Suggested Solutions for Computer Monitor Pain

Suggested Solutions

Intro:

Before getting to the solutions list, here's a caveat:

There's so much conflicting "blind-men-and-elephant" style feedback. Some people find Dell tolerable. Yet others do not. I know of people whose photosensitivity issues were resolved by IBM Thinkpad laptops (or smaller/dimmer LCDs in general), all of which were no larger than 14" viewing area (which is currently impractical, of course, since websites became biased to wider screens). This, however, does not make either laptops or smaller screens foolproof (read on for further detail). In my opinion, all the contradictory info is due to several factors:

• Toxified Level & Type Factor - different levels and types of peoples' toxicity, such as chemicals, metals, radiation, other. Are chemical sensitivity and LCD/CRT sensitivity more common than electrosensitivity? I think so! ...I'm talking about severe electrosensitivity, such as to heating pads and refrigerators. Due to the high potency of light radiation, I think it's more common to be sensitive to backlighting of LCDs, CRTs etc. even when the monitors are dimmed or covered. I'm also skeptical of claims of shielding (read further re: my various "shield" experiences).
   
• Genetics & Body Parts Factor - some bodies have poorer detox mechanisms, and some body parts are more compromised than other body parts. Thus, different manifestations such as red skin, headaches, eye pain... And even: Tooth pain, sore throat, bleeding, nosebleeds, speedy metabolism/heartbeat, sleep loss, hair loss, or a single burnt hair sprouting in an odd spot.
   
• Harm Level & Exposure Factor - CRTs/LCDs/Laptops/TVs as well as cellphones/cars/windows/mouse/other have different harm levels depending upon construction, number of CCFLs, brightness, and degree of outgassing. And it goes without the saying that harm levels also depend upon monitor-owner's toxicity level, degree of exposure to the antagonist, AND WHICH BODY PARTS WERE MOST EXPOSED TO THE ANTAGONIST. For example, EITHER a cellphone OR a mouse, may eventually cause radiation burns in your right palm.

Also, since there aren't yet enough factual testimonials, it's my hope that visitors will testify on this site's Survey and Polls & Posts Board, including the actual names and model numbers of CRTs and LCDs which have caused y'all problems, as well as prior or subsequent monitors (or laptops) which were problem-free. Open communication is the best way we might possibly get to the bottom of this whole mess, but frankly, just like it's impossible to analyze all facets of wars, tsunami's & earthquakes due to their enormity, it's similarly impossible to analyze environmental health issues.

Suggested Solutions
(Also debunks various "official" solutions):

• Above & foremost, avoidance or minimizing computer use is the safest solution, as no doubt Dr. Robert Becker, author of "The Body Electric" would agree. He was one of the few truth-seeking doctors of the corrupt un-healthcare system, which had consistently suppressed his findings about both EMFs' harmful effects and regeneration.
   
• For those with money and room to spare, note that some people bypass computer health issues by rigging a projector - for example see Troy's story - this programmer used computer 10 hours a day! Now he uses a projector.
  (Note: Versions of this solution are being used by members who've discussed it on the Polls & Posts Board
   
• Sanitize office area from EMFs (see "Black On White" online PDF by Granlund-Lind)
   
• You can cover your mouse with aluminum foil (fastening it with Fun-Tack) to help shield your palm from eventual radiation burn. (As for cellphones? Ahem.. that's beyond the scope of this site).
   
• Artificial tears to counter dry eye and stabbing irritation - should be applied preparatory to computer use. I find Systane ($13 for 1oz. at Walmart) and Similisan Dry Eye helpful. Visine (Dry Eye) is cheaper & also refreshing but there may be a tad irritating aftereffects from Visine. Similisan DryEye is best of all - with least irritating aftereffects. (If you're 40's plus, you might want to precede the Similisan-DryEye with filtered-Pascalite drops as mentioned further down.) As for Genteal, its coldness was irritating for me & applying it was awkward.
   
• Also, I find that warm/humid climate causes me much less headache (perhaps due to its lower air pressure plus better blood circulation), and that warm/moist air is less irritating to my eyes than cool/dry breezes. Also, while a cool cloth helps me sometimes (some people find MygraStick roll-on by: Health From The Sun helpful) yet at other times I find that a warm/wet cloth applied to closed eyelids is preferable. WARM COMPRESSES ARE SUPPOSED TO JUMPSTART LUBRICATION FLUIDS. Also hot baths are great, combined with occasionally dipping hands and feet in cool water, which supposedly grounds the body, as does digging oneself in the earth (which is what the TDP infrared mineral lamp is based on). Just do what works best for you. (Relevant Note: NAET recognizes that people can be allergic to warm/cold/wet/dry and so forth.
  Some people have used Big Horn (Wyoming) Pascalite Clay to cure themselves to good effect (for example for cataracts or detox baths). Others find Sodium Bentonite helpful (see Eyton's Earth site), but I personally found the On-Site Dead Sea mud pools ONLY at Northernmost SulphurSmelling Dead Sea most effective, as mentioned elsewhere on this list.
   
