Is electro-magnetic field (EMF) hypersensitivity a real thing?

[Dysfunkion]

Aluminum foil is cheap and available in stores. Visit a dollar store, pick up some tape or glue while you're at it, and you can line a room with it, or cover some standing screens with it. Near 100% shielding for just a few dollars. Even a small piece of foil can block signals from a router or other signal source, when placed properly.

Pretty sure if signals are still getting in from somewhere that would actually just bounce it around making it worse. I think dampening fabrics would be a much better bet that won't do that. Won't be perfect but probably more tolerable as well as look less ridiculous. I could also probably benefit from a special blanket for sleeping in because even if I'm just using it temporarily that's a hours less of an EMF load on my body every 24 hours.

 

[Wishful]

Pretty sure if signals are still getting in from somewhere that would actually just bounce it around making it worse.

If you sealed the edges well, you wouldn't get significant signal power getting in. Bouncing around won't increase the power; it'll just get quickly absorbed by materials in the room. If you put up a few strips of foil, covering 20% of the room's surface area, you'd decrease EMF power levels by ~20%. If your main concern was a known internet tower, you could cover just the area needed to "shade" you when you sleep or sit at a desk. Think of the EMF sources as lights (the only difference is wavelength) and conductive materials as shades. EMF blocking doesn't require a professional engineering team.

I'm not sure of the EMF blocking efficiency of a "space blanket (aluminized plastic)" is, but that would probably be a cheap experiment to see whether it makes a noticeable difference for you. Then you'd know whether the fancy expensive "EMF blocker!" blanket would be worth trying.

 

[moltenlead]

Hey guys, my first post here since my introductory one. I'm pretty sure I have EMF/RF/EF and certain light frequency hypersensitivities that are exacerbated during periods of high solar activity (Solar flares -> CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections) -> IMF (Interplanetary Magnetic Field) orientation) amongst others.

There is a fair bit of research into the effect of solar radiation on the Earth's upper atmosphere and how geomagnetic storms (the result of hot plasma from the sun interacting with the Earth's geomagnetic shield can affect electricity grids and electronics), it also is the cause of Auroras and if you want to learn about how seriously it effects electrical grids, you can read about the "Carrington Event" on Wikipedia. The solar cycle between minimum low activity and maximum is approximately 11 years. I first noticed this during the last maximum in 2013 but couldn't figure out exactly what the trigger for my heightened sensitivity was. But I can say that it was so stressful that I used to go down to an underground car park to escape the exposure to whatever was triggering my symptoms.

Since then I have narrowed it down to a few different elements of solar weather that I think are the main triggering elements. As I mentioned there is some research into this that proves a correlation though it needs far more research. In any case lately I've had to pretty much shut down all electronics and EMF/RF/EF sources including LED lights and some fluorescent tube type lights.

In some of the research I've read, which I'm happy to share links for if anyone is interested, there is one area of interest in magnetite in the human brain, a mineral that is used by some animals for navigation as it interacts with the Earth's magnetic fields like an organic compass and this can be disturbed by changes to the Earth's magnetic field which is caused by solar activity. There's also studies into cryptocrhomes which are light sensitive parts of the human body that are also sensitive to changes during heightened solar activity.

As for methods of shielding against, really the only way is to turn off and safely disconnect any devices from power. Using aluminium foil to cover walls might be affective for small areas if it's coming from outside, but ultimately it will reflect any internal EMF. If you want to go the aluminium foil route, you will need to get an electrician to ground/earth it safely. You essentially need to create was is known as a Faraday cage (A completely enclose EMF/RF proof enclosure that is safely earth grounded. You can't have a few loose pieces of aluminium even if they are joined together as any gaps around it will still allow EMF through.

