ITP and EMF (electromagnetic field)

Hi,

My two and half years old daughter was recently diagnosed with severe ITP that occurred suddenly (over night), a week after she was hit by a nasty cold. While the doctors make the association with the viral infection, the actual causes of ITP are unknown. I am trying to identify possible environmental factors that could have caused this. We tried our best to provide the healthiest environment possible for our child. However, after reading all kinds of information about ITP and other blood disorders, I realized one thing that I was not aware of: potential health risks caused by exposure to EMF (electromagnetic field). The fact is that we own a house that is relatively close to high voltage power lines. I bought an EMF tester and measured the level of radiation. In some parts of the house I got measurements of up to 2mGauss at certain times during the day, assuming that the device is accurate. From what I was able to find online, the safety limit seems to be 1mGauss. We are in the process of finding a place to move, even though it may be just paranoia that drives us at this point. Has anyone had or heard about similar experiences, does anyone here know more about anything that could relate ITP and EMF?

Thank you.

Hi, cemil. I am a physicist (PhD Caltech, 1983). I can discuss the EMF issue a bit.

This is a worry that is greatly overhyped. The earth's magnetic field is about 500 mGauss (0.5 Gauss), so if the fields you are seeing from the power lines are a few mGauss, they are really trivial. Is it possible that you are seeing couple Gauss instead of a couple mGauss? Even a few gauss field is a really tiny field (a few times the natural field of the earth).

The only places where EM fields _might_ be significant is where they are so strong they cause local heating. A cell phone antenna right next to your brain might raise the temperature of the tissue a degree or so, but even that is not known to have any effect, and really huge studies have indicated no significant effect. Standing in the sun on a hot day can do the same thing, after all.

I would not put any weight or worry on the possibility of power line EM fields having caused ITP. Note that there are other environmental factors which are also present around power lines which, although I doubt they are significant, might be something to consider for other reasons. High voltage power lines often do emit some ozone from corona discharges around them, especially in wet weather. Of course, a lot of cities have so much ozone anyways from photochemical smog effects, that it would be hard to detect this, but I could imagine that maybe some people might be sensitive to it. Asthmatics might suffer, although even this I have not seen any published evidence of.

My overall summary is: the chance that the power lines are a problem is extremely remote.

Hope this provides some comfort. ITP is annoying, since one is always trying to figure out what caused it. The answer in most cases is that we can't tell, and there may be no external cause anyways.

Take care.

You can google a number of studies on childhood leukemia and proximity power lines and find that there is some correlation between blood disorders and EMF. Personally, we won't live anywhere near large transformers or powerlines. But even greater then that at this point, considering her age, did she just get any vaccines? I would be more suspicious of that at her age.

Many of us have platelet counts that react to viruses. My lowest count ever (3K) was when I had a nasty cold.

I would not discount this as a cause or the most likely cause of your daughter's platelet count drop.

Yes, I was one of them. Had a nasty cold and was diagnosed with ITP shortly thereafter. It was chronic.

@mendenmh
The EMF tester's range is 0.1m-199.9m Gauss and my measurements within the house read 2.x at the highest, occurring during wet weather, which we get plenty here, near Seattle. Strangely, a few feet from the house and parallel with the power lines, I get readings of 6.x-8.x. I hope you are right because the thought of EMF affecting cellular function and inflicting cellular damage is too scary. We will move anyway in the following months because the only downside of moving is financial loss, but that is easier to handle than health issues.

@patti
She did not get any vaccines over the past six months because the usual vaccine schedule doesn't include anything from age 2 to 5.

@tamar&Sandi
The cold virus was definitely the trigger but the actual causes are unknown. At this stage we can only hope that it will not be chronic.

Oh, actually she had the flu vaccine, but that was over a month ago.

@cemil,

It's not uncommon at all to have a delayed reaction of a few weeks to a vaccine (1-2 months). The acute and immediate reactions are generally the only ones acknowledged by many doctors (and parents). But, it's the delayed ones that are even more common and also more problematic, partly as the connection is not recognized. There are some doctors and researchers that do acknowledge this, though. It's sometimes called Post-Vaccination Syndrome.You might want to read more about the relationship between various vaccines and ITP in the thread below. And, realize that there are most likely vast numbers of cases that go unreported or are not seen as being connected, because of this delay.

www.pdsa.org/forum/14-social-chat-for-parents/17929-should-i-vaccinate-at-this-time.html

The "bad cold" she had , may have also been as a result of the vaccine. There is nothing "health giving" in a vaccine, and it's being injected directly into your child's bloodstream, not passing through the normal channels of the mucus membranes as would happen if getting it naturally. That makes a huge difference in the immune response of the body.It goes against the intelligent design of our creator.

