Are There Any Cell Phone Health Risks?

In the year 2010, more than five billion people were subscribers to a cell phone service. With so many people using cell phones, it seems that cell phone health risks would be widely known; however, this is not the case. While using a cell phone does come with its advantages, people should not overlook cell phone health risks, especially since some of them can lead to serious health problems. Using a cell phone often leads to strained muscles within the hands and it can also lead to car accidents. There are even some studies that show that using a cell phone causes the user to have allergic reactions, yet some reveal there are no definite connections between cancer and cell phone use.

Many people believe that existing cell phone health risks only relate to radiation rays and car accidents, but there are also health risks associated with strained muscles. In addition to awkward hand positions while talking on the phone, many people actively engage in texting and surfing the Internet. These activities require the user to engage many muscles within the hands, especially his or her thumb muscles. Repetitively using thumb muscles will often lead to numbness and uncomfortable feelings within the base of a cell phone user’s thumbs.

An increased probability of being involved within a car accident while using a cell phone is one of the most common cell phone health risks. In fact, a person increases his or her chances of being in a car accident by 400% if he or she is using a cell phone. To reduce the chances of being in a car accident, many people use hands-free cell phone devices while driving. While this does not eliminate the chances of being in an accident, it does allow the driver to keep both hands on the wheel.

Many times, a cell phone user will touch the phone with his or her hands, cheeks, mouth, and ears. Cell phones are made of plastic, metals, and other materials that could potentially cause allergic reactions to nickel. This reaction is known as contact dermatitis. Most times, the symptoms of this type of allergic reaction include redness and/or blisters. This type of risk can be avoided by using phones that do not contain nickel.

For several years, it was very common for people to hear that using a cell phone would lead to brain tumors and certain types of cancer. Even though public health advocacy groups and others have conducted studies, it is still inconclusive as to whether or not there are health risks associated with cell phones. It is commonly agreed that there are low-levels of radiation emitted from cell phones, with some emitting more than others. In addition, children, whose skulls are not fully developed, can receive twice as much of the radiation as do adults. Even so, there haven't been enough studies on humans in order to reach a conclusive result.