BHUBANESWAR: Cellphones have revolutionised communication to become a part and parcel of our everyday life. But the fallout is beginning to be discernible.The gadgets that have become the most common features in the hands of the rich and the poor alike are beginning to take their toll on human health, exposing them to central nervous system (CNS) and brain disorders.Cellphone usage is now increasingly associated with a vast number health problems ranging from headaches, migraines, insomnia, hearing and comprehension problems to serious CNS and possibly cancer too.A hospital-based study on medical students of the VSS Medical at Burla has revealed worrying trends on adverse health impact of cellphone on users. Headaches, anxiety, loss of memory, fatigue, insomnia along with burning of the face and pain in ear were the most common problems faced by the users, the study said.Undergraduate students between the age of 20 and 30 years were put under observation by Professor and Head of Physiology, Dr R R Mohanty and assistant professor KC Purohit to deduce the effects of long duration calls through cellphones among the youngsters.The results were astounding. Majority of the users complained of headache while sleep disturbances, pain in the ear and burning sensation in the face were fairly common. As high as 27.65 per cent reported persistent headache to the extent of even migraines. The problem was more manifested in the sections who are continuously on the phone.About one-fifth reported sleep disturbance or insomnia, while around 15 per cent complained of memory loss and an almost equal number of lack of concentration. Mobile phone usage also attributed to fatigue in about 13.47 per cent of the students under study. The males were more prone to the common symptoms than their female counterparts, the study published in the latest issue of Journal of Community Medicine Orissa stated.According to Dr Purohit, the effect of the electromagnetic fields created by the phones and the radiation permeating from them was turning out to be a serious problem. “Microwave radiation impacted by the phones affects blood-brain barrier system and dopamine opiate system to cause CNS symptoms. The problems were more prominently manifested in participants talking for more than 15 minutes. In addition, males were found to be the major sufferers making them the vulnerable group,” he said.Electromagnetic radiation can produce multi-system disease in the long-run. Even the WHO has classified mobile phone with potential risks of causing serious diseases as cancer. “Therefore apt precautions should be taken like keeping the device away from the body and using hands free while talking,” Dr Purohit said.
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