Mobile phones can prove harmful to health: expert

According to Dr Ramachandran, ENT specialist at the Ahalia Hospital in the capital, tests conducted on the basis of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), based on the thermal effects of electromagnetic radiation that set standards for determining cell phone safety worldwide, have shown that symptoms and diseases can be directly attributed to exposure to non-thermal effects of the radiation.

"None of these symptoms is thermally induced, clearly indicating that the SAR standards should not be used as the basis for determining safety," he remarked.

Dr Ramachandran, who has examined patients with different symptoms from excessive use of mobile phones, said that they were mainly salesmen and executives. The symptoms of patients using mobile phones for over 20 times a day, each call lasting over three minutes, pointed to symptoms of dizziness and vertigo, numbness on face, impairment in hearing, sleep disturbances, pain in the ear and intolerance to loud sound.

"There was a remarkable drop in the severity of symptoms when the patients reduced or ceased to use the mobile phones," Dr Ramachandran said.

Dr Osama Elgeed, neurologist at the hospital, said the effect of mobile phones on the brain depends on the duration and frequency of use. Mobile phones can cause headache, vertigo, mental and personality changes, epilepsy, brain tumour and movement disorders, he added.

The manifestation is more likely to occur in children. "It is my fond hope that the use of mobile phones is restricted for urgent use, for short periods with the use of the ear phone, while taking care to keep children away from it," he said.

Dr Osama also advised mobile phone users to use high quality phones where the effects of radiation are less harmful.