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Understanding impact of radiation on our health
Dr. Dhiraj Nanda
Medical exposure
The medical exposure to radiation for common man started
with the discovery and use of x-rays in the field of
medical diagnostics. The second major exposure started
with advancement of radio-diagnosis techniques such as
CT scans and MRIs. The third medical exposure started
with radiation therapy in cancers.
Life-style exposure
Modern life-style has many sources of that expose one to
radiation. These are mobile phones, computers, microwave
ovens etc. Each cell phone tower around us is constantly
emitting electromagnetic radiation. We are always
surrounded by these radiation waves.
Indian scenario
Many people in India started using of technologies that
have radiation emitting effect in day to day life style
since early 1990s. These are mobile phones, computers,
microwave ovens etc. Since 1990s, the incidence of caner
patients in India started rising. Since early 2000s the
number of cancer patients approaching me for the
treatment has gone up by nearly four times. A majority
of these patients were suffering from after-effects of
radiation therapy. Now, in last decade, the use of wi-fi
is on the rise. And the number of patients with ailments
occurring or aggravating from such exposure is
constantly on the rise.
Alarm bells
What is alarming is very low rate of awareness of
harmful effects of radiation and till low levels of
awareness of preventing or removing the adverse effects
of this radiation exposure.
Historical perspective (homoeopathic)
While going through the old homoeopathic journals one
can deduce that as the use of x-rays in diagnostics
increased, so did the sale of remedies like phosphorus
and acid phosphoricum that were said to have somewhat
anti-radiation effects.
A passage worth quoting from the book ‘Notes on miasms
by P.S. Ortega’ is given below:
Dr. Gonzalez Corena stated the following about the
genetic aspect of sycotic miasm.....When the biological
reaction is oriented toward enzymatic or proteinic
cellular neoformations, the sycotic diathesis becomes
established....The genes which are altered by such
physio-chemical sycotic factors as radiation or
medicines whose action is very far-reaching act in
accordance with the Mendalian laws of dominance and
recessiveness........ The parents may supply gametes
with altered chromosomes and genes, damaged and thereby
abnormal. If this is present in two parents it will be
homoeozygous, if in only one of them
heterozygous.....The abnormal sycotic gene is dominant
if morbid reaction appears in the genotype in all
generation of the genealogical tree under study and it
is recessive if no clinical manifestations appeared
during one generation.....One example of this is
Recklinghausen’s disease, with its tumours, many brown
spot and cysts, and which has a recessive hereditary
trait.....” (page 70 First English edition published in
India in 1980 by National Homoeopathic Pharmacy, New
Delhi).
I have underlined the important aspect in the above
paragraph that is associated with radiation. The author
places exposure to radiation in a category of causes or
trigger factors that have far-reaching effects that can
affect the normal genetic expression.
Common effects / symptoms from radiation exposure
Some common symptoms that
may be due adverse effect of radiation exposure are
1. Anemia
2. Cancers
3. Cataracts
4. Changes in sleep patterns
5. Decreased concentration,
6. Deterioration of vision
7. Excessive bleedings
8. Fatigue
9. Fatigue,
10. Genetic defects and children with birth defects
11. Headache,
12. Lethargy
13. Pressure-sensation or heaviness in eyes,
14. Tumors
15. Weakness and
16. Unexplained illnesses that do not respond to the
medication
In short, adverse health effects can range from mild
results, such as a simple reddening of the skin, to
permanent genetic alterations and serious effects such
as leukemia, cancer and death.
The adverse effects of radiation exposure will entirely
depend on the amount of radiation body absorbs, the type
of radiation one is exposed to, the route of exposure,
and the duration of exposure.
Patho-physiology of radiation exposure
Though exact patho-physiological changes in different
conditions are still being studies in details, it is
clear that unprotected or long duration exposure to
radiation has an adverse impact on
1. Cellular communication
2. Cellular metabolism
3. Immune function
The unprotected and long duration radiation exposure
probably affects electro-potential and other gradients
in the body adversely. A change of current at the level
of microvolt is enough to onset a series of adverse
changes in the body’s biochemistry leading to adverse
effects in form of diseases. These adverse effects occur
due to altered protein expression.
Passive radiation exposure
One question that had always troubled me since the birth
of my children is does radiation adversely affects the
person next to me when I am talking on cell phone? Does
passive exposure to radiation have an effect a similar
to passive smoking? My observations in clinic said
‘probably, yes’. I observed that children of patients
who used to work from home and were using cell phone
extensively, were hyperactive, destructive, or were slow
in learning. So, on Thursdays, my holidays from the
clinic, I started keeping my self away from radiation by
switching off my cell phone.
Patho-physiology of passive adverse effect
As written above unprotected and long duration radiation
exposure probably affects electro-potential and other
gradients in the body adversely. A change of current at
the level of microvolt is enough to onset a series of
adverse changes in the body’s biochemistry leading to
adverse effects in form of diseases. These adverse
effects occur due to altered protein expression.
One of the studies explains this in detail with respect
to changes occurring in blood. Normally RBCs or red
blood cells float separately in the blood. This is due
to the electric charge and polarity that they carry.
Talking for long duration on cell phone adversely
affects the electric charge and polarity of RBCs and
they start clustering together. It may take about an
hour or more for RBCs to return to normal after ending
the talk on cell phone. It is important to note that
similar changes are observed in the blood of people who
are within a meter or two of the parson talking on cell
phone.
Adverse effect on environment
Not only humans but other life forms also are getting
affected by electromagnetic radiation from cell phones,
micro-waves, computers and other gadgets used by man. In
last 10 years, the little chirpy birds especially
sparrow has just disappeared from our cities. It is said
that a minute of mobile telephony can kill a sparrow or
two.
Alarm bells
What is alarming is very low rate of awareness of
harmful effects of radiation and till low levels of
awareness of preventing or removing the adverse effects
of this radiation exposure.
Act now or repent later
For a better tomorrow we have to act today for tomorrow
may be to late for any corrective action.
More info
If you need more information on radiation and its impact
please e-mail to dr_dhirajnanda@yahoo.com |
