HEALTH DANGERS FROM LAPTOPS

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A lecturer once thought me this interesting topic called radiation, he confirmed that laptop emits radiation, while stressing the chronic effect of radiation exposure before the class; he stood so close to the projector emission. Simon (class mate) asked; Sir is the projector also emitting radiation? My lecturer replied ‘Yes it is’ then he moved a bit farther. My point is, few practice what they preach. So even if you have heard this before or you are just hearing it just read on, get informed and let it change your practice for the better.

What are the dangers of exposure to laptops?

Laptop radiation cannot be seen by the naked eye, but it can pose real dangers to our health. Laptop computer Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs), also known as Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR), all computers emits electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on many different frequencies. These EMFs can be extremely harmful to your health.

According to the Environmental & Occupational Health Publication in 2012 about exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Laptop Use, the study investigates if there are health concerns when exposed to these fields, with particular emphasis on women and their fetus. They concluded that laptops generate Electromagnetic Radiations (EMRs), also known as a magnetic flux, that induce currents in the body, increases risk for tumor development, causing detectable impairment to the health of the exposed individual or his or her offspring.

Researchers Warn Laptop Computers Should be Renamed to Protect Users' Health

Laptops used directly in our laps expose us to more intense radiation that would be harmless otherwise if we were only a few feet away.

Laptops have internal parts that heat up and radiate. Older laptops emitting the highest levels of heat radiation. Laptops generate low-frequency radiations from storage and computing processing. According to reports, wireless radiation is considered to be much more hazardous than what comes from the laptop itself and therefore wireless technology is causing more concern for many people. When laptops use Bluetooth, WiFi and wireless cellular connections, they emit higher frequency, Radio Frequency (RF) radiation. All three of these sources are very close to your genitals, skin and muscles. Although, the World Health Organisation stated that there is no danger from Wi-fi as the radiation levels are much lower than the threshold for an effect on humans. It is still necessary to know that exposure to these dangerous radiations may create bodily reactions such as skin rashes and muscle soreness. In some cases, infertility can occur.

Previous studies have found that laptop use may damage sperm through a thermal effect, that is, by heating up the scrotum during use (this occurred even when a lap pad was used, most likely because the men' closed leg position, required to balance the laptop, also contributed to the heating effect). However the current study found laptop use also leads to non-thermal adverse effects, which means even if you manage to avoid the heating effect, laptop use, on your lap for several hours, may lead to various health problems like infertility or cancer (prostate and testicular), a prolong exposure can render the living body cells inactive, research shows that placing your laptop near your scrotum for an hour increases your testicular temperature by 2.7 degrees Celsius. For women, there can be an irregularity in their periods, causing fertility problems. Early signs of overexposure to EMFs include muscle aches, insomnia, stress and fatigue.

Countless epidemiological studies, from The British Medical Journal to the World Health Organization (WHO) to the California Department of Health, have linked EMFs to:

• Lymphoma
• Leukemia
• Autoimmune system deficiencies
• Birth defects
• Tumors
• Insomnia
• Heart problems and more.

 The fact that the laptop is often situated right next to your body means you’re receiving your computer’s radiation at its fullest strength. It’s been shown that EMF strength decreases with distance. 

How do we minimize laptop radiation…???

According to Dr. Mercola, Laptop computers are a high-energy source of both electric- and magnetic fields; avoid putting a laptop directly on your lap. You can block the thermal effects by using a lap pad if you also avoid sitting with your legs held closely together, and you can shield against the electric field by adding a reflective material or metal to it, but you cannot block the magnetic field component. Computer-charging devices are ungrounded, so ideally you'll only want to use a laptop when it's running on battery not when it's plugged into an outlet and charging.

SHOULD IT ALWAYS BE MEN’S WORLD?

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For me, saying that ‘women live in men’s world’ sounds like selfish and inconsiderate speech...  but you have to agree with me that it is a statement accepted by most men. My eyes are now widely open to the damages this statement has caused. I am sure rapists will laugh and say it is our world, leaving the woman or girl to weep and bleed.  

It is men’s world...

You've heard the expression a thousand times, the number of people chorusing these words in a society depends on the extent of gender inequality in that society, the gender inequality issues that is more rampant in Africa as a result of some ethics, culture and religion etc. has always favored the men. I don’t want to bore you with the details here but do you know that some churches will never allow women to mount the altar let alone becoming a pastor? It is also safe to say it is men’s world in such churches.

What prompted me to ask this question is as a result of my visit to ‘ogbete’ market in Enugu, Nigeria. It is a very big market in the eastern part of Nigeria. You are probably thinking if the men have dominated this market place too… hmmm not really, market place of such is still the women’s world, just patiently read on. Ogbete market accommodates far more than five thousand buyers and sellers in a day and women are in their majority. 

I was to meet with the market leaders and discuss with them prior to my community awareness on health issues, I had prepared myself for the meeting so much that I had to learn some few dialect I couldn’t speak, I had the picture of the normal set of market leaders- some old women of Enugu indigene and probably illiterates.. 

Here comes the D-day, in my formal outfit at Ogbete market, I started wondering when I got to the market office and was directed to the secretary, the storey building looks like I was in a semi - cooperate office, beyond just a market office. If you have visited a typical Nigerian market then you will understand the sharp contrast between the market and the office though I do not have issues with the building.  My perception of some old women as market executives was absolutely wrong! Majority of the market executives I saw that day were men, did I even meet women? NO, I can’t say if they are all men governing the market but I can say that the five executives I met were men. Also, the chairman, the personal assistant and the secretary were men!   

This left me to one conclusion, the authorities and leaders of the market are men so women’s voice might not be heard or faintly heard in a place that should be called women’s comfort zone. Someone once said that to be happy, we must admit women and men are not equal. Are these women happy that they don’t have a say even in their own domain? Is it absolutely normal? I am just thinking and waiting for your opinion but I don’t want to believe I am making the big deal out of it.