By Dr. Mallika Marshall, WBZ-TV<\/b><\/p>\n
June 8, 2015 11:24 PM<\/p>\n
\u00a0BOSTON (CBS) \u2013 Wi-Fi is all around us, but most people never give it a second thought.<\/span><\/p>\n A number of people, however, believe all those invisible rays are making them sick.<\/p>\n In the Lawson home, the only phone is a landline. Even the teenagers don\u2019t have cell phones. Annura Lawson said quite simply, \u201cI want to live.\u201d She is very concerned about potential side effects from Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n Lawson believes the emergence of health problems coincided with the installation of a wireless water meter. She felt better after it was removed.<\/p>\n Then, the school where she teaches went wireless and her symptoms returned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An 8th grade English teacher, Lawson testified before her board of education about her Wi-Fi concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the mother of six children,\u201d Lawson told the board. \u201cI want to see them grow up, and when I\u2019m in the Wi-Fi classroom, I don\u2019t feel good at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Robert Nagourney, an oncologist, explained some patients suffer from a syndrome called Electromagnetic Hyper Sensitivity.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two kinds of radiation that we speak about: one is ionizing, and other is non-ionizing. In ionizing radiation, clearly there\u2019s a great risk of DNA damage, mutation, and cancer,\u201d added Dr. Nagourney.<\/p>\n This danger has not been proven by non-ionizing radiation which is the type emitted by cell phones, smart meters, and Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n With the explosion of wireless devices, everyone\u2019s exposure to non-ionizing radiation has increased dramatically.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are bathed in this type of radiation,\u201d said Dr. Nagourney. \u201cDoes it cause medical illness? Great question, difficult to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n David Carpenter, an environmental scientist, believes there is strong evidence this is a \u201creal syndrome that causes real harm to real people.\u201d<\/p>\n Carpenter estimates about 5% of the population is Wi-Fi sensitive. Many have no idea was is making them sick. \u201cThey walk around feeling ill, and they don\u2019t know what to do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Suzanne Hoyt says happened to her, after she had Wi-Fi installed in her apartment. She felt pain in her jaws and her chest. \u201cIt was like the physical expansion of the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. William Barr, a neuropsychologist, does not believe the evidence is there to support a link between Wi-Fi and illness. Patients \u201cestablish a belief that something has the potential to cause the symptom, and then when they come in contact with the cause, they develop those symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Nagourney believes there could something to the problems patients say they are experiencing. \u201cPeople have different sensitives. One person can get a bee sting and nothing happens. Another person goes into anaphylactic shock. Same bee sting, different reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to heart palpitations, other common complaints include headaches and dizziness. It is important to keep in mind there are many conditions which cause these symptoms.<\/p>\n