There are conductive fabrics that are good for shielding against EMF but again they will only work for the area covered. Using a properly installed grounding mat can be helpful, though I find it only works during certain conditions, I can explain more if anyone is interested, and it could be a personal thing too, different people might be triggered by different types of EMF/geomagnetic conditions.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in more information, I'm happy to post some research links, there is enough research to indicate a strong correlation between the Earth's geomagnetic field and it's affect on biological life as well as evidence to suggest a connection between EMF exposure increasing during certain heliocentric events.

 

[Blazer95]

(X) doubt

 

[Wishful]

If you want to go the aluminium foil route, you will need to get an electrician to ground/earth it safely.

False: a Faraday cage does not need to be grounded to be an effective shield. For really low frequency EMF, such as generated by geomagnetic storms, shielding, especially thin aluminum or conductive fabric, will be less effective.

Grounding mats don't shield against EMFs, except for sources directly beneath them.

there is enough research to indicate a strong correlation between the Earth's geomagnetic field and it's affect on biological life

I'm just guessing that most of that research is taken out of context, such as exposing a test sample to fields many orders of magnitude stronger than normal exposure, and claiming this as evidence that solar flares have significant biological effects.

 

[ChrisD]

I have ME/Lyme/Bartonella and I got EMF sensitivity after trying high dose probiotics which I think triggered more Histamine and autoimmunity. There is a paper on how those as well as oxidative stress cause Electrohypersensitivity.

I haven't found many solutions in 5 years but I use a grounding mat, a somavedic, an orgone blanket and I think they all help a little. As well as just avoiding using electrics.

My sensitivity goes as far as getting pains - burning,stinging from holding a mobile or tablet, or using a PC.

 

[perchance dreamer]

I haven't found many solutions in 5 years but I use a grounding mat, a somavedic, an orgone blanket and I think they all help a little.

@ChrisD, I recently got the new Somavedic Luna and am finding it very helpful for sleep.

 

[Wayne]

@ChrisD, I recently got the new Somavedic Luna and am finding it very helpful for sleep.

Hey @Mary, @lenora -- I know you're always looking for things to improve sleep, so thought I'd tag you about this device. I really don't know anything about it, but I notice they have a 60-day return policy for anybody interested in trying it.

 

[perchance dreamer]

I don't know if it has anything to do with how well it's working for me, but I've also had another one of their products for a couple of years, the Vedic. I'm still running it, also. The customer support person had said it's okay to have more than one Somavedic device in the home.

I never found the Vedic that helpful for sleep, though, so it may not have anything to do with my sleep improvement with the Luna.

It's not on the website information, but the support person said many people find the Somavedic devices too strong to have in their bedrooms. They recommend keeping them in the middle of the house.

The Luna was just rolled out a couple of months ago, so it's pretty new.

This is off topic, but I'm finding boswellia helpful for sleep and pain, too. I'll relate my experiences with it on another thread soon.

 

[Dysfunkion]

I have ME/Lyme/Bartonella and I got EMF sensitivity after trying high dose probiotics which I think triggered more Histamine and autoimmunity. There is a paper on how those as well as oxidative stress cause Electrohypersensitivity.

I haven't found many solutions in 5 years but I use a grounding mat, a somavedic, an orgone blanket and I think they all help a little. As well as just avoiding using electrics.

My sensitivity goes as far as getting pains - burning,stinging from holding a mobile or tablet, or using a PC.

Do you have a link to this paper? I have no idea how I got mine besides knowing when it got so bad that even computers were hurting me. Nothing I've ever done health wise has been able to reduce it and no one I know has the condition. I feel like I was just prone to getting it though because even people with lifestyles far more unhealthy than me have no EMF sensitivity problems. With me it's not something I can just ignore, it's a literal serious health threat that I can die from if I'm exposed to too much of with the most deadly exposure being from a wifi router from unfortunate personal experience when I first moved into where I am now. Even most people with it appear to just feel ill around these things, I'm one of the rare cases of it being this severe. Really sucks though, makes you really limited in what you can do in life because you realize from having this how everything is centered around technology. If you can't use a lot of it and using much of it makes you sick then you are excluded from so many things in life. Just going over someone's house to play video games and hang out becomes a health threat. I hope in the future there is some kind of cure for this but considering how the public and medical fields tend to treat us with (or don't for that matter) I'm not holding my breath on it.

