Sensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) tends to occur in people who are already struggling with significant health issues.
We know that EMFs can cause real biological damage, but hypersensitivity to their presence in sick people can also be debilitating.
Here’s a guide to personal recovery from EMF sensitivity as well as reducing EMF problems in the home.
Symptoms of EMF sensitivity
When I was most EMF sensitive, I got an intense headache that felt like an electrical field around my head when I was within about 10 feet of a computer that was on.
My hands and skin were also sensitive to electrical devices, and I still use a pillow under my laptop to prevent a dull ache on my thighs.
Specialist Dr. Neil Nathan says that EMF sensitivity looks like mast cell activation (an allergic disorder), with symptoms including flushing, sweating, palpitations, abdominal pain and diarrhea. (R)
Specialist Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, meanwhile, links EMFs to “loss of zest” issues including depression, insomnia, fatigue, and senses of tingling, numbness, and vibration. (R)
Your symptoms, medical history, environment, and response to treatment can help determine if you’re suffering from EMF sensitivity or not.
How EMFs harm human health
According to Dr. Martin Pall, EMFs open what are called Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels (VGCCs) in cells and increase calcium concentration in cells.
This is the first step in a cascade of oxidative stress, illustrated below:
Nitric oxide (NO) reacts with superoxide to create peroxynitrite (ONOO), a massive source of free radicals that induce oxidative stress in the body.
Nervous system tissue (especially the synapses of the brain) is the most vulnerable to the harm caused by this cycle.
Dr. Pall identifies magnesium, 5-MTHF (a form of folate), and sublingual hydrocobalamin (a form of vitamin B12) as useful treatments in routing this cycle.
How to treat EMF sensitivity
You can improve health issues linked to EMFs in by reducing your exposure and by working on your own health.
We’ll get into detail on reducing exposure below, but here are three ways of improving your EMF hypersensitivity.
First is detoxification. Dr. Klinghardt believes heavy metals like mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel are the issue; Dr. Nathan says mold toxins are the top cause, and toxins from Bartonella, a Lyme co-infection, are the cause in a minority of cases.
In my case, mold toxins were confirmed to be the issue via a RealTime Labs test and, after clearing the toxins with binders like activated charcoal and using an at-home sauna, my sensitivity is about 80% better.
Second is repairing and rebuilding myelin, the sheathing that insulates your nerves. Dr. Klinghardt uses amino acid IVs; there is also support for high intake of omega-3 fatty acids (ie, from fatty fish) (R) and vitamin D. (R)
Check out Dave Ausprey’s guide to repairing myelin.
The third therapy to improve sensitivity is neural retraining.
Neural retraining programs give you psychological techniques that you practice regularly to calm the nervous system. Over time, your nervous system reactivity is reduced.
Dr. Nathan and I both recommend the Dynamic Neural Retraining System program. Read more about my experience with it here.
Over 98% of Dr. Nathan’s patients who have done DNRS consistently for several months have seen improvement that is good or better.
Sources of EMF exposure
The electromagnetic spectrum includes sources from common electricity to radio, microwaves, cell phone radiation, Wi-Fi, X-rays and nuclear sources.
The harm a particular source causes is a combination of its strength, the duration of exposure, and your individual level of sensitivity.
Smart meters are at the top of causes for concern. They emit microwaves, transmit on radio frequency, and generate strong electromagnetic fields that extend out 6-8 feet.
Some of the frequencies they transmit on (10-15khz range) affect the cell membrane and open sodium, potassium and calcium channels. (R)
Other major sources of exposure include Wi-Fi, baby monitors, cordless phones, and cell phones (both your personal cell phone and ambient signals).
Dirty electricity (erratic, spiky electrical waves from particular outlets and faulty wiring) is also a major source of home exposure.
Ways to reduce your EMF exposure
EMFs cause us the most harm at night, when our bodies’ nervous systems are in “rest and digest” mode. These methods of reducing exposure are therefore most important to employ at night and in the bedroom.
- Turn off non-essential fuses, especially those for the bedroom
- Turn off baby monitors
- Eliminate or at least turn off cordless phones
- Put your cell phone on airplane mode or turn it off
- Place silver-coated curtains on windows to reflect outside cell radiation
- Eliminate Wi-Fi in the home and use corded connections only
Get a TriField meter and ensure that your sleeping area contains less than 5 microwatts per square meter of microwave radiation.
If the above list is not enough to bring it down below that limit, and there’s no other suitable area to sleep in, apply a coat of grounded shielding paint; this will create a Faraday cage in your bedroom.
A building biologist can assist you in implementing all of the above.
You can also buy an EMF shielding bed canopy, but these tend to run in the hundreds to thousands of dollars.
EMF-reflecting fabrics can work as a topsheet, and you can find reflective clothing also. (R1, R2)
How to address smart meters
Workarounds for smart meters tend to be a bit dicey since power companies essentially force them on people.
The “German method” is apparently to just take an axe to it and deny you did it; after three rounds of this, the power company gives up on installing it.
More levelheaded options include putting up something called a smart meter lock on your house wall before the company tries to install one, or placing lead shielding between the meter and your house.
If shielding, you may need to remove the shielding when the power company comes to check why the readings are off.
Other options include sending a form legal letter to the electric company to get them to uninstall it, or informing them before installation that someone in the home is extremely electromagnetically sensitive in the 900mhz range.
Switching off your fuses probably won’t turn off the smart meter. (R)
At a minimum, make sure you’re not sleeping anywhere near the meter.
How to reduce dirty electricity
Measure dirty electricity in your home with a meter, such as from GreenWave, and see which of your outlets are sources of it.
Then, place filters (such as Greenwave’s) over those problem outlets and see if you feel better or worse.
Filters reduce dirty electricity, but tend to generate magnetic fields. In the case of faulty wiring, these magnetic fields can be enormous, so if you feel worse, that’s the likely cause.
In that case, fixing faulty wiring in the home is the ideal/best option.
Those fields can generate around filters, wiring or electrical cords.
Filters generate a buzzing sound that’s soft in most cases but may be grating for people with sensitive hearing. (R)
The newer CFL bulbs put out far more dirty electricity than the older incandescents, so devolving your bulbs or using filters is highly useful. (R)
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