Chapter 2
Electrosmog and Electrosensitivity: What Doctors Need to Know to Help their Patients Heal
Magda Havas, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Environmental and Resource Studies,
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT
In this paper an introduction to the concept of electrosmog (a form of electromagnetic pollution) and electrosensitivity (an adverse reaction to electrosmog) is provided. Chronic fatigue, chronic pain, sleep, mood and neurological disorders, cognitive dysfunction, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, impaired glucose regulation, tinnitus and skin problems are common symptoms among those who suffer from electrosensitivity, a condition well recognized in Europe but virtually unknown in North America. Those who have severe symptoms are unable to use and – in some cases – are unable to be in the same environment with the offending technology (mobile phones, antennas, Wi-Fi routers, fluorescent light bulbs, computers, smart meters, etc.). Five case studies are provided that document the effect of compact fluorescent light bulbs on the skin; treadmill on blood sugar; poor power quality on multiple sclerosis; computer on live blood; and cordless phone on the autonomic nervous system. Ways to diagnose and to help people recover from electrosensitivity are discussed.
Keywords: electrosmog, electrosensitivity, electrohypersensitivity, radio frequency radiation, dirty electricity, heart rate variability
INTRODUCTION
Electrosensitivity is a chronic illness exacerbated by either short-term exposure to high levels or long-term exposure to low levels of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. Electrosensitivity is recognized in many countries but is largely ignored in North America. It has many different names.1 In the early days of radar it was called radio wave sickness, microwave illness, and aesthenic syndrome. Later EMF intolerance and electromagnetic sensitivity and hypersensitivity were used. In Sweden it is classified as a functional impairment and recognized as a disability.2 The World Health Organization refers to it as an idiopathic environmental intolerance-EMF and the Austrian Medical Association calls it EMF syndrome.1,3 Electrosensitivity resembles rapid aging, and I prefer to call it “rapid aging syndrome.”
The number of people who claim to be adversely affected by devices that emit electromagnetic fields (EMF) and/or electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is growing and doctors are having difficulty treating their patients due to the omnipresence of exposure.4 Some people who are adversely affected by electrosmog may be unaware that they are exposed as this energy is invisible to the senses. They may simply note that they feel worse in certain locations and during certain times of the day. Others have developed such severe symptoms they are no longer able to use their wireless technology as the symptoms coincide with their use.
In 2002, thousands of physicians and scientists signed the Freiburger Appeal, which states the following5:
We have observed, in recent years, a dramatic rise in severe and chronic diseases among our patients, especially: learning, concentration, and behavioral disorders (e.g. attention deficit disorder, ADD); extreme fluctuations in blood pressure, ever harder to influence with medications; heart rhythm disorders; heart attacks and strokes among an increasingly younger population; brain-degenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s) and epilepsy; cancerous afflictions (leukemia, brain tumors).
Moreover, we have observed an ever-increasing occurrence of various disorders, often misdiagnosed in patients as psychosomatic: headaches, migraines; chronic exhaustion; inner agitation; sleeplessness, daytime sleepiness; tinnitus; susceptibility to infection; nervous and connective tissue pains, for which the usual causes do not explain even the most conspicuous symptoms…we can see…a clear temporal and spatial correlation between the appearance of disease and exposure to pulsed high-frequency microwave radiation (HFMR), such as installation of a mobile telephone sending station in the near vicinity; intensive mobile telephone use; installation of a digital cordless (DECT) telephone at home or in the neighborhood.
We can no longer believe this to be purely coincidence.
Our therapeutic efforts to restore health are becoming increasingly less effective: The unimpeded and continuous penetration of radiation into living and working areas…causes uninterrupted stress and prevents the patient’s thorough recovery.
The Austrian Medical Association guideline for the treatment of EMF syndrome states:
There has been a sharp rise in unspecific, often stress-associated health problems that increasingly present physicians with the challenge of complex differential diagnosis. A cause that has been accorded little attention so far is increasing electrosmog exposure at home, at work, and during leisure activities, occurring in addition to the chronic stress in personal and working life. It correlates with an overall situation of chronic stress that can lead to burnout.3
Electrosmog is a catch-all phrase that refers to all forms of non-ionizing electromagnetic pollution generated by wireless technology, electronic devices, and electricity, and it represents the flip side of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapies that are used to help the body heal.
Electrosmog contributes to chronic illness including cancer, heart disease, neurological and immune system disorders, diabetes, and reproductive problems as well as insomnia, mood disorders, chronic fatigue and chronic pain, symptoms that are prevalent among those with electrosensitivity. The offending devices include but are not limited to cell phones, cordless phones, wireless baby monitors, Wi-Fi routers, computers, plasma TVs, energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs and smart meters as well as nearby cell phone, broadcast, and radar antennas.
Western medical practice increasingly treats the symptoms rather than the cause of illness. Someone who drinks contaminated water and becomes ill can go to their doctor to get medication that will relieve the symptoms. However, if they continue to drink contaminated water they will require repeated treatments, which may become less effective with time. The same applies to electrosmog exposure. If the radiation from electromagnetic emissions is making people ill, then getting treatment for the symptoms and returning to an electromagnetically polluted environment will lessen the effectiveness of the mediation prescribed. For this reason it is important to practice electromagnetic hygiene.
FIVE CASE STUDIES OF ELECTROSMOG AND ELECTROSENSITIVITY
One of the criticisms of electrical sensitivity is that it is psychosomatic rather than physiological. When the symptoms are subjective and difficult to objectively verify then the role fear of exposure has on the symptoms is difficult to assess. For that reason, 5 objectively verifiable case studies are provided to demonstrate the