Imagine being Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and being so hypersensitive to the WiFi radiation of cell phones that you cannot tolerate being within four meters of one that is switched on.
By GAD (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Such was the predicament of Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minster of Norway for three terms, a trained medical doctor, Master of Public Health graduate from Harvard University, and Director-General of WHO from 1998 to 2003. Her staff and any journalists interviewing her were required to switch their phones off whenever they were near her to avoid triggering the debilitating nausea and headaches she experienced when exposed to WiFi.
Hers is the most high profile example of electrohypersensitivity (EHS), but by no means the first. A Swedish telecommunications engineer, whose symptoms started in 1979, is thought to be the earliest known case, and others emerged in the early 1980s. Current estimates are that somewhere between 1.5 to 10 percent of the world’s population now experiences mild to severe EHS symptoms that include headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, dizziness, insomnia, concentration difficulties, short and long-term memory impairment, earaches, tinnitus, anxiety attacks and depression, all resulting from exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
Electrohypersensity awareness
Sweden, as in most matters relating to electromagnetic (EMF) health, leads the way. EHS is recognised in Sweden as a disability, and a number of hospitals have special low-EMF rooms designed for EHS patients. In Stockholm, people with EHS can apply to have their home shielded from microwave radiation and have the internal wiring replaced by shielded cables, and the Municipality of Stockholm also has low-radiation cottages located outside the city that they can rent. By law, employers are required to take steps to lower EMFs in the work environment for EHS people, by installing low-EMF equipment and removing sources of high EMFs such as cordless phones, wireless equipment and fluorescent lights.
EHS Refuge Zones have been set up in over 40 locations around the world and concerns about WiFi have been raised in many countries. The Council of Europe passed a milestone resolution on 6 May 2011 calling for member governments to radically reduce human exposure to electromagnetic and wireless radiation, and to impose a ban on the use of mobile phones (cellphones), DECT cordless phones, WiFi and wLAN systems in all classrooms and schools.
A growing problem
With wireless devices becoming more and more commonplace, some experts are predicting that by 2017, as much as 50% of the world’s population may become electrosensitive to a greater or lesser degree.
Which begs a very interesting question.
If half the population becomes affected, it won’t be so clear which half is ‘normal’ and which half is ‘disabled’. What if it turns out that the people who can already feel the effects of EMFs have normal levels of sensitivity, and the rest of the population is too numbed out to feel it yet? If you doubt me, try cutting out all sugar, junk food, caffeine, alcohol, medications and other stimulants and suppressants, and you’ll soon start feeling energies (and emotions) you weren’t able to feel before.
Of course it’s not quite as clear cut as this. Some people have such a robust constitution that they can withstand far more electromagnetic radiation than others. But as levels of exposure increase, I predict they will start to feel it too.
Copyright © Clear Space Living Ltd 2012, updated 2020
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Hi Karen,
I was wondering – what are your thoughts on living in a house with solar panels? Is there a health risk associated with solar panel EMF radiation?
Thank you,
Reba
Hi Reba – Here’s a link to an article I wrote about solar panels: Solar panels – a healthy option or not?
I know three people who are electrosensitive; one moved away from here to escape the high e/m activity. One is particularly sensitive, and has taken all sorts of measures to avoid and protect herself from e/m activity. She becomes very badly fogged, and I have seen her collapse. During one episode recently I gave her some reiki, and was able to ‘lift off’ the field around her. We are attending an electrosensitivity event in September. I want to help by gathering as much knowledge as I can about how people are dealing with this, and what current thinking is.
One problem she has is accessing medical care – hospitals themselves being full of e/m activity. Many, but not all, doctors are dismissive of electrosensitivity.
I found the article above very useful and it has given me some pointers where to look next. Any further pointers you might have would be interesting.
Thanks
(I also gave her some shungite, which she says helps – she carries it in a pouch)
Concerning shungite, please read my advice in this article: Electromagnetic protection devices
Here’s a link to a blog I wrote about electromagnetic protection devices.
The one you mention is not one I’ve personally tested but if you ask me whether I’d trust my own health with it, my answer is – no way! If you own your apartment, I suggest you look into Yshield paint as a solution.
But before you rush to spend money on fixing problems you don’t know for sure you have, first get yourself some meters that measure ELF and microwave radiation so that you will know what levels you are being exposed to at different times of the day and night. From this you may discover that there are areas of your home that are fine, and if you can rearrange your furniture (bed, desk, sofa, etc) so that you spend most of your time in these areas, that may be all you’ll need to do.
Thanks for your advice. I haven’t heard about the paint before. I’m renting at the moment but it is something I would use eventually. Those meters are quite expensive though.
Last fall, I noticed my beloved cat, Punky, was spending a lot of time lounging on the stereo, which looked kind of funny (though it wouldn’t now that I know better…), since he was a very long cat and really had to scrunch up to fit on top. One time he accidentally set off the alarm clock (I should have taken this as a sign…), so I unplugged the stereo for awhile. (That was a good move on my part and I wish I had left it that way. ) Another time, just as I was going to sleep I heard music start to play. At first I thought it was one of the neighbors having a party, then I recognized it as one of the CDs I had just played during yoga class and thought, “oh, I guess Punky is serenading me,” as I drifted off to sleep.
Then in late December as I was learning about EMF radiation, I caught a statistic that animals living inside have a much higher incidence of lymphoma. This caught my attention, since I am such an animal lover. A couple of days later, I noticed that Punky was lethargic and took him to the vet where she found that all of his lymph nodes were severely swollen, diagnosed him with advanced stage lymphoma and gave him about a week to live. As it turned out, he passed the next day. This was such a shock to me. He had always been an extremely robust kitty and in fact had been in for a dental just a few weeks earlier at which time his blood work and physical indicated he was in excellent health.
Shortly after that, I learned how to use a gaussmeter and when I set it for EMR and put it near the stereo the dial immediately swung all the way over to the toxic level side! It’s too late to save Punky, but I’m sharing this in the hopes it may help other furry friends.
I wonder what would replace Wi Fi… What do you think of fiber optics?
Cell phones are so practical, though. They are a really efficient way of managing affairs.
In the home, WiFi can easily be replaced by a dLan (direct Local Area Network) system or by cabled broadband, and here’s a link to an article I wrote about cellphones: How to reduce cellphone health risks