The Argus – by Flora ThompsonA GRANDMOTHER has spent thousands of pounds making her home wi-fi proof to protect her health.
Stefanie Russell, 72, from Steyning, claims radiation from wi-fi internet and mobile phone signals give her headaches and nausea which make it impossible for her to be near some types of technology.
She believes her symptoms are caused by electro-sensitivity, which makes her so ill she cannot travel on buses because of the number of portable devices being used.
She said: “I’ve not been diagnosed by a doctor but my GP surgery is aware of my condition. Every time I am near wi-fi or mobile phone signals I feel ill.
It makes it difficult for me to get around and see people. I don’t touch the internet or email – it’s not safe.”
After researching the topic and reading articles which warn of health consequences as serious as cancer, Mrs Russell decided she needed to take drastic steps to protect her wellbeing.
She shuns computers and mobile phones and has spent £4,000 hiring specialists to cover her house in Shooting Fields in four coats of thick, ray-repelling paint.
She said: “The painting inside and outside my house is nearly complete. I feel much better now I’m more protected.
“I have a device which helps me to detect how many wireless signals are near and I’m reassured that I will not have unwanted wi-fi guests coming into my home.”
Her next mission is to appeal to schools to listen to the warnings about wi-fi and shield children from possible health risks. She has also sought the help of St Andrew’s Church in Steyning.
She added: “Schools could use broadband instead of wi-fi, protecting them from early exposure to radiation.
“This is important – exposing them at an early age is essentially ‘cooking’ our children.”
The NHS Knowledge Service website said some studies which claimed the symptoms were psychosomatic raise “interesting points” and showed the importance of scientific research.
Symptoms are not all in the mind, claims company boss
STUDIES suggesting symptoms of electro-sensitivity are ‘all in the mind’ are flawed, the managing director of a radiation-repelling company has claimed.
Glynn Hughes, the boss of Block Radiation, which runs websites including wireless- protection.org, thinks research which claims people do not suffer from symptoms of electro-sensitivity do not paint an accurate picture.
And he believes health experts are discouraged into investigating further because the technology industry is a lucrative market for the economy.
The World Health Organisation has warned that overexposure to the use of mobile phones could have major health implications.
Mr Hughes’s company, from Lancashire, is assisting Stefanie Russell with the changes to her house in Steyning.
He said: “This is similar to everyone’s perceptions of smoking 50 years ago. No-one believed it was bad for your health until later on.”
He said everyone is electro-sensitive but only some people are acutely affected.
He said: “I know a 20-year-old girl who has to spend 23 hours a day in the dark after electro-sensitivity caused her to become light sensitive.”
Mr Hughes left his job building large wireless networks in the telecommunications industry after he claims he discovered the health risks first hand when his own daughter became ill.
He said: “Her school had a phone mast on its roof, eight foot from the children and she didn’t really get better until it was taken down.”
Mrs Russell employed Mr Hughes to survey her home and his company painted another Brighton house earlier this year.
He said: “It’s quite an environmentally friendly area and we’ve have a handful of clients here.”