I had been MCS for 18 years last summer, and was having the time of my life. That spring was a very good year in the desert for blooms, and I used my digital camera to show my friends and family what was blossoming in our neighborhood.
The digi-cam could reproduce close-ups with interesting detail, and the bright yellows and magentas were accurate and striking. I could enlarge and crop just like I had in my old profession as a graphic artist. All of this could be produced in my husband's travel trailer where 2 computers, a scanner, and printer were kept. My friends and family said they liked the images, so I shot, designed, and printed notecards for 3 months. I studied a web design program and posted a site where I received orders for 2 more months. This topped the achievement and excitement of making art even before I had MCS.
Because I had tried graduate school in the early 90's and had a collapse due to chemical exposures, I knew it was possible that the printing and design could end. I was especially concerned about the printer ink. The printing took many hours to complete some large orders. The fact that all these chemicals were contained in a trailer about 50 feet from the house made this work possible.
After 4 months of making the cards, occasionally, I had noticed a vibration in my forehead while I was using my laptop. The old laptop is what I had been using day after day for 3 years, to produce and maintain an MCS support website. It was a symptom that came and went, so I attributed it to a chemical reaction. The symptom did not recur for 3 weeks.
One morning, I was holding the digital camera to my face, and aimed for a shot of a bird at the feeder, while I was standing under an electric ceramic heater. The vibration in my forehead was so intense, that perspiration and a wave of nausea followed. I pushed the camera away from my face. The electrical sensitivity was more than a suspicion, as hard as it was to admit. I waited to see if I would start to react to other appliances, and certainly when I used the computers in the trailer. Yes, now I became "keyed-up" with rapid heartbeats from working in the trailer. The quartz heater with a fan in the TV room produced the same reactions. Soon, I noticed EMF reactions to the refrigerator, stove, and phone. It is important to note that I noticed the EMF symptoms when I was in my home, which is the safer environment. Many extremely sensitive MCS persons experience what is called a masking over of symptoms. When there is a large number of pollutants in an environment, a general sense of malaise takes over and "masks" specific reactions to a certain degree.
I asked my ES friend for help. I borrowed a Tri-field meter with a 100x probe, and he walked me through the house to look for electrical problems. He reviewed the floor plans of my house and the trailer. After all the readings were completed, we discovered that I had a few crossed wires. Fixing this would help reduce my load. The most important advice was to not enter the trailer again. I asked, "Even if everything else is turned off?" He said, "No, it's a " hot" box." The 10' x 15' aluminum travel trailer had far too little space with too many electrical appliances and devices.
Computer printers are especially high in EMF. I had been working within 2 feet of this for several months. Extremely EMF sensitive persons have to work at least 30' away from a computer printer. The computer might have to be at a distance of 150' in another building. With extreme EMF sensitivity, cooking, driving, listening to music, watching TV, and talking on the phone, may cause intolerable symptoms.
I considered not using any computers at all for about a month, but decided to retreat back to what I had tolerated for 3 years. I moved my bed to a better corner of the bedroom for EMF that was determined by the Tri-field meter. I was told that reducing my sleep time exposure is very helpful. My ES friend mentioned that the northwest Arizona area tends to have very low EMFs, due to either the " 'Delta' power distribution system or the lack of water, which tends to carry stray ground current back to the power plant." Aluminum foil on the cords to my laptop reduced some EMF symptoms. Even though I took it down every night to store it out of the house, and the foil cracked, it still seemed to make a difference. My ES friend recommends grounding your computer and other materials for shielding the wires. "If you lay a bare wire inside wrapped around the cord for at least 4 feet, it will make sufficient contact with the foil to then connect that to the ground wire at the plug. That's not much of a ground, but it's good start. For things that must be moved, foil won't last. In this case, if the foil was very helpful, there is nickel plated copper mesh that wraps around the cord sort of like an ace bandage on a bum knee. It doesn't work as well as foil, however; no mesh does."
I also confided in a friend who had had severe ES sensitivity for many years and had recovered to a great extent. Years ago, she could not drive or cook for herself. Her advice was crucial for me at this time. She said, "Don't be afraid." She found that there is a strong emotional component to ES, because fear can exaggerate the symptoms. She noticed that when she was in a time of high stress, that she started reacting to the phone, the day before a dreaded trip. She has worked hard to find peaceful resolutions for her conflicts and to get where she is today. She added that I got overloaded with EMF, and needed some time to unload. I learned about the ways that you can do this, and it is called "grounding."
This conversation was crucial to me. I needed to be calm, to face what was ahead. Because of extreme chemical intolerance, I cannot use Intertherm heaters which are safer for ES, have little safe clothing and bedding, and winter was approaching. I wondered if the ES would progress and I would react to my car. I could not replace or fix the hot water heater that burned out due to my chemical sensitivity, and had to stand in front of the electric heater after bathing. This exposure brought about a jittery reaction that made it hard to concentrate on the tasks of driving to town for food and visit doctors.
By calming my fears, I realized that I had to take one day at a time and not jump to conclusions. I became focused on what I could do about my situation and work around the limitations.
Within one month of staying out of the trailer, I noticed the ES diminishing. In 2 months, my reactions were one quarter of what they had been originally. At present, the ES has not totally been eliminated and I still watch my exposures and will never work in the trailer again.
My 1996 laptop with a speed of 100 megahertz, and 1.2 gigabyte hard drive, was showing signs that it might not last the year. I had read an article a couple of years ago for MCS persons, that concluded that laptops with LCD screens, are preferable to desktop computers. I found a great deal on a new laptop with a speed 25 times faster and 30 times the hard drive space. I was amazed that I could use it for hours the first time. I had chemical reactions but they were tolerable. Toward the end, I got some very strong EMF symptoms, but hoped that it was just because of the higher speeds generated by playing a game. As soon as I stopped the game, the reactions seemed to get better. The next day I had a chemical hang over from this exposure and stored it in my husband's trailer.
A week later, I used the laptop again, and within 5 minutes, had a very strong EMF reaction. I asked my ES friend if there was a way to shield it to make it useable. He said that the shielding would only be helpful for someone who had a mild reaction after using it for several hours. We were able to return the laptop within the required time, but not without a 15% restocking fee, which was quite an expensive trial.
We tested the desktop computer in the house, that I had been using in the trailer. My ES friend suggested that the desktop might be useable as long as it was in a safer EMF environment, and we used USB extender cables to keep the computer as far from me as possible, which was 6 feet. The computer has an LCD monitor and was 6 times faster than my old laptop. This was a lot more tolerable. The LCD monitor was problematic, but was much more tolerable than the new laptop. A distance of 18" is recommended between you and the monitor. To increase the distance between you and a laptop computer, an external keyboard and mouse is recommended. My friend has found that, "It helps many because it reduces the switching power supply and disk drive motor magnetic field exposures. One brand of an external keyboard is a Keytronic, which is low in cost and can be shielded inside if necessary."
I am taking more recovery time before I experiment with the desktop computer. I will also consider networking with the computer in the trailer via the old laptop, or look into getting another used laptop with slightly higher speeds. All networking cables should be run through galvanized steel conduit. For now, my old laptop continues to work, I can still use my digital camera, and for that I am thankful!
March 2004
For more computer shielding ideas Computers for the Electrically Sensitive