• Living at seaside for awhile (as testified by many electrosensitives) is very healthy, and at least one photosensitive EHS in the book "Invisible Disease" mentioned that sunlight didn't bother her at the sea unlike elsewhere. Note that Dr. Jordan Rubin was cured after living at seaside. I also read of asthmatics being cured by living in a certain cave for awhile. It's probably related to negative ions' health benefits. The "Salt Effect" is mentioned in Becker's "Body Electric" which is jampacked with "real" info (unlike A.M.A. disciples). I personally experienced potent therapeutic results during a one-time stint at Dead Sea (the NorthernMost Stinky-Mud Dead Sea ONLY. The Southern Dead Sea area did nothing for me. The most effective sequence is as follows: In May/June/July, with sun beating down, dip first in Dead Sea 1/2 hour, and then immerse in nearby black-mud pool 1/2 hour. You then start feeling a therapuetic pulling/pulsating sensation. Rub the mud in scalp too! I know it stinks, literally, but it beats all!
   
• I have not yet researched Mouse-hand & mouse-arm issues, since I've just recently developed that (in 2007).
   
• Ahem... are any of you considering acquiring a Holaday or other EMF meter? Well, first of all consider that both myself, and an engineer on pg. 114 of Granlund-Lind's PDF book discovered the so-called "scientific" meters to be non-accurate gauges, when considering our symptoms.
   
  Instead: (don't laugh!) I suggest you substitute a few cheap AA-battery-operated clocks, because I discovered that those cheap clocks are the best meters! Here's why: They speed up or die - directly correlating to the EMF potency nearby. Here are four examples:
   
  1. When I used the terrible Samsung LCD, the nearby clock's battery went dead within days & I would constantly have to replenish them. What's fascinating, is that LCDs & CRTs act similar to SLIders (Street Light Interferer) & wristwatch stoppers and psychic vampires...
      
  2. With my current, less potent Dell monitor, that same clock has been steadily speeding similar to my speeded metabolism & blood pressure. Emphasis on speeding; not dying!
      
  3. I also have a battery clock 3 feet above my compact Sharp microwave. That clock also speeded up, but at a slower rate. Note that the microwave is used approximately once a day for at most a few minutes.
      
  4. Another similar clock in my bedroom - with no potent electronics nearby - always keeps the correct time.

Not surprisingly, the severity of my body's symptoms correlates with the varying reactions of my clocks to the varying levels of EMF in my house!

• If conveniently available, try an older laptop such as Thinkpad preferably with a low brightness rating of 130 nits or lower, and if possible, use it via the battery. NOTE: Not all laptops are foolproof as evidenced by occasional keywords of visitors to this site (see my keywords link).
   
• Fewer CCFLs (fluorescent tubes) in monitor specs may be preferable. For example 2CCFL vs. 3CCFL.
  Update as of Jan. 2006: I just found out from technicians that the majority of laptops have only 1CCFL - unlike desktops' LCDs which usually have at least 2CCFL if not more. Which may explain why some people get relief from laptops. But still, as I just mentioned, there's no guarantees that even all laptops are foolproof. Other display trends are Plasma, LED and OLED (organic light emitting diode). I haven't researched plasma technology, but I do know that the LED on my digital camera irritates me, as does a Near InfraRed LED massager (see below...)
   
• Another clue which points to moderation as best solution (I.E. dim/small/thin laptops) is that, in general, light radiation causes various reactions. For example, in neonatal hospital wards, when jaundiced preemies are placed under blue fluorescent lamps for treatment, nurses in the vicinity get headaches and feel nauseous. Yet, on the other hand, in 2006, when I experimented with a near infra-red LED pocket-size massager, operating on two AA batteries, 60,000 mcd total, and 660 nanometers, it caused my teeth to throb, as well as eye irritation & dryness, despite that I shut my eyes tight & kept them covered with my arm.
  
  Bottom Line:
  These examples citing both red & blue light are proof enough to me that light is a major culprit, despite the many people who insist that Alternating Current, Refresh Rates, and so forth are main culprits.
   
