Archives For November 30, 1999

 

Caters News Agency

Oddity Central – Weird Places, Odd Events, Bizarre News, Strange People and A Lot More.

By Spooky atwww.OddityCentral.com —–This is more on the story below,  Renee

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http://www.thesun.co.uk

By FRAN WETZEL
Published: 21st November 2012

Velma Lyrae, 51, spends up to 18 hours a day in her homemade Faraday-style chamber and cannot use mobile phones, hairdryers, satnav or WiFi because she is allergic to electromagnetic fields.

Velma, who has electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome, spends her day reading, doing artwork and writing letters instead.

And if she goes out she has to wear a special scarf that shields from electromagnetic waves surrounding her.

Her condition emerged when 3G mobiles were introduced.

Though it is believed previous electric shocks make people more susceptible.

As a teenager Velma suffered a shock when she touched the switch of an electric fire in her bathroom.

At first the symptoms were barely noticeable but they have become progressively worse over time.

Now Velma has agonising head and nerve pain, memory loss, tinnitus, heart palpitations, vertigo and aching joints if she gets near technology.

It has left her unable to work and forced her to spend most of her day behind wire mesh in her flat in Blackheath, South London.

Velma made the structure herself from second hand material costing £300. A brand new cage would have cost her £800.

She claims metal fibres in the netting reflect the electro-magnetic waves and stop her from suffering EMS symptoms.

Velma, who uses a specially protected laptop, said: “I can’t do anything that normal people do without my symptoms showing. I have to do everything in my cage — eat, sleep, read, write.

“I always wear a shielded scarf round my head when I leave the house to protect myself from radiation signals

“It’s made my life a living hell.”

Velma worked as a secretary for a number of firms in the 1980s but was forced to quit her job.

She said: “Even back then I could feel a huge agitation when using the computer, but I thought it was just because I didn’t have the technological skills.

“Now I know that I was starting to feel the symptoms of my EHS. I don’t have a job and my social life is non-existent.

“My friends are very supportive but there’s only so much time you can spend with the woman that can’t go anywhere or do anything.

“I used to love going to festivals and experiencing live music, but because everyone has a mobile I can’t even go near a gig now.

“The last gig I went to was Radiohead. I knew I was getting worse and wouldn’t be able to go to any more so I wanted to make it a good one.

“It’s so sad that I can no longer do the things I enjoy.”

Electrical Sensitivity, also known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity, is recognised in Spain and Sweden but so far health authorities in Britain have not formally recognised the condition.

Velma said: “I’ve been to my GP countless times begging for tests, but they say there’s people worse off than me and do nothing.

“It is so frustrating that medicine isn’t keeping up with the technology.

“Independent experts say in five years’ time 50 per cent of the population could be affected at current exposure levels

“We desperately need a white zone — an area where there’s little or no emissions — where we can go to relax and recuperate.”

Dr Erica Mallery-Blythe said: “The symptoms of EHS can cover a broad range of systems, often start subtly and can be mistaken for other medical conditions.

“Adults and children today are exposed to very high levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF) that no life on the planet has ever witnessed before.

“It is no surprise that the numbers of those with EHS and other conditions linked with EMF exposure are rising.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4657421/woman-forced-to-live-in-cage-by-electromagnetic-allergy.html#ixzz2D1maC800