Caduceus Magazine
| Electrosensitivity conference covers range of triggers |
The electrosensitivity campaigning group, UK-ES (www.es-uk.info), held its second conference last September, at the head offices of food producer, Samworth Brothers in Melton Mowbray, whose CEO, Brian Stein, himself electro-sensitive, is a trustee of both ES-UK and the Radiation Research Trust. The very low radiation levels at the venue was very helpful for the 100 attendees, the vast majority of whom quite seriously sensitive, who heard a variety of talks: Dr Andrew Tressider, a trustee of ES-UK, practises as a GP in Somerset and is electro-sensitive himself, spoke on ‘The GP’s Perspective’. He described his own history, which would resonate with many ES sufferers, and then outlined several case histories. Case 1: Woman, 40, suffering from three migraines a week. He suggested removing the cordless phone base station beside her bed – now she only suffers one or two a month and has come off preventative medication. Case 2: Man, 64, yoga teacher. After installing a new WiFi router he suffered progressive tiredness, irritability, hip and other aches over three months. After removing router he was restored to previous health within two weeks. Case 3: Boy, 4. Three months after a dose of flu he remained unwell, with fevers and poor sleep. Moved into mother’s bed, father slept in child’s bed and found it hard to sleep there. Hospital could find no cause for child’s ill health. A WiFi router was moved from room next door to child’s bedroom and the baby alarm (near head of bed) was disconnected. The child immediately returned to normal health. Dr Tressider pointed out that none of these cases would have been resolved had he not been ES-aware and either asked the right questions or, in the last case, actually made a home visit with an electro-smog detector. But among GPs he is one of a tiny minority who would suspect EM radiation. Also at present no information about ES nor EMR is provided for doctors either while training or in any follow-up courses. Dr Erica Mallery Blythe presented a discussion of present management and diagnostics. She had to give up a successful career in emergency medicine because of her own electro-sensitivity, has spent the last two years both attempting to regain some modicum of health for herself and researching the area. She gave a long, very well received and helpful talk now available on the ES-UK website. Professor Denis Henshaw, from Bristol University, gave a fascinating talk on some of the science behind EMF and health but asked whether anyone will take any notice? He discussed power frequencies and magnetic fields and the disruption of nocturnal melatonin by magnetic fields. He also described how animals (birds, mammals, fish – and humans) sense and use magnetic fields through magnetic particles (magnetites and cryptochromes) in beaks, eyes and brains – and how this can be disrupted by man-made EMFs. His talk, with notes, is downloadable on the Human Radiation Effects Group‘s website. It’s fairly technical and there is also a wealth of other related research. Alasdair Phillips, of Powerwatch (www.powerwatch.org), presented the latest developments in the ES world, pointing out that, although very worrying developments were taking place, such as the spread of the smart meter network, significant strides in public and government awareness had been made, such as the WHO’s International Agency for Research into Cancer’s classification of mobile phone radiation as a Group 2b carcinogen. In addition, the Council of Europe has recommended that WiFi and mobile phones should be banned in schools and that ‘acceptable threshold values for electromagnetic radiation’ should be re-assessed and lowered. Thomas Saunders, a successful architect who retired 20 years ago, during which time he studied the build environment which, he argues, has dramatically influenced our health. His book, The Boiled Frog Syndrome – Your Health and the Built Environment, distills the evidence. Its website states: |
A frog jumps into a pot of water which is gradually being heated. As the water gets warmer, the frog adjusts its body temperature and continues to adjust to the increasing water temperature until, ultimately, the frog is boiled alive. Like the frog, we keep adjusting and reacting to the increasing health and ecological hazards to satisfy our expectations and demands for more comforts, greater convenience and easier living. Using the Disability and Equality Act However, his talk focused not so much on how our buildings are damaging us but on how electro-sensitives should be using the Disability and Equality Act (2010) to their own benefit. The definition of ‘disability’ underthe Act states that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantialand long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal, day-to-day activities. He made the point that a strict reading of the Act should not exclude someone suffering from electro-sensitivity, even if the condition is not recognized as a medical disability; it is not the cause of the disabilitythat matters but how it disrupts your ability to lead a normal life. Saunders suggested that the equivalent of a ‘class action’ is really needed by electro-sensitives to test this. |
Note: this article was kindly shared by Caduceus Magazine, from the current issue (82) and is covered by normal copyright requirements. Read more about Caduceus Magazine
http://www.worldshiftinternational.org/electrosensitivity-conference/
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