Not all phones are as safe as one would want to believe. First of all those phones emit electromagnetic radiations that are believed by some to cause cancer in the brain. It doesn’t stop there. A new study also shows that some phones contain some amount of nickel and cobalt. It is known that a percentage of the population is allergic to those metals. If you know you are allergic to those metals, you might want to take that into consideration when choosing your phone. People allergic to those metals can experience skin redness, blistering and itching if their skin has contact with it.
In this study a number of phones were tested for the presence of nickel or cobalt. The researchers found that some of the blackberries had some nickel while some flip phones used in the study actually had both. When it comes to the Iphone and androids that were tested in the research, they couldn’t find any of them having those metals.
The researcher Luz Fonacier MD, of Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola says wear and tear may lead to more nickel being exposed. It was noticed that the phones that had their keypad having more wear and tear were the ones that were likely to test positive for nickel. That was the case with the blackberries.
What you can do about it
Phones are quite expensive nowadays. It would be difficult to get rid of the phone for which you paid so much money for. And that, even after you find out they may contain nickel or cobalt. The good news is there are way to go around it. If you don’t want to let go of your mobile device you should at least make sure you use a cover and an earpiece. The idea is to avoid contact with the allergic metal on the phone.
There are people who are extremely sensitive to nickel though. Those ones will have to look for another phone without that metal.
Allergic metals test findings
Here is a list of phones that tested negative for both nickel and cobalt:
The Iphone 3, 4 and 4s; the Motorolla V950 Rugged Flip and Droid; the Blackberry Torch and Curve
Here is a list of phone that tested positive for only nickel:
The Blackberry Bold and Tour; the Motorolla Flip v265; the Sony Ericsson Z520a and the LG VX 6100.
Here is the list of the phones that tested positive for both metals
Both the LG Flip CV 500 and VX 4400; the Motorolla Flip E815; the Samsung SCHA670
These new findings are adding to the research showing the potential carcinogenic effect of electromagnetic radiations. Those radiations are similar to what is used in the microwave ovens. Microwave oven radiations are known to be dangerous. Even the World Health Organization has recognized that phone emitted radiation can be carcinogenic to humans. For that matter it is important to remember to be careful when using a phone. Don’t place it close to your ear for long hours. The usage of earpieces should be a regular habit.
