Cell Phones May
Damage Nerves In The Scalp
As cellular phones become ubiquitous, their status as a possible
health threat--either as a distraction to drivers or a potential
cause of brain tumors--is gaining more attention. Now, investigators
say there is evidence that cell phones may damage nerves in the
scalp.
In the current issue of the journal Occupational Medicine, Australian
researchers report on a patient whose cell phone use appears to
have damaged nerves in his scalp.
According to Drs. Bruce Hocking and R. Westerman of Caulfield
General Medical Centre in Victoria, this nerve injury may explain
the scalp pain they have found in 40 cell phone users so far who
complain of burning feelings or dull aches around the ear, the
temple, or back of the head.
In this case, the 72-year-old man suffered pain only on the right
side of his head, where he held his cell phone. He described his
symptoms as a persistent "bruised" feeling that was
"on the head," rather than "in the head."
The pain extended from the right side of his head to his cheek
and neck. The investigators found signs of sensory damage in some
nerves in the right side of man's head, but not on the left.
Hocking told Reuters Health that these findings offer a "plausible
neural basis" for the symptoms among the 40 cell phone users
his team has identified. In other words, he said, their pain is
not just "all in their minds."
While it is unclear how cell phones might harm scalp nerves,
Hocking noted, it is unlikely that it is the heat that radiates
from the phones. Such thermal effects have been put up as a possible
risk for brain tumors. If heat were behind this man's scalp pain,
Hocking said, his lifetime of Australian summers would have produced
similar symptoms. Besides, he added, the scalp has a very efficient
cooling system.
Instead of burning the skin, cell phones may somehow disturb
nerve function in the scalp, according to Hocking.
He stressed, however, that this research does not offer any support
to the theory that cell phones contribute to the formation of
brain tumors--a health condition that would arise from genetic
damage, rather than nerve injury.
Hocking and Westerman conclude that "exposure to the head
from mobile phone radiation should be minimized by using short
call times and the use of hands-free or other devices."
Reuters
Journalist: Amy Norton
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