Are Wi-Fi signals making people sick? What the science says

Some people are convinced that Wi-Fi is making them sick. Their symptoms — headaches, brain fog, heart palpitations, fatigue — are real experiences, and for some people they are disabling. But whether Wi-Fi signals actually cause them is a different question, and on that question the science is clear.

In May 2015, CBS New York reported on Suzanne Hoyt, who said she developed brain fog, headaches, perspiration, and pain in her heart and jaw after installing Wi-Fi in her apartment. She was convinced the router was the cause.

Diane Schou reported similar symptoms and blamed wireless signals for her health issues. She moved to Green Bank, West Virginia, the radio-quiet zone around the Green Bank Telescope, where wireless technology is heavily restricted. Others who say they are sensitive to Wi-Fi have moved there for the same reason: no cell towers, no microwaves, none of the wireless conveniences the rest of us take for granted.

Some doctors dismiss these reports outright; other medical professionals take them seriously. And unlike what early coverage suggested, the question has been studied extensively. The World Health Organization's position on so-called electromagnetic hypersensitivity is unambiguous: "EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF exposure."

The WHO also says the symptoms "are certainly real and can vary widely in their severity. Whatever its cause, EHS can be a disabling problem for the affected individual." In double-blind provocation studies, people who report electromagnetic hypersensitivity have repeatedly been unable to distinguish real exposure from sham exposure — as likely to report ill health after a fake signal as after a real one. That points to other explanations: the nocebo effect, stress, misattribution, or an underlying medical condition.

This is why the WHO recommends that treatment focus on the health symptoms and the clinical picture — a medical evaluation to identify and treat any specific conditions that may be responsible, and a psychological evaluation to check for alternative explanations — not on eliminating electromagnetic fields from the home.

Illness or not, Wi-Fi is here to stay. The debate about cell phones and cancer followed the same arc. But one thing is worth keeping straight: feeling sick is real. Blaming the router is not proven.

This article is general information only, not medical advice. If you have persistent symptoms, see a clinician. Sources: World Health Organization, CBS New York, National Geographic.