The danger is there...do you care?



Photo by Petr Kratochvil

 Most likely, most of you are not going to like today's post. It has to do with cell phones and the questionable safety of them.

Studies in Sweden have revealed enough evidence that the radiation in cell phones is putting us all at risk of malignant brain tumors. Even second hand cell phone radiation is dangerous.

What is most disturbing to me, is the evidence that people who started using cell phones before the age of 20 are most at risk.

One of the studies was performed by L. Hardell, M. Carlbery and K. H. Mild, all affilliated with the Department of Oncology at the University Hospital in Sweden. The study was not limited to cell phones, but included cordless phones as well. Here are the results:

There is an increased risk of brain cancer of

• 170% with cell phone use
• 80% with cordless phones

The risk increases in individuals who started using cell phones/cordless phones prior to the age of 20 by 390% for cell and 290% for cordless.

I don't know about you, but this scares me to death! How often has my granddaughter chatted on her mama's cell phone with me? How many hours have my own children logged on the cordless phone in their teenage years? As a mother, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if any of my daughters ended up with a brain tumor. I did, however, try to keep them away from cell phones when they were teenagers, but there was only so much I could do when they turned 18.

But it's not just the chatting on the phones that can affect our little ones. Close proximity to the phone while mama is toting her toddler on her hip, can be just as devasting. Are you hearing me? Mama, or Daddy, holding your baby or small child on your lap while you're talking on the phone can produce irrevocable harm to your precious son or daughter.

While the evidence is not totally conclusive, doesn't the possibility make you sick to your stomach? It does me. According to a Swedish study from 2008, children and teenagers are 5 times more likely to develop a malignant brain tumor if they use cell phones and the younger they are when they start, the higher the risk.

Devra Davis, Ph.D., a cancer epidemiologist and toxicologist, makes the following recommendations:

• Do not download game apps and videos on your phone for your child's enjoyment.
• Set the phone on speakerphone when your little one wants to chat with Grandma (but even this is risky).
• Do not talk on your cell phone while holding your baby.
• Turn off your cell phone as much as possible.

If you want to find out more about Dr. Davis' research, pick up a copy of Disconnect, her book about cell-phone radiation. Or, you can bury your head in the sand (what we don't know can't hurt us, right?), but be prepared to answer to your son or daughter some day as he or she lies in a hospital bed asking you why you didn't know.

I know I'm being really harsh ... but it is only because I care!!!

Am I happy to learn any of this? Heck no. But I will be making some changes in my home and in my habits. Shopping for some corded phones is first on the list.

Sharing what I learn because I do care,

Hana

Levanna Naturals sent me this link. It rates the amount of radiation related to each specific phone. Check yours out here.