I Repeat, Cell Phones Are Not Making You Sick

Just about every time I write about how some people say that wireless transmissions from Wi-Fi and cell phones are making them sick, it brings an outcry from the faithful who are convinced they're being killed in silent but deadly fashion. Then I defend what I wrote. Then we start all over when the next study comes out.

Well, finally UK scientists (as most of these reports seem to come out of Britain) are trying to bring some sanity to the issue, saying that "allergies" to cell phone radiation are all in your mind, a result of self-delusion brought about by intense belief that radio waves could somehow be making you sick.

Bear in mind, the people studied in the Environmental Health Perspectives report do indeed show real symptoms of illness, but the illness isn't caused by "electro-sensitivity." It's caused by the people themselves, in much the same way that a placebo can "cure" you of a headache simply through the power of self-suggestion. Such symptoms include sweatier skin and higher blood pressure, in addition to general feelings of illness.

The study put dozens of people who claimed this sensitivity (as well as control subjects who didn't claim the illness) in a room, then turned a nearby cell phone tower on or off. Only 2 of the 44 sensitive subjects picked correctly all six trials whether the signal was being emitted: About equal to what you'd expect from random guessing. But if the subjects were told that the signal was turned on, they began reporting symptoms... even if the tower was really turned off.

While this will certainly not silence all the critics who claim that the conveniences of modern life are slowly making them sick (some even claim electricity running through wires in the walls causes illness), it's at least another nail in the coffin that may someday bury this topic for good.

LINK: Phone mast allergy "in the mind"