Case #1: Skin Rash & Energy Efficient Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb
A woman developed a skin rash on her face and neck while reading (Fig. 1). The rash appeared suddenly one evening while she was reading a book in her favorite chair at home. There were no changes in her diet, skin care products, medication, household chemicals, and there were no new stressful events in her life. It turned out that the offender was a new compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb that had replaced an incandescent light bulb to save energy, as mandated by the government.
CFL bulbs emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation and this woman had lupus and was sensitive to UV radiation. Very few people are aware that a CFL bulb generates UV radiation and the last thing anyone would think of is using sunscreen inside a building.6 Warnings have now been issued by various health authorities, including Health Canada, to keep at least 30 cm away from these light bulbs and if sitting closer than 30 cm to limit use to no more than 3 consecutive hours.7 Some of these “curly” bulbs now resemble incandescent light bulbs with an additional glass envelope that eliminate UV exposure. However, this does not make them safe to use.
Fluorescent light bulbs also emit radio frequency radiation in the intermediate frequency range (IF) at thousands of cycles per second and this radiation can also adversely affect health. Indeed, so many complaints have been filed that 3 groups in the U.K.– the British Dermatological Association, Migraine Action, and Epilepsy Action – have spoken out against these light bulbs.
Those who are electrically hypersensitive often state they are unable to tolerate being in the same room with fluorescent light bulbs. Symptoms include some combination of migraines (for migraine sufferers), headaches, fatigue, confusion and memory problems, feeling unwell, eye problems, irritability, anxiety, dizziness, and nausea. More information on CFL bulbs is provided at www.clfimpact.com
Figure 1. Woman developed a skin rash on her face and neck after sitting next to a compact fluorescent light bulb that emits ultraviolet radiation. Woman has lupus and is sensitive to UV Radiation
Case #2: Diabetes and Treadmill
A 57-year old female with type 2 diabetes does not take medication and controls her blood sugar by diet and exercise. Her exercise of choice is walking. Irrespective of how high her blood sugar is when she starts her walk, her blood sugar drops to normal (around 7 mmol/L or 126 mg/dL) by the time she ends her walk 20-minutes later. If she exercises on a treadmill for 20-minutes, her blood sugar increases repeatable to just under 12 mmol/L or 210 mg/dL. So despite her body’s need for fuel (sugar) the treadmill generates electrosmog in the form of a high magnetic field and dirty electricity and, as someone who is sensitive, this stresses her body generating higher plasma glucose levels (Fig. 2).8
Figure 2. 57-year-old female with type 2 diabetes uses exercise (walking) to control plasma glucose. Levels of plasma glucose drop to 7 mmol/L (126 mg/dL) after a 20-minute walk outdoors. They increase to 12 mmol/L (216 mg/dL) after a 20-minute walk on a treadmill that generates electrosmog in the form of dirty electricity and a high magnetic field.
There are two types of diabetes recognized by western medicine: Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile on-set diabetes, appears to be genetically controlled, is detected relative early in life, and requires medication. Type 2 diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes, is linked to a sedentary lifestyle, consuming the wrong type of food, and gaining weight – especially around the middle – that leads to impaired glucose metabolism.
There may be a third type of diabetes (type 3) that is triggered by exposure to an environmental stressor like electrosmog resulting in elevated blood sugar as shown in the example above.8 Indeed, those who have brittle diabetes and are unable to regulate their blood sugar may be responding to changes in the environment that causes the blood sugar to rise or fall making regulation truly challenging.
Doctors need to be aware that the environment may alter blood sugar for those with electrical sensitivity. For this reason it is essential that electromagnetic hygiene be practiced at medical centers and that these centers be kept electrosmog-free so the environment doesn’t influence the plasma glucose levels and other symptoms patients may experience. Also, exercise with electronic equipment may be an unhealthy form of exercise for those who are sensitive but this equipment may provide a useful diagnostic tool for diabetics with electrical sensitivity.
The rate of increase in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes cannot be explained entirely by changes in lifestyle and genetics. Some environmental trigger with epigenetic consequences or some other mechanism may be at play here and this environmental trigger may be our ever-increasing exposure to electrosmog.8
Case #3: Multiple Sclerosis and Power Quality
A 40-year old female had severe symptoms of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). She was unable to walk without the help of a walker and had such terrible tremors that she was unable to feed or otherwise take care of herself. The power quality in her home was poor. The major source was a plasma TV.
Dirty electricity is defined as electricity flowing along electrical wires that deviates from the normal (clean) 60-Hz sine wave (Fig. 3) as measured by an oscilloscope. A microsurge meter provides a numeric value in GS (Graham-Stetzer) units for the change in voltage with change in time, (dv/dt). Values below 40 are ideal. Values above 2000 have been associated with cancers.9 Just as dirty water, dirty air, and contaminated food can make people ill, dirty electricity seems to have the same effect.
Figure 3. Electricity in North America is a pure 60-Hz sine wave (left figure). When it is contaminated with higher frequency transients and harmonic it resembles the curve on the right. The microsurges between the 2 and 100 kH range are harmful to human and animal health.
By installing specially tuned capacitors (or filters) into electrical outlets the dirty electricity in her home was reduced from 148-2000 to 27-36 GS units. After 6-weeks of living in a cleaner electromagnetic environment her symptoms improved considerably. While she still required a walker, the tremors in her hands subsided sufficiently to enable her to feed herself. In this example, poor power quality or dirty electricity was the environmental agent that was reduced resulting in significant improvements in MS symptoms with no changes in medication (Fig. 4). A video of the symptoms before and after the power quality was improved is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdtIPb3Veuw. Similar results were obtained within a few days to several weeks with other MS patients, although not everyone tested improved.10
Figure 4. 40-year old female with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Levels of dirty electricity are elevated (photo on left) and reduced by GS filters (photo on right).
If these results are not sufficiently convincing that the electromagnetic environment can alter MS symptoms, then perhaps a MRI scan can provide additional evidence. A MRI scan of a male diagnosed with MS shows reduced sclerosis within the brain 7 years after he had GS filters installed in his home that reduced levels of dirty electricity (Fig 5).
Figure 5. MRI scan of brain of male diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Sclerotic regions in the brain appear as bright spots. The scan on left was taken in 2001 while patient was symptomatic.