San Francisco: The McGrawHill Companies; 2011. p. 247.

Grell K, et al. The Intracranial Distribution of Gliomas in Relation to Exposure From Mobile Phones: Analyses From the INTERPHONE Study.  Am J Epidemiol. 2016 Dec 1;184(11):818-828.

Hutter HP, et al. Tinnitus and mobile phone use. Occup Environ Med. 2010 Dec;67(12):804-8.

Jung SI, et al. The effect of smartphone usage time on posture and respiratory function. J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Jan;28(1):186-9.

Kim J, et al. Association between Exposure to Smartphones and Ocular Health in Adolescents. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2016 Aug;23(4):269-76.

Kokko S, Hämylä R (toim.). Lasten ja nuorten liikuntakäyttäytyminen Suomessa. LIITU-tutkimuksen tuloksia 2014. Valtion liikuntaneuvoston julkaisuja 2015:2.

Konok V, et al. Mobile attachment: Separation from the mobile phone induces physiological and behavioural stress and attentional bias to separation-related stimuli. Computers in Human Behavior 71 (2017) 228e239.

Kylmänen E. Osa lapsista ei pääse enää kyykkyyn eikä pysty istumaan selkä suorassa – tutkimus piirtää karun kuvan koululaisista. Helsingin Sanomat. 15.12.2016.

Lepp A, et al. The relationship between cell phone use, physical and sedentary activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample of U.S. college students. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013 Jun 21;10:79.

Medeiros LN, Sanchez TG. Tinnitus and cell phones: the role of electromagnetic radiofrequency radiation. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Jan-Feb;82(1):97-104.

Moskowitz JM. Long-term cell phone use increases brain tumor risk. Electromagnetic Radiation Safety blog. Feb. 20, 2017.

Moskowitz, JM. Thyroid Cancer & Mobile Phone Use. Electromagnetic Radiation Safety blog. Dec. 20, 2016.

Prasad M, et al. Mobile phone use and risk of brain tumours: a systematic review of association between study quality, source of funding, and research outcomes. Neurol Sci. 2017 Feb 17.

Rosen LD, et al. Media and technology use predicts ill-being among children, preteens and teenagers independent of the negative health impacts of exercise and eating habits. Comput Human Behav. 2014 Jun;35:364-375.

Savela S. Keski-ikäisten vaivat iskevät jo lapsena – entinen emännänkyhmy on nyt someniska. Yle Uutiset 13.3.2017.

Wyde M, et al. Report of Partial findings from the National Toxicology Program Carcinogenesis Studies of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation in Hsd: Sprague Dawley® SD rats (Whole Body Exposure). doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/055699

September 2021 – Added note by EMFSA:

Make sure to read and understand:

PDF https://www.emfsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/World_Health_Organization_International.pdf

Explanatory videos available on https://www.buymeacoffee.com/EMFSA

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