Overuse a cell, and zap your brain cells

[Anchorman]

Using a mobile phone gives an unbearable headache; simply walking by a utility pole brings on nausea -- these are just a couple of symptoms often felt by the growing number of Japanese suffering from electromagnetic wave hypersensitivity, according to Sunday Mainichi (7/8).

No standards exist to judge whether someone has picked up the crippling disease and there's no known cure.

The afflicted suffer physically and mentally, yet because their condition is not recognized as a disease, they receive little support from those around them.

And they can receive little respite, either, with electromagnetic waves almost literally everywhere around them.

"Electromagnetic waves are like the radiation leaked from high-voltage power lines, electrical booster stations, power stations, microwave ovens, mobile phones and other electronic goods," Shoya Ogino, head of the Electromagnetic Wave Environment Laboratory, tells Sunday Mainichi. "Electromagnetic waves are around everywhere you can find electricity."

Mutsuo Sano found out he'd developed electromagnetic wave hypersensitivity after undergoing an MRI examination back in 1993.

"The examination went on for 1 hour, 40 minutes and I collapsed as soon as it finished," Sano tells Sunday Mainichi. "My head and chest were searing with a pain that felt something like a burn. I couldn't sleep for three days afterwards."

Sano received painkillers, which provided some relief, but as soon as he stopped taking them, the symptoms would return. He sought help from a dozen hospitals, but was told his pain was all in the mind. Finally, he was told he had electromagnetic wave hypersensitivity. Ever since, he's moved house six times to avoid high-voltage power lines or mobile phone transmission bases. He can't use a computer, or mobile phone, must sit at least 6 meters away from his TV and can't stand for long in front of his fridge.

Sadatoshi Okubo, head of an activist group dedicated to research electromagnetic waves, says his group gets about 30 calls a month from people suspecting they have the same condition as Sano.

"We started getting more and more calls from about five years ago, just as mobile phones were becoming more deeply involved in people's lives," Okubo says. "What really stood out was the number of people who complained that their ears felt like they were burning every time they used their mobile."

Motoharu Miyoshi, the head of the Hosumekku Clinic in Kanagawa Prefecture, says he has found electromagnetic wave hypersensitivity in about 60 people.

"It's really hard to diagnose and I just have to guess by asking patients about their condition," Miyoshi tells Sunday Mainichi, adding the only way to deal with the condition is to try and avoid being near electromagnetic wave sources. "The only way you can tell the difference between what they're feeling and depression or other nervous disorders is to hear what happened to them just before they started feeling sick." (By Ryann Connell)