Gadget 'allergy': French woman wins disability grant

A French woman has just won a disability grant after telling a court in Toulouse, France, that she suffers from an allergy to electromagnetic radiation from gadgets. As a result, Marine Richard may claim €800 per month (that’s $1300 in Singapore currency) for three years.

Richard is one of the few people affected by electromagnetic hypersensitivity or EHS. It is a condition recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), though it says the causes are unclear. Typical symptoms for those afflicted with EHS include headaches, fatigue, nausea and palpitations.

French woman Marine Richard is affected by everyday gadgets, including kitchen appliances

Richard had resorted to living in a remote area in the mountains of south-west France - in a barn that has no electricity. She said she had been affected by everyday gadgets such as phones.

Over in the US, the parents of a 12-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with EHS and is hypersensitive to his school’s WiFi have decided to file a lawsuit against the establishment. They say he began suffering from headaches, nosebleeds and nausea after the school installed new WiFi in 2013.

Although some countries, notably Sweden and the US, have officially recognised EHS as a condition, there is still much debate over whether a legal case on the condition would be worthwhile in certain other states.

Iron filings that have oriented in the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet

Understanding electromagnetic fields

Electromagnetic fields are all around us but cannot be seen. X-ray machines, TV and radio transmitters, mobile phones, WiFi and microwave ovens are all everyday man-made sources of electromagnetic waves.

An X-Ray machine is a man-made source of electromagnetic waves

Those who are sensitive to them talk of experiencing headaches, sleeplessness, ear pain when using a mobile phone, skin tingling and problems with concentration and memory. For them, the only solution at present is to avoid objects that emit radiation in the home - not easy in the modern world.

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)