Electrosensitivity in Children

Electrosensitivity in Children

No-one wants to think the unthinkable, do they? Yet not to wonder if electrosensitivity in children is a distinct possibility is :

a. at the very least, to neglect their optimum well-being

b. to cause cruelty to children by neglecting to address the real cause of their distress and consequently to fail to act appropriately to remove them from the source of it

c. to run the risk of causing criminal damage to children, possibly of an irrevocable nature by failing to consider the possibility of what these symptoms may mean or could develop into.

Discussion:

You will have seen from our information on “Electrosensitivity in teachers and school personnel” that some adults feel symptoms from exposure to this type of microwave radiation exposure. In some countries, it is now the subject of legal claims against employers. In the UK in particular, many of these sufferers experience additional distress by the fact that they are cruelly labelled as having symptoms which are classed at psychosomatic.. i.e.”all in the mind.”

Could this apply to children?

Young children are for the most part concerned with enjoying life and with the occupations of the moment. They are not aware of their environment in the way that adults might be. They do not know what a wireless router or access point looks like or bother to wonder of its significance in relation to them. It is not so easy, therefore, to put the psychosomatic label on children, because they are not aware of what is in the environment as an adult is..so with parental co-operation, it should, theoretically, be easier to prove wrong, or bring into question, the views of the likes of those who would so readily deny these symptoms in children also.

Far from being rare, Electrosensitivity is probably far more prevalent in children than in adults since they are more vulnerable, and it is clear from animal studies that biological effects from EMF are more prominent in juveniles and pregnant organisms. The reason perhaps that this is not being clearly noted is that the manifestations may be somewhat different, and, of course children are often not in a strong position to work out the source of their symptoms and are therefore reliant on their parents / GP to work out their diagnosis. Many parents (especially if not EHS themselves) may not be able to do this, and possibly diagnosis via their GP is highly unlikely at this point in time.

This is where the cruelty aspect comes in, since it means that children may continue to be unprotected and fail to receive the appropriate care and understanding which a proper recognition of their distress could have obviated.

What does ICNIRP say?

The UK government relies on such agencies as ICNIRP ( International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection) for advice. Under the Commission’s section entitled “People being protected” ICNIRP pays recognition to the fact that some groups in the population may be more vulnerable, or more affected, than others:

People being protected

Different groups in a population may have differences in their ability to tolerate a particular NIR exposure. For example, children, the elderly, and some chronically ill people might have a lower tolerance for one or more forms of NIR exposure than the rest of the population. Under such circumstances, it may be useful or necessary to develop separate guideline levels for different groups within the general population, but it may be more effective to adjust the guidelines for the general population to include such groups. Some guidelines may still not provide adequate protection for certain sensitive individuals nor for normal individuals exposed concomitantly to other agents, which may exacerbate the effect of the NIR exposure, an example being individuals with photosensitivity. Where such situations have been identified, appropriate specific advice should be developed-within the context of scientific knowledge. In some circumstances, it may be advisable to distinguish between members of the general public and individuals exposed because of or while performing their work tasks (occupational exposure). In its exposure guidelines, ICNIRP distinguishes occupational and public exposures in general terms. When applying the guidelines to specific situations, it is ICNIRP’s opinion that the relevant authorities in each country should decide on whether occupational or general public guideline levels are to be applied, according to existing (national) rules or policies. Environmental conditions may also influence the effect of whole-body exposure to optical or RF radiation.

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