And, truly, unless she had just had bloodwork done a few days before, it's nearly impossible to know when her ITP started. She could have been dropping over a period of days to weeks. It's only once the platelets reach a low enough point for that person, that external signs become evident. Probably for most of our children, we didn't notice until the bruises were so black or so huge or they were pouring blood from some body part, that there was something really wrong. So, while it may have seemed like she got it suddenly overnight, her platelets were likely dropping over time.

You may want to do some more research on the vaccines--there is plenty of compelling research and experience that you can read about. Become fully informed on both sides, and then you can make a truly educated decision.

As someone who is in the business of health (I am a professional Homeopath.), I am feeling more and more alarmed by the number and variety of bad reactions I am seeing and hearing about from the 2011 flu shot. In the last month I've seen 3 miscarriages, 3 pre-term labors and 1 stillbirth in young women who got the flu shot. All within a week of getting the flu shot. Coincidence? Maybe, but none of these moms were high-risk. Rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes (both auto-immune)have also happened after this year's flu shot. I've also had two cases of Bell's Palsy after the flu vaccine. And, if you start reading on this site, you will find many people who were diagnosed shortly after their flu shot, or those who were in remission for a long time, whose counts suddenly have crashed after the flu shot.
Interesting, as these are just the ailments that Australia had connected to the swine flu vaccine in 2009. I personally did not see any of those in that time, but this year is a different story!

But, to your original question, I personally wouldn't ever live that close to what you describe. I know not everyone may be so affected, but I am extremely sensitive to electro magnetic fields. I can actually feel them, and they make me feel very uncomfortable. I can remember being able to feel them even as a child, way before ever reading or hearing about them. I would highly recommend moving if you can. In the meantime, you can partly counteract the EMFs by using Himalayan salt crystal lamps or candles throughout the house, especially near computers and televisions or areas that test high. Table top or wall fountains can also help. All of these will clean and charge the air with negative ions (the same effect as being near the ocean or after a thunderstorm.). I can definitely feel the difference between when I use them or not.

Best of luck to your daughter and family,
April

Cemil - with most autoimmune disorders, there is a genetic predisposition and all it takes is a trigger after that. Sometimes it can be several triggers or a cascade of events. I wouldn't discount any of those things as triggers.

When I had my cold, I waited a few weeks to go to the doctor because I just didn't feel like I ever fully recovered. He did a CBC and my counts were 50. I wouldn't have known that without the CBC. It took several weeks, but my counts dropped to 8 after that. It was probably a good two months after the cold before counts were low enough to notice, so it was a gradual thing for me.

Thank you for all the points of view. Unfortunately the opinions are so divided and there are so many unknowns that it is practically impossible to make a rational decision. On one side the EMFs are feared, on the other the science claims there isn't much to be worried about. Vaccines can be risky but no vaccines can also turn ugly. In any case it is always nice to find people to talk to and share what life gives.

If you think about the argument you laid out, 'one one side ... fear, on the other the science' - same argument for vampires and Mayan apocalypse. Overall, I prefer to go with the science. I think menden gave a really great overview and I hope you find comfort in that information from an expert in the field.
Erica

But alas, "science" has been wrong so many times that could it be "they" are wrong about EMF's as well? Considering how often the "experts" come out and say one thing is good and then 10-20yrs later, "well, now we decided it's bad after more research," I bank on caution. There's enough evidence of EMF effects to warrant concern. Particularly for those that might be more prone to its effects. And in MY mind, there is no question there is nothing safe about............oh forget it. :laugh:

Whatever the suspected cause or trigger, it is what it is. If you are willing to move to see if that helps, then you have to do what you feel is best. If the cold or flu shot were responsible, the damage is done and there isn't much you can do about that, so in my mind, it really doesn't make a difference which theory you go with. As I said, it could have been the combination of events.

Sandi wrote: Whatever the suspected cause or trigger, it is what it is. If the cold or flu shot were responsible, the damage is done and there isn't much you can do about that, so in my mind, it really doesn't make a difference which theory you go with.

That's not exactly true. The flu shot can been attenuated homeopathically.

Yes, Patti, and not only the flu shot--other vaccines or medications, as well. There are various ways in which homeopathy can be used to reverse the damage of all types of vaccines, and allowing the body to repair itself.

