Can You Actually Be Allergic To WiFi?


We interrupt your usual mid-afternoon internet scroll with this PSA about WiFi allergies.

French woman named Martine Richard recently won something of a world-first court case after a judge ruled in favour of claims she had to quit her job/stay cooped up in a rural barn sans electricity because she suffers from electronic hypersensitivity (EHS).
Now, while the judge didn’t actually acknowledge her ‘WiFi allergies’ as the cause of her symptoms, they were severe enough to qualify for a government disability compensation of US$900 (equivalent to AU$1,286) every month for at least three years.
This is a highly disconcerting phenomenon because of the following:
1) Shortness of breath, redness of cheeks, uncontrollable eye twitching etc. is normally the result of a lack of wireless internet.

2) WiFi’s ‘everywhereness’ means that, if it is possible to be ‘allergic’… FECK.
But, putting aside the fear-mongering for a sec, what is EHS? And how legit is it, seriously? Here’s a quick explainer:
What is EHS?
Electronic hypersensitivity is quite the minefield because varying claims people have made about their reaction. Dr Sarah Loughran, Research Fellow at the Australian Centre For Electronic Bioeffects Research, says people who suffer from EHS report several non-specific symptoms, including headaches, nausea and sleeping difficulties, that *generally* appear when they’re nearby devices that emit electromagnetic fields. 
How long has EHS been around?
EHS is nothing new. In Australia, a similar worker’s comp case was won (on appeal) in 2013 by former CSIRO Scientist Dr Alexander McDonald, who suffered nausea, disorientation and headaches at work where he was exposed to equipment that emitted electromagnetic fields.
How many of us are potentially EHS sufferers?
On the prevalence of the condition, Dr Loughran says it differs:
There are some studies that say it’s 1% [of the population] and then other studies that say it’s as high as 10%, but I think that’s quite unlikely [that it’s that high], because if that were the case we’d all know someone with it. There are a lot [of claims] out there, but I don’t know it’s a great reflection of what we’re dealing with. [But] there’s certainly a significant enough number to make this newsworthy and a lot of people interested and concerned.”
Is there any actual evidence to support the WiFi allergy theory?
Kinda. There’s a viral video doing the rounds showing ants going about their day as normal, doing slave work for the queen ant etc:

Until the phone rings, and then THIS happens:

*death spirals*
The footage shows the ants being ‘controlled’ by the incoming electromagnetic waves. And while the origins and legitimacy of this video are dubious, the fact its had so many views says a lot about our fear of radiation and even our potential susceptibility to EHS. But it’s important not to lose our heads over this until we’ve considered the science, or lack thereof.
So, now what?
The thing is – there’s currently no medical or scientific evidence to suggest WiFi allergies aren’t real, though that’s not to say that the symptoms aren’t. A headache is a headache, and staring at an electronic monitor for too long can and will give you one. Is that because of EHS? Is it not?  Science nerds continue to work on an answer.
Image via Roadshow.

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