 

[Mary]

Hey @Mary, @lenora -- I know you're always looking for things to improve sleep, so thought I'd tag you about this device. I really don't know anything about it, but I notice they have a 60-day return policy for anybody interested in trying it.

Thanks for the recommendation @Wayne - unfortunately this device is $835! If I were still having nightmare sleep problems, though, I might consider it, but for the time being at least I am sleeping not badly overall (afraid to say it, I might jinx myself!)

I don't want to derail this thread, so I describe what's currently working for sleep in this post. So if anyone has questions, go to that thread to ask them.

 

[Wishful]

but I use a grounding mat,

If you're worried about currents in your body induced by EMFs, you should be aware that grounding yourself can increase the induced currents. Ask a ham radio operator about how good grounding of vertical antennas (like a person standing up) improves the signal strength.

 

[ChrisD]

Do you have a link to this paper? I have no idea how I got mine besides knowing when it got so bad that even computers were hurting me. Nothing I've ever done health wise has been able to reduce it and no one I know has the condition. I feel like I was just prone to getting it though because even people with lifestyles far more unhealthy than me have no EMF sensitivity problems. With me it's not something I can just ignore, it's a literal serious health threat that I can die from if I'm exposed to too much of with the most deadly exposure being from a wifi router from unfortunate personal experience when I first moved into where I am now. Even most people with it appear to just feel ill around these things, I'm one of the rare cases of it being this severe. Really sucks though, makes you really limited in what you can do in life because you realize from having this how everything is centered around technology. If you can't use a lot of it and using much of it makes you sick then you are excluded from so many things in life. Just going over someone's house to play video games and hang out becomes a health threat. I hope in the future there is some kind of cure for this but considering how the public and medical fields tend to treat us with (or don't for that matter) I'm not holding my breath on it.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26613326/

Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder​

 

[Dysfunkion]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26613326/

Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder​

Oh wow this is from all the way back in 2015!

" Near 40% had a increase in histaminemia (especially when both conditions were present), indicating a chronic inflammatory response can be detected in these patients. Oxidative stress is part of inflammation and is a key contributor to damage and response. Nitrotyrosin, a marker of both peroxynitrite (ONOO°-) production and opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), was increased in 28% the cases. Protein S100B, another marker of BBB opening was increased in 15%. Circulating autoantibodies against O-myelin were detected in 23%, indicating EHS and MCS may be associated with autoimmune response. Confirming animal experiments showing the increase of Hsp27 and/or Hsp70 chaperone proteins under the influence of EMF, we found increased Hsp27 and/or Hsp70 in 33% of the patients. As most patients reported chronic insomnia and fatigue, we determined the 24 h urine 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate (6-OHMS)/creatinin ratio and found it was decreased (<0.8) in all investigated cases. Finally, considering the self-reported symptoms of EHS and MCS, we serially measured the brain blood flow (BBF) in the temporal lobes of each case with pulsed cerebral ultrasound computed tomosphygmography. Both disorders were associated with hypoperfusion in the capsulothalamic area, suggesting that the inflammatory process involve the limbic system and the thalamus. "

What could be the underlying cause though? If for example everyone with mold toxicity and/or heavy metal poisoning got this we would see many more cases in the wild but not everyone even with those does. I was working in some gas station handling a lot of nasty stuff, cleaning supplies, and working in front of large ovens. With me it started with my face and head neurological problems evolving from mild kind of icy hot nerve pain now and then to full on burning of the face and scalp that became present all the time to varying degrees (it always gets the worst at work though). I remember the night it got really bad too. I was working on the register and it suddenly felt like someone had poured acid all over my head that I couldn't wash off. Developed horrible anxiety issues worse than I ever had, panic disorder right out the blue, memory loss, tinnitus, motor problems, cognitive issues, chemical sensitivity, and socializing because of it all became a nightmare. From that time and forward I had to live in the past technology wise because that's when it became obvious. Before that I had mold poisoning from my old home I was living at the time and my neurological issues from that also were getting worse but I guess from that job the toxic load on my system finally was too much for my body to handle and my body must have actually started attacking my own nerves. I can't remember what it's like anymore to not have this.