One way is more precisely called "tautopathy", where a miniscule amount of the original vaccine, medicine or poison is taken and made into a highly dilute homeopathic remedy. Sometimes this is the most efficient method, but it's not always possible to obtain the substance. The late Tinus Smits, a homeopathic MD from the Netherlands, primarily used this method to recover hundreds of children from severe Autism (the bulk of which appeared to have sustained the damage after vaccines.) Ironically, Tinus died from kidney cancer that doctors thought had been caused by the constant EMFs from his computer, which was ever sitting on his lap.

Another way is to assess the person's total symptom picture, and then match it to a remedy that is known to cause very similar symptoms. The closer the match, the more effective it will be.

Another way is to treat a patient "miasmatically", which might be roughly translated as looking at the genetic weaknesses and tendencies that each of us comes into the world with. The miasm can be determined by studying the family history, previous types of illnesses, the modalities in the case (what makes teir symptoms better or worse),
by taking note of the patient's physical features, and by listening carefully to their words and the manner in which they live their life. This is probably the main way in which many homeopathic vets use to help their animal patients overcome the awful side effects of vaccinations.
If they see a psoric miasm predominates, they may use Sulphur.
If they see a sycotic miasm predominates, they might use Thuja (aka Thuya)
If they see a tubercular miasm predominating, they might use Silica
If they see a syphilitic miasm predominating, they might use Mercurius
For each miasm, there are multiple remedies that can be used to get rid of it--these are simply some of the most common ones.

Still, other homeopaths will use a combination of these approaches, depending on what seems to be the best suited for each patient. Some will combine the remedies with other methods of healing, such as cranial sacral work, diet, nutrition and supplements, herbology, chiropractor, Prayer, Reiki, EFT, Touch of Matrix, etc.
There are many roads to healing.

Homeopaths all over the world have been using these methods for well over 200 years and with good success. Since nearly every case is duly recorded nearly word for word, there is a wealth of documented evidence that it works.
So, there really is 'something to be done about it', if one can only open up their mind to the possibility and try it! And, knowing the possible etiology is a useful thing, as then you can more easily go about fixing the damage.

April

Ok, well, there's that.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

That made me laugh, Sandi.

I was actually born in Transilvania (Romania), so I know for sure that vampires don't exist.

Being a computer engineer I am normally on the science side. More so, coming from a field where pretty much every problem can be explained, it is difficult to accept the answer "we don't know", which is common for doctors talking about viruses. While searching for a different answer I wasn't able to pinpoint anything other than the proximity to high voltage power lines. I read articles with theories about EMFs and realizing that the opinions are divided I tried to see if other people with ITP remember being exposed to higher than normal EMF. That's what brought the initial question, and they don't seem to be connected, considering that nobody here makes any direct association from personal experience.

Looking back at the order of events I don't think the flu vaccine had anything to do with it either. Each of us had the vaccine at a different date: my wife, me, my daughter, my mom in that order. Approximately a month later, both daughter and wife got the cold, a day or two after they went to a public indoor play area for children. They passed it to me a week later. My mom did not get it.

No Vampires here. :woohoo:

Vaccines and viruses affect people differently; I wouldn't expect everyone to have the same reaction. You could have one child out of five with a peanut allergy - they don't all have to have it if they eat a nut.

I know it's hard to get past the 'cause' stage, we've all been there.

Here are some articles that may help:

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000816.htm

www.pdsa.org/about-itp/causes.html

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20521925

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854652/

I don't know why people get so hung up on needing to find a cause for ITP. I always just assumed that it was something in my genes that made me susceptible and along it came. Maybe that's because autoimmune things are rife in my family and I just think it's one of those things. But then I tend to think of it as my body going wrong whereas others think of it as something exterior causing it, if in the environment or from food. It's an interesting topic and I apologise if I've bothered anyone with my thoughts (I often seem to).

No, Ann, you pretty much hit the nail on the head. That was a very blunt point. It is a malfunction of the body. Many things can go wrong and ITP is just one of them. As I've said before, why do people get cancer? Why do people get ALS? Why do people get any illness or disorder?

Well I'm not sure which person I'm agreeing with - I think there are causes for all these body malfunctions but that we probably will never know them and knowing the cause in most cases will not provide the cure. So if there is a cause and we will never know it, is that the same as not having a cause or not caring about a cause?

Bodies are so amazingly complex I can't believe they usually work correctly - and it is also amazing to hear about some of the super weird things that can go wrong with them.
Erica

It's a tough determination, agreed. I tend to think of a cause as something direct and known; the bacteria from the dog bite caused the infection. I think of a trigger as something more indirect, unidentified, suspected, cannot be proven. Very few of us can pin point a cause, but some of us have suspicions as to what jump started all of this.