• By gradation, perhaps avoid the brilliant SXGA (super) displays, UXGA (ultra), QXGA (quad), WUXGA (wide ultra) and instead stick to XGA with maximum resolution of 1024 x 768.
  Update as of approx. 2006: Unfortunately, (sigh) web designers have begun designing their interfaces biased toward wider screens, thus removing the choice for us to comfortably use smaller screens like we used to. Because if we change the resolution, which in turn makes the fonts smaller, that forces us to crane our heads closer to the source of fluorescent EMFs. Of course you can change the text size anyway, but that causes the layout to become weird. So against my grain, I'm now forced to advise avoidance of too-small monitors. Maybe a 17" Dell laptop, but can't say for sure. Y'all are welcome to feedback on the Survey.
   
• You might try applying sun-block lotion or aloe/calendula to sensitive-skin areas of your body, so as to block entry to UV emissions from your monitor.
   
• Advisable: Taking a walk in fresh air after exposure to computer monitors. On the other hand: Going to bed directly after computer use causes me to feel a full gamut of symptoms upon waking up.
   
• After computer session, a cold shower may help vs. radiation effects. Also dunking entire head into a basin of cool water for awhile may give some relief. Also, if wrists hurt, run them under cold water faucet, then switch to warm water (not too hot), then alternating back to cold.. warm.. cold.. etc.
   
• During computer use, keep hydrated and avoid an empty stomach. But, as mentioned previously, I'm not sure whether too much water is good either; maybe solid food such as lite protein, lite fat, popcorn, pancakes or oatmeal are better. I personally find that low-fat kettle-corn popcorn helps calm me while on computer. I suggest you experiment and see if your symptoms worsen with over-hydration or under-hydration or starvation
   
• I find Sambucol original black elderberry syrup to be healing and nerve relaxing. Also, fist-fulls of Bing Cherries taken on more-or-less empty stomach (or daily tsp. of black cherry concentrate in some water) helps to repair my internal bleeding and urinary tract infections that's among symptoms caused by viewing computer monitors prolongedly. Also good: raspberry tea & low-fat raspberry-vanilla, peach & mango sherbets and ice creams to soothe bodywide inflammations including sore throat triggered by computer emanations. Also: cherry, mixed berry & peach yogurts make me feel good, as do soy powder & beets. Also excellent is: chewable DGL licorice chews & Natural Factors Raspberry "C" chews.
   
• Of course, radiators & baseboard heat are way healthier than human-unfriendly, dehydrating, forced-air heat. I'm stuck in a house with forced-air, but I recently invested in an oil-filled radiator for my bedroom so that at least part of the time I have healthy heat. Additionally, I stuck magnetic vent covers on the heating vents of my bedroom, so the forced-air is kept out of that room and is exclusively heated by the oil radiator. However, those of you who are very electrosensitive might not tolerate any electric heating unit nearby in which case the forced air would be preferable. I myself hate the electronic smell emitted by the electric radiator. So... which is the lesser of the two evils? Forced air? Or electric smell?
   
• Other environmental factors to consider: Sleeping on metal-free, chemical-free beds, such as wooden futons. Some memory foam mattresses are toxic too! Also consider: Well-ventilated room, grounded outlets, check for fields via Tri-field meter... WAIT... NO! These so-called "scientific" instruments have been debunked as well. To quote an engineer on pg. 114 of Granlund-Lind's PDF book:

  "I am a safety engineer and have conducted many measurements at many different places. We acquired a Holaday EM field meter...my electro-hypersensitivity came during one week in connection with dental treatment...to conduct measurements and at the same time be EHS has given me an insight...if someone were to ask me if I wanted to work eight hours at a smelting plant with huge electric furnaces, or two hours at our HQ temp office, I would choose the smelting plant without hesitation...there are 100 times more milliTesla at the smelting plant than at the office...">

  Further considerations: Avoid "new" carpet odors, oxygenate yourself often, use warm overhead lighting (for what it's worth), distance any equipment with suspected PBDE flame retardent chemicals or suspect odors - if you're chemical sensitive, try sniffing at the rear vents of your monitor. That can be very telling!
   
• Some experts advise using a CRT (rather than LCD) in conjunction with a high-quality video card which allows users to raise the refresh rate up to 150 hz. However, I disagree, because a flicker-free near infrared LED massager (operating on AA batteries) caused me symptoms as well. (See above...)
   
  • Furthermore, the following newsgroup posts would seem to contradict the experts:
    Newsgroup Chat (17" monitor eyestrain headache - at 85 hz)
    Newsgroup Chat (17" NEC headaches - @ 160 Hz)
    
    
• Some experts advise using an LCD (rather than CRT) which they claim is flicker-free and emission free. This has been proven to be misguided advice for me and for several others since not all LCDs are problem free (see my grassroots links). Also see survey & keywords links.
   