On hypoperfusion in the capsulothalamic area, that is right on the money with what happens when I'm exposed! Everything that happens during a thalamic stroke symptom wise is what happens to me when exposed which is why exposure is dangerous for me. Also explains the insane anxiety problems too because the limbic system is also wrecked when this happens.

 

[Wishful]

Could they be measuring the immune system response to stressing about (possibly imaginary) reactions to EMF or chemicals? They should have used some similarly stressed controls. People worried about ghosts or witchcraft or alien abductors might show similar blood factors.

 

[hapl808]

Could they be measuring the immune system response to stressing about (possibly imaginary) reactions to EMF or chemicals? They should have used some similarly stressed controls. People worried about ghosts or witchcraft or alien abductors might show similar blood factors.

Always tough to show these things, because they are used to dismiss conditions. Even if you found the same blood factors, that doesn't mean both are caused by worry (or EMF, or ghosts). If you don't understand the etiology, it's very much staring at the cave walls.

For instance, anxiety can cause tachycardia. This does not mean tachycardia is a meaningless symptom always tied to anxiety (even though it seems some doctors see it that way). Unfortunately, our diagnostic abilities are still more primitive than we like to admit. There is no easy and definitive way to diagnose if someone's tachycardia is due to anxiety or to underlying cardiovascular issues.

My personal guess/hypothesis is that we'll find in the future that healthy people don't respond to safe levels of EMF, but that people with compromised or damaged blood brain barriers can respond negatively to much lower levels of EMF.

This doesn't seem like a crazy idea to me, yet most seem to view EMF as absolute junk science even though there are prescribed safe levels. If something has zero danger, there usually aren't restrictions on safe levels. For instance, no one says how many paper towels you can safely use in a day, because I'm unaware of any safety issues. However, caffeine is a different story. One or two cups of coffee in a day is usually fine and can even be beneficial - unless you have major cardiac issues.

Sadly, even questioning EMF gets you immediately categorized as a nutjob and ignored.

 

[moltenlead]

Hey again,

I don’t claim to be an expert on grounding or faraday cages but generally speaking afaik faraday cages need to be grounded, unless you know the exact source/direction and frequency of the EMF/RF you are shielding against and are using it directionally. For total shielding which is the point of a faraday cage afaik it needs to be grounded. As for grounding mats, afaik, the direct connection with earth rebalances ions in the body that get charged by exposure to EMF/RF etc. Again I’m not claiming to be an expert and may be incorrect.

Here’s some summaries of articles I’ve found without even really searching in the past for correlations between space weather and humans, I’ve created a bit of a TL;DR version. If you want links to the actual research please just ask.

TL;DR research:
1. Joe Kirschvink explores the concept of a human magnetic sense, suggesting that magnetite in our bodies could enable us to detect Earth's magnetic fields, potentially influencing our response to EMF (Electromagnetic Fields).

2. A.R. Liboff discusses correlations between solar activity (including geomagnetic storms) and human health outcomes, such as cardiovascular events and neurological disorders, proposing that solar-induced magnetic fluctuations might impact our biological systems.

3. Studies into cryptochromes (light-sensitive proteins) suggest they might act as magnetic field sensors in humans, influenced by changes in solar activity, thereby affecting our circadian rhythms and possibly our general well-being.

