Courtesy of The Malay Mail Sep 13,
2005 p.15 486 words.
YOUR CELL PHONE OR HAIRDRYER CAN MAKE YOU SICK
LONDON: Radiation from mobile
phones, computers and microwave ovens could be damaging the nation's health,
Government experts are to admit for the first time.
In a report
next month, they will acknowledge that the items could be causing headaches,
joint pain, depression and fatigue in some users who have developed a
sensitivity to electricity.
Tens of
thousands of people in Britain are thought to suffer from the condition, called
electrosensitivity, yet it is not formally recognized by the medical profession.
Some
sufferers even become affected by the radiation in electromagnetic fields
surrounding everyday items such as hair dryers and televisions.
However,
their complaints are often dismissed by GPs as being purely psychological.
Campaigners hope that acknowledgement of the condition in a report by the Health
Protection Agency will lead to better treatment of sufferers and research into
cures. But it could also open the floodgates to legal action by patients who
claim mobile phone masts have made them ill.
Rod Read,
of the charity Electrosensitivity UK, said: "It's very difficult for people to
get a diagnosis because it's not officially recognised as an illness.
"Doctors
have no training in it whatsoever. Some are more sympathetic than others but
most try to look for interpretations such as work stress.
"They
treat individual symptoms rather than the underlying cause."
More women
than men suffer from electrosensitivity, which is often triggered by intensive
mobile phone or computer use. Over time, sufferers - who often have other
allergies - find they become increasingly affected psychological.
Campaigners hope that acknowledgement of the condition in a report by the Health
Protection Agency will lead to better treatment of sufferers and research into
cures. But it could also open the floodgates to legal action by patients who
claim mobile phone masts have made them ill.
Rod Read,
of the charity Electrosensitivity UK, said: "It's very difficult for people to
get a diagnosis because it's not officially recognised as an illness.
"Doctors have no training in it whatsoever. Some are more sympathetic than others but most try to look for interpretations such as work stress.
"They
treat individual symptoms rather than the underlying cause." More women than men
suffer from electrosensitivity, which is often triggered by intensive mobile
phone or computer use. Over time, sufferers - who often have other allergies -
find they become increasingly affected by electrical equipment such as
televisions, fridges and cookers.
Symptoms
include headaches, 'tingling' of the joints and ringing in the ears. Many people
also experience extreme tiredness, memory and concentration problems and
depression.
Read said:
"It's life-shattering for a lot of people in terms of employment and where they
live and what they can do.
"They
experience disbelief and ridicule from their partner, best friend and boss.
People change jobs, they give up work, they drop out of view, they become
isolated and depressed."
Campaign
group Powerwatch believes up to five per cent of the population is severely
affected by electrosensitivity.
However,
if the condition is diagnosed at an early stage, sufferers can make changes to
their lifestyle which could stop them developing reactions to other electrical
goods.
For instance, if they realised their mobile phone was the root of the problem,
they could stop using it.
Radiation
from mobile phone masts can be screened out by lining walls with a layer of
aluminium foil and hanging special silver-plated curtains over windows, while a
thinner form of the same material can be slung over beds.
In Sweden,
where electrosensitivity is recognised, sufferers receive grants to replace
electric cookers with gas stoves.
In
their workplaces, electrical flexes are replaced with highly insulated cables to
reduce the emission of radiation. - DM
(END)
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For more information from World Health Organization (WHO) you may click on the following sites (sorry we couldn't printout the info for you as it is file protected, you need to log in to read it):-
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/meetings/archive/en/bangkok04_proceedings.pdf (pg 69 in particular)
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/meetings/archive/en/paper09alorainy.pdf (reading the Abstract is enough to scare us)
If you come across any interesting articles you wish to share with us, kindly email to us....
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Protect YOURSELF & Your LOVED ONES from being possible victims of electrosensitivity
Here are some TESTIMONIALS from those who have been using the cellphone, bluetooth & AllRound discs...