• Some experts advise all sorts of EMF "protective" devices and pendants. They didn't work for me though! (Read the "My Story" page on this website as well as the Derek Bishop link).
   
• Some experts (such as Dr. Yolton, optometrist) advise that viewing a smaller screen such as 14" is less stressful. However, while some 14" CRTs such as the ancient Impression Plus and HP were less problematic for me, yet, when I tried out a brand-new 14" Scanport LCD (complete with non-glare monitor and low brightness/contrast rating and dimmed/color-corrected), it caused me the same health issues I'd endured on the 15" Samsung LCD
   
• Some experts advise changing the background lighting in the computer room to incandescent. But that failed to work for me when the Samsung LCD was electrocuting me... Still, you might as well opt for those rather than fluorescent.
   
• Some people claim to be helped by using a high quality non-glare ultra-violet shield which attaches to face of monitor. However, at my job years ago, they provided UV/non-glare shields, yet I still developed symptoms. But even so, it's probably an improvement over a non-shielded monitor.
   
• Re: various types of sunglasses & filters, such as grey-tinted SolarShields, or Amber-Rose Blue-Blockers. First of all, a photosensitive guy I've been corresponding with uses purple tinted glasses and says that helps. His experience jives with mine, since I had visited an Irlen Optometrist who gave me samples of colored lenses to try when viewing his monitor. Indeed, I found the purple color to be best for me, but the optometrist told me that other people find other colors, such as the blue, more tolerable. I myself have recently been using Solar Shield grey-tinted lenses, but, while I admit that both grey sunglasses and UV monitor shields offer some protection, nevertheless, symptoms persist with or without them. Also, I had borrowed my father's Amber-Rose-tinted blue-blockers, prescribed to him after cataract surgery for his macular degeneration. I had used the blue-blockers continuously for hours at the computer. But though the glasses turned everything into a gorgeously rosy hue, nevertheless, computer symptoms set in anyway. And frankly, I doubt that any sunglasses are of much help if the overriding issue is radiation caused by the fluorescent backlights or potent phosphors, or nerve-triggering chemicals.
   
• Both the forementioned guy and myself have found a grey background to be most tolerable (see "Updates" link, where I included instructions re: how I changed my background screen colors in Windows XP / Internet Explorer 6. That may (or not) help a bit - such as for Irlen Syndrome.
  
  Emphasis: The stucco color on my demo may not be ideal - indeed I have subsequently found pale grey to be the more tolerable than stucco or amber.
   
• There are those who will insist that the biggest cause of your symptoms is parasites OR candida OR liver blockage etc. etc. ad-nauseum... However, I travelled that wearying route (fanatic candida diet, liver detox regimens, H2O2, Paragone, as well as replacement of 17 amalgam fillings, chelation, and much more). After all that, I'm in no better shape except when I avoid problematic LCDs/CRTs.
   
• Neurontin (Gabapentin 200mg - 300mg or more) may work within a few hours to relieve pains caused by viewing computer monitor, such as migraine, toothache, and muscle pains. It helps many of us, and is mentioned in Lucinda Grant's article (linked to safer-world.org's site).
  
  Update: I now realize that Neurontin (like Soma) causes rebound pain after it wears off.
   
• I would suggest that you inquire whether the monitor contains flame retardants, epoxy glue, cadmium, and anything else mentioned on the SVTC.ORG's links or by Gunni Nordstrom (author of Invisible Disease) - but unfortunately, there don't seem to be regulations as yet requiring manufacturers to make such data available. See, it isn't politically recognized. It seems that the powers that be in the U.S. are willing for their own citizens to become chemically-poisoned gradually. So therefore, any time you buy a new monitor, sniff it (especially the rear vents). If it smells toxic (or even if not) outgas it by hooking it up to an outlet & turning on the switch. Leave it that way for 100-200 hours in an unoccupied room, preferably in fresh air.
   
• Upon symptoms, you might try charcoal (or milk?) to absorb toxins inhaled from computer. Does it help me? Who knows...
   
• Skin warning - don't smear on capsaicin cream or sensitizing ointments containing acids or sharp chemicals on skin which will be directly exposed to computer fluoresence, or to hot baths, or sunlight. Also, for example, if you decide to bleach your hair with lemon juice, and some of it gets on your skin, then when you blow-dry it using a blowdryer with built-in light - your skin can burn due to the lemon juice reacting to the blowdryer's light. Also, if you take medicines containing acids/chemicals, and then drink hot water, it can have the same sensitizing effect as radiation and light, irritating you internally.
   