4. Valeriy Zaporozhan and Andriy Ponomarenko focus on how solar and geomagnetic fluctuations could influence gene expression, potentially affecting influenza outbreaks and other health patterns through the impact on cryptochromes.

5. Stuart A. Gilder and colleagues examine the distribution of magnetite in the human brain, finding significant concentrations that suggest specific brain regions may be more susceptible to magnetic fields, possibly explaining sensitivity to geomagnetic disturbances.

6. George Davis correlates solar cycle peaks with human disease patterns, proposing that solar radiation, especially Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR), influences genetic mutations or epigenetic changes affecting health.

7. Michael Hanzelka et al. investigate how low-level magnetic fields influenced by solar activity affect human psychophysiological parameters, such as stress responses, linking solar processes to changes in human behavior and decision-making.

Also here’s a graph of the current solar cycle progression including the previous two solar cycles for comparison which peaked around 2001 (cycle 23), 2013 (cycle 24), current cycle is 25. If you want to learn about space weather, i suggest spaceweather.com. You can also try the US official SWPC (Space Weather Prediction Center) website. If you can remember specific dates in the past where you might have been particularly triggered you can try to correlate it with historical maximums or other historical data. March was particularly active with sunspots throwing very high rated (M and X solar flares). These flares if followed by a CME can cause radio blackouts and interrupt satellite communications just to name some obvious measureable effects.

 

[Dysfunkion]

Always tough to show these things, because they are used to dismiss conditions. Even if you found the same blood factors, that doesn't mean both are caused by worry (or EMF, or ghosts). If you don't understand the etiology, it's very much staring at the cave walls.

For instance, anxiety can cause tachycardia. This does not mean tachycardia is a meaningless symptom always tied to anxiety (even though it seems some doctors see it that way). Unfortunately, our diagnostic abilities are still more primitive than we like to admit. There is no easy and definitive way to diagnose if someone's tachycardia is due to anxiety or to underlying cardiovascular issues.

My personal guess/hypothesis is that we'll find in the future that healthy people don't respond to safe levels of EMF, but that people with compromised or damaged blood brain barriers can respond negatively to much lower levels of EMF.

This doesn't seem like a crazy idea to me, yet most seem to view EMF as absolute junk science even though there are prescribed safe levels. If something has zero danger, there usually aren't restrictions on safe levels. For instance, no one says how many paper towels you can safely use in a day, because I'm unaware of any safety issues. However, caffeine is a different story. One or two cups of coffee in a day is usually fine and can even be beneficial - unless you have major cardiac issues.

Sadly, even questioning EMF gets you immediately categorized as a nutjob and ignored.

You definitely put that down in a way I wish I could so well. I don't have any grand ideas on how'd you go about diagnosing this because there aren't enough people with it as severe as me that aren't in critical condition that are willing to talk about it and so ill with the cluster of non-specific symptoms that it looks like anything but EMF over exposure. I've spent hundreds of dollars of savings protecting myself, controlling my environment, and lifestyle in extremely specific ways so I can live to tell the tale about what living with it is like. My body is extremely unstable and if it wasn't for my supplement stack, specific diet, and what I do to keep myself safe then I wouldn't even be able to work or have anything remotely resembling a normal life. In general having hypersensitivity is just part of a package of other health issues involving the immune and nervous system.

On the psychological manifestations of it, you can't tell specifically when someone has this because typically with cases as severe as mine it just looks like your interacting with a person that has brain damage that can be from just about anything. One of my main symptoms is anxiety, cognitive, and social problems that can look like a million other things. If you just interacted me after I was thoroughly zapped by a very powerful source of radiation to me you'd think I was just some lunatic and if I told you what exactly happened you'd probably still think so because people just tend to dismiss anything illness related with forced psychological manifestations as signs of anything else besides what the person who is affected is telling them it is. I've told some people and about my mental state on a worse day when I had some awkward social interactions before because I was having the post stroke like brain damage symptoms and the reaction is usually just disbelief because they simply can't fathom someone that outwardly appears to have severe mental illness can actually be coherent under it and being effected by something they don't understand. It's extremely frustrating and my main issue when talking about it online especially, people just can't believe it.

