Can a mobile phone give me HEADACHES?

IT IS true that more and more people do believe that their health is suffering due to a hypersensitivity to electric or magnetic fields, including those caused by fluorescent lights, mobile or cordless phones, Wi-Fi, and power lines.

One study of 20,000 people found four per cent thought they were affected. Yet electromagnetic hypersensitivity is not a recognised medical diagnosis, nor is there yet any scientific explanation for the symptoms that some individuals attribute to it.

These vary widely, but typically the skin is affected, with redness, tingling, and burning sensations. Other symptoms include headache, fatigue, disturbed sleep, stress, palpitations, dizziness, nausea and gastroenterological symptoms.

In a sense it’s not a ‘new’ illness, as the potential health risks caused by radiation — whether from high-voltage powerlines, video display units, TVs, mobile phones, microwave ovens and other technologies — have been under discussion for some 30 years.

I studied the proceedings of the international workshop on electromagnetic field (EMF) hypersensitivity that was held in October 2004, and published by the World Health Organisation in 2006 which was the first significant review of this subject.

The conference renamed sensitivity to EMF as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). The conference acknowledged that this is a real and occasionally disabling problem for some people. Subsequently it’s been recognised that the EMF levels which appear to cause symptoms in some are well below the currently recommended maximum exposure levels.

There have been a number of studies that have attempted to demonstrate a causal link between EMF exposure and the symptoms described above, but these experiments have consistently failed and many therefore believe that the reactions are psychosomatic: in other words, driven by brain mechanisms.

For this reason, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a form of talking therapy has been studied as one way to control or reduce symptoms. Evaluation of this has been limited, although it’s potentially useful in easing the patient’s distress.

Minimise your use of a mobile to see if this makes a difference. You might also want to minimise other wireless technologies in your house, for instance, making sure that your phone charger is away from your bedroom. There is research under way but we still have a great deal yet to learn about this condition.