EMF and CPAP

[Walla Walla]

For those who worry about EMF you might want to read this: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/nonsens...radiation/

[Zorki1c]

Well I'm old enough to have survived lead based paint, roller skating and riding bikes without helmets or knee pads, Basic Training in the 1960s, falling out of trees and barn lofts and red dye No. 1. So I not going to worry about the EMF or whatever generated by my CPAP machine. Did I mention I love Rib Steak?

[Reznik]

For those who worry about EMF you might want to read this: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/nonsens...radiation/

The article referenced by Walla Walla confuses a number of different and unrelated issues.  

The notion that EMF causes or worsens MCS is certainly one thing for which there is no scientific evidence.  But, the fact that there is no scientific evidence that EMF causes or worsens MCS doesn't mean that it doesn't.  The absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence.

And more importantly, even if EMF doesn't cause or worsen one specific thing, i.e. MCS, it does not follow that EMF is 100% safe.  Even if EMF doesn't cause MCS (and I personally doubt that it does), EMF at certain frequencies and at certain power levels has been proven to cause cell damage and DNA mutations:

"EMFs can have devastating effects on tissue with high concentrations of electrons and ions. EMFs that cause changes in the behavior of cells (8) and tissues alter the function of the cardiovascular system (9) and bone marrow (7). Electromagnetic fields can have several different effects on cellular components (10), including disorders of cell proliferation and differentiation (10), damaged DNA in cells, chromosomal abnormalities (11), blood disorders (9), birth defects (12), and various mutations, including those associated with long-term exposure to EMFs. Under the influence of these fields, the balance of the CNS and the hormonal and respiratory systems become weak, resulting in decreased activity of the mentioned organs."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014506/

Also, see:

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phone-towers.html

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR17-086.aspx

Honestly, I don't really see the issue here.  Nobody needs a heated hose.  Since the risks are unknown, why bother using it??

[Reznik]

Well I'm old enough to have survived lead based paint, roller skating and riding bikes without helmets or knee pads, Basic Training in the 1960s, falling out of trees and barn lofts and red dye No. 1. So I not going to worry about the EMF or whatever generated by my CPAP machine.  Did I mention I love Rib Steak?

You may be old enough, but there are a lot of people who didn't make it to your age because they got killed riding their bike without a helmet, from lead poisoning, and even during basic training.  The fact that you got lucky doesn't mean that everyone did, or will.

[ShaunBlake]

Well I'm old enough to have survived lead based paint, roller skating and riding bikes without helmets or knee pads, Basic Training in the 1960s, falling out of trees and barn lofts and red dye No. 1. So I not going to worry about the EMF or whatever generated by my CPAP machine.  Did I mention I love Rib Steak?

You may be old enough, but there are a lot of people who didn't make it to your age because they got killed riding their bike without a helmet, from lead poisoning, and even during basic training.  The fact that you got lucky doesn't mean that everyone did, or will.

ooohhh, a flame war!  Gotta get some chips (baked, not fried, potato chips, for you limeys) and a brew and watch from a safe distance.

[Reznik]

Well I'm old enough to have survived lead based paint, roller skating and riding bikes without helmets or knee pads, Basic Training in the 1960s, falling out of trees and barn lofts and red dye No. 1. So I not going to worry about the EMF or whatever generated by my CPAP machine.  Did I mention I love Rib Steak?

You may be old enough, but there are a lot of people who didn't make it to your age because they got killed riding their bike without a helmet, from lead poisoning, and even during basic training.  The fact that you got lucky doesn't mean that everyone did, or will.

ooohhh, a flame war!  Gotta get some chips (baked, not fried, potato chips, for you limeys) and a brew and watch from a safe distance.

Not a flame war.  In fact, not even a flame...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_(Internet)

[Walla Walla]

So I found it has a name: Elecrophobia. https://www.americantrails.org/resources...hobia.html

Than there's this: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-10/cl...es/6607860

[Reznik]

So I found it has a name: Elecrophobia. https://www.americantrails.org/resources...hobia.html

Than there's this: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-10/cl...es/6607860

The first article is from 1994.  That's pretty old by scientific standards.

The ABC Australia article is newer.  The guy in that article probably has migraines.  They are likely unrelated to EMF.  But, since nobody really knows what causes migraines, its sufferers tend to latch on to any cause that catches their fancy.  If you had them, you would to.  They can be debilitating.  Interestingly, there is a line of scientific inquiry that suggests that migraines may be caused by (or worsened by) sleep apnea.

[JesseLee]

I generally stay out of discussions like this but I do have some experience.

Many locations that I have worked in used to have a microwave transceiver and all sorts of RF modulation and amplification equipment. There were safeguards to implement to reduce exposure to the very high power equipment and training to make sure that exposure was kept to a very minimum and exposure risk was near zero. On my experience, it was an electrically and magnetically noisy environment with large rotating equipment and more signals than one man could keep track of. Never once were there any accidental exposures to high power equipment but many many many doses of 10 watts or less.

All the older engineers have lived to a ripe age and lived well. I am a nonbeliever in low power emf harm.

[Reznik]

I generally stay out of discussions like this but I do have some experience.

Many locations that I have worked in used to have a microwave transceiver and all sorts of RF modulation and amplification equipment. There were safeguards to implement to reduce exposure to the very high power equipment and training to make sure that exposure was kept to a very minimum and exposure risk was near zero. On my experience, it was an electrically and magnetically noisy environment with large rotating equipment and more signals than one man could keep track of. Never once were there any accidental exposures to high power equipment but many many many doses of 10 watts or less.

All the older engineers have lived to a ripe age and lived well. I am a nonbeliever in low power emf harm.

Really?  I grew up as one of the youngest Ham Radio Operators in the U.S.  I was licensed when I was ten.  Most of the other Ham Radio users were retired seniors who had worked in RF related jobs at aviation related defense contractors for their entire lives.  This was back when people retired at age 55 (and sometimes younger).  Many of them died in their sixties from cancer.

The RF guys used to warn me about the risk of RF burns.  Apparently, RF burns you from the inside.  I cannot see how that can be safe...

While I am dubious of the idea that lower power EMF causes any immediate effects, i.e. EMF sensitivity causing headaches, tinnitus, etc., the latest research suggests that long-term low-power exposure to RF in the microwave band may increase the risk for glioma, which is a specific type of brain cancer.