It's a scary situation because I can't get the medical help and understanding I need as this at least where I live isn't recognized as a valid medical condition and patients with outward psychological manifestations as primary manifestations of a physical condition that isn't well understand don't exactly get treated very well. It's not only a dangerous situation for me on the medical front but social front too because if anything happens to where I'm currently living where I can't control my exposure as well then I can't get proper accommodation because of not being taken seriously. When I get too ill if I'm forced to be in a place with too much radiation for me to handle I won't be able to properly take care of myself because I will quite literally be dying and having clinical psychiatric manifestations that look like someone having a psychotic episode (and shortly after if bad enough stroke) because of what it does to my brain. I'm not anywhere near that green zone, I don't have enough money to move there anyways, and my disabilities from this and related conditions with me greatly limit me in what I can do with my life.

 

[moltenlead]

(X) doubt

Can you please be more specific?

False: a Faraday cage does not need to be grounded to be an effective shield. For really low frequency EMF, such as generated by geomagnetic storms, shielding, especially thin aluminum or conductive fabric, will be less effective.

Grounding mats don't shield against EMFs, except for sources directly beneath them.

AFAIK the goal of grounding is to neutralize excess charge, not to shield or attract EMFs.

Faraday Cages (cage being the operative word) are designed to shield against RF, and while grounding can enhance their effectiveness against low-frequency fields, they don't necessarily need to be grounded for high-frequency RF, really depends on your goal and the materials you use for the shielding. The idea is to have a proper setup that effectively shields, which is more than just randomly placing aluminium foil around.

If you're worried about currents in your body induced by EMFs, you should be aware that grounding yourself can increase the induced currents. Ask a ham radio operator about how good grounding of vertical antennas (like a person standing up) improves the signal strength.

Do you have some evidence to back up this claim? I can't find any scientific evidence to support the human body acting as more of an RF antenna when using a properly installed earth grounding mat? I don't think a HAM radio can be compared to a human body.

I did find the following information though, both pros and cons:
https://earthinginstitute.net/research/

https://groundingproducts.com/understanding-the-science-behind-grounding-mats/

https://www.emfanalysis.com/is-grounding-good-for-you/

My body is extremely unstable and if it wasn't for my supplement stack, specific diet, and what I do to keep myself safe then I wouldn't even be able to work or have anything remotely resembling a normal life. In general having hypersensitivity is just part of a package of other health issues involving the immune and nervous system.

I'm really sorry to hear about your hypersensitivity. I'm sorry if you've already shared this elsewhere but might you be willing to share what supplements you use and maybe some of your dietary suggestions please?


I mentioned the Carrington Event in my first post on this thread, just a brief summary in case anyone is interested:

It was the most intense geomagnetic storm on record in 1859. Triggered by a massive solar coronal mass ejection (CME) hitting Earth's magnetosphere.

It led to widespread telegraph system failures across Europe and North America, some operators experienced electric shocks, and telegraph papers caught fire. Auroras were seen worldwide, even in tropical regions highlighting the impact of solar activity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

Has anyone else noticed a correlation between solar activity on their EMF hypersensitivity? For example from about March 19/20 to the end of March this year there was much more solar activity than usual and I felt my hypersensitivity particularly triggered to the point where I could barely function and basically shutting down all electronics and sources of RF like mobile and wifi helped a bit plus sporadic grounding, though I admit sometimes grounding is more effective than other times, I guess one's body knows when it's helpful and when it's not...

 

[Blazer95]

Yeah sorry that wasnt really sensitive of me. I Just have a hard time of understanding the concept of EMF hypersensitivity.

It was Not OK being Like this however and i Apologize.