• By the way, in today's trashy world, some light bulbs and plastic lamp sockets may have toxic chemical coatings that can ougas when hot, causing asthma attacks, sore throat, etc. Beware! Give them a trial sniff - to check if they smell suspicious. Also beware of new cars, new windows, and any other plastic "junque" - especially if any of them get hot or have lights (for example blowdryers with built-in lights). Because light is radiation.
   
• If you're a photosensitive & neurologically sensitive type prone to stomach pain & bleeding & UTI, it may be advisable to follow this protocol:
   
  • Avoid or minimize: Poultry (especially red meat!), citrus/ascorbic acid (even buffered, & even Citracal), pineapple, kiwi, cranberry, red-grapes/raisins, apples, starch-fruit combo's such as apple-oat combo (if not buffered with creams or egg-oil), Oreos, horseradish, onion/garlic/spices, any garlic-acid combo (as in meatballs, spicy salads, herring, etc. though moderate amounts of garlic-powder as seasoning may be OK), nuts, peppermint, processed meat, excessive sugar. Note that phenols of red grapes/garlic, as well as citrus products, might cause reactions & may be photosensitive (react to light, react to EMFs, react to hot drinks, etc.) Note that computer monitors (and other high-tech gadgets) can contain bisphenols which are photosensitizing! Hot drinks intensify bad effects of citrus/spices. Minimize alcohol, avoid smoking. Minimize chocolate, though chocolate cake & even choco-chip cookies may be OK, if they're egg-oil buffered. Corn starch/modified starch is bad. Combo of starches and saturated fat (especially dairy fat) is BAD (for example ice-cream containing starch in ingredients). Milk chocolate, licorice twists, pizza, french fries, potato chips, and non-moistened potatoes, especially if buttered, are bad.
     
  • Healing foods are: Mullein/mallow combo, Vitamin A, carrots, broccoli, egg-oil based food, lysine, cabbage, greens, seaweed, mushrooms, yams, beets, barley, buckwheat, black cherry, berries (excluding cranberries), Raspberry products, Boysenberry, mayonnaise, yogurt, whey, flax oil. I personally find that when sugar and honey are used to season healthy foods they're actually good for me. Despite the bad rap. (Read Dr. Kristal of metabolic typing)
     
• I'm tacking on more personal "babble" to these solutions, since I feel some of you may relate to it:
   
  • Not only do toxic CRTs/LCDs trigger my body to stiffen with pain - but also certain "gluey-textured" cholesterol-gluten-calcium-fat-starch combinations. For example, pizza or TastyCake donuts. Butter too. Note that a quantum-diagnostics session suggested digitalis to dilate my blood vessels, as well as mentioning "thick blood". So based on this, here's my theory: I suspect the forementioned food-combo's and computer monitors cause my blood vessels to constrict. How? The fat starch "gluey" combos clog my arteries, then along comes computer radiation & aggravates the situation by speeding up metabolism & blood pressure. But the blood can't get through due to the clogged arteries! Thus causing a traffic jam, & resultant pain/stiffness.
     
• Detox regimen may help some people (though that wearying route didn't work on me). A quite accurate way to determine the load of toxins you carry is via quantum physics diagnostics. Toxins can range from heavy metals, for which you can test via Doctors Data test (see Mercury Poster) to emotional, chemical, viral, bacterial and nanobacterial toxins (a.k.a. "viral particles" a.k.a. "nano particles"). I'm convinced that Nanobacterial Calcifications and/or other parasites get stirred up (along with mercury, lead & who knows what else) by the emanations from computer monitors - thus waking up "sleeping dogs" & causing symptoms.
  Note: There's a Salt/C Protocol that has been helping ill people such as chronic Lyme patients. However, it's advisable to start with tiny increments such as 1/8 tsp. Kirkman's hypoallergenic C powder plus 1/8 tsp. pure sea salt (fine-ground), mixed into 1/2 cup pure water, in morning and at bedtime. The reason I suggest caution, is because I personally had adverse reactions to the standard Salt/C protocol, such as developing varicose veins & temporary incontinence. You may also want to minimize computer time while on the Salt/C protocol.
  Another detox regimen (which has been helping autistics) is NCD - Natural Cellular Defense - which is an expensive form of zeolites. The topics can be researched on Yahoo Health Groups. But it's interesting to note that the common denominator of both these regimens as well as the Nanobac regimen is "minerals". Note, too, that in The Body Electric, Becker observes that irritants such as Salt/needles/etc. must precede regeneration. This creates a "current of injury" (might this explain why Mud-Therapy's pulling-effect works effectively after immersion in Salt-Bath?

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