Killer or harmless gadget: what doctors say about Wi-Fi routers

Wireless Internet in human life is not only useful, but also a completely ordinary phenomenon. Nowadays, almost all cafes and public catering establishments display free Wi-Fi icons. The problem is that the more the global network enters everyday life, the more often you can hear opinions about its harmful effects on the body. In this case, it’s worth figuring out whether Wi-Fi is harmful to human health, whether it’s true or a myth.

Is Wi-Fi harmful to humans?

What is Wi-Fi, its radiation parameters

Wi-Fi is an electromagnetic signal responsible for wirelessly connecting the Internet to other devices and gadgets. All information is transmitted to phones, computers and televisions via radio frequency channels. The frequency of radio waves fluctuates at 2.4-5 GHz.

The question: is Wi-Fi harmful, is asked quite often even now, when a sufficient amount of time has passed since its introduction into mass use. The point is that even those who have directly studied this issue cannot give an exact answer.

To understand whether Wi-Fi is dangerous for the human body, it is worth considering a few of the most important data:

• Electromagnetic radiation from a home router is several thousand times less than from a microwave oven.
• The radiation from a mobile device can be approximately compared to the combined radiation from 2 routers and 20 computers.
• Most experts are inclined to believe that electromagnetic radiation emanating from routers does not have a greater impact on the human body than a regular radio or TV.

The harm that a modem causes to the human body is proportional to the magnitude—the optical intensity of the electromagnetic field. Counted in decibel milliwatts (dBm). If we consider a regular mobile phone, it emits up to 28 dBm. In this case, the mobile phone has the greatest impact on the body if it is as close as possible to the human body. The influence from the router follows the same principle.

In other words, the greatest harm from Wi-Fi to health occurs when the device is connected to the network and when a person is near it.

For reference! When carrying out measurements, scientists came to the conclusion that near the source of electromagnetic radiation the indicator reaches only 20 dBm.

Based only on these indicators, we can conclude that a mobile phone causes much more harm to health. However, it should be taken into account that there are other factors that influence the intensity of the electromagnetic field. In general, this topic has not yet been fully studied.

How to reduce the influence of a harmful factor on the human body

It is clear that the influence of Wi-Fi on a person is negative, and therefore the issue of protecting the user’s body from electromagnetic radiation is relevant. There are several useful tips that will help to relatively reduce the harmful effects of the router:

• Do not install the router in places where you spend the most time (bedroom, watching TV, etc.)
• Turn off the router at night and when you are not using it for a long time, so that its energy does not spread in the form of harmful radiation.
• If possible, limit your time using Wi-Fi access, and supervise your child’s use of this device.
• Do not place devices connected to the router near you while you sleep, so that electromagnetic radiation does not interfere with your sleep

When asking the question “Is there any harm from a Wi-Fi router?”, the answer will be positive. This generator of electromagnetic radiation acts on the internal environment of a person, disrupting homeostasis and many other functions of the body. Even taking into account the fact of its lower potential danger compared to some other electrical devices and gadgets, it is worthwhile, if possible, to limit the impact of this harmful factor on your body, as well as to take all measures that will protect the body and reduce the likelihood of harmful consequences.

Can Wi-Fi be harmful?

So, is the radiation from a Wi-Fi router located in an apartment or office harmful? It is worth saying that the opinions of scientists and medical workers on this issue often differ. It is worth saying that doctors say that the router negatively affects young children, people with cardiovascular diseases, and those suffering from high blood pressure.

On the other hand, from a scientific point of view, it has been said more than once that the radiation from the modem is completely insignificant, and it is not capable of causing serious harm to human health. These two points of view are discussed in more detail below.

With prolonged exposure to radiation, a person may experience headaches and fatigue.

Position of the Ministry of Health

Medical experts, for the most part, are inclined to believe that the harm of Wi-Fi is quite great, since the impact is on a variety of human organs. In addition, the problem is that people are constantly exposed to radiation from not one, but several devices at once: televisions, computers, telephones, microwaves, and so on. Taken together, all this has a detrimental effect.

I won’t tell you at all, but when a certain level of radiation accumulates, malfunctions gradually begin to occur in the human body. Initially, these are small changes that bring only discomfort, but over time they become significant.

In particular, the negative impact of radio waves is directed:

• A decrease in the body's antioxidant defense, which leads to disruption of the functioning of internal organs, primarily the liver and brain.
• The negative impact on the reproductive organs has the most detrimental effect on men. May affect fetal development, cause miscarriage or premature birth.
• It has been proven that radio waves disrupt sleep, causing the process of falling asleep to be delayed and the body does not have time to rest and recuperate. As a result, constant drowsiness, fatigue, lethargy.
• The occurrence of cancerous tumors.

Important! The router emits significantly weaker signals, however, even a relatively small value will result in an unpleasant result over time.

Scientific research

Having conducted a sufficient number of experiments, scientists have now come to the conclusion that electromagnetic radiation, although it has a negative effect on people, but that which comes from routers is too insignificant to cause harm. The radiation level of modern devices is approximately 600 times lower than the dangerous value for humans.

At the moment, even 3G sensors do more harm than regular home routers. In other words, answering the question: is Wi-Fi harmful to health, scientists say that it is not. And the opinion of the Ministry of Health in this case is nothing more than just reinsurance.

Scientists believe that radiation from routers is insignificant

Is router radiation harmful: arguments and counterarguments

The question of whether a router is bad often comes up when consumers think about how it works. Especially after information appeared about wireless charging of devices or wireless energy transfer. We are accustomed to thinking that electromagnetic radiation is harmful.

This is because when we think of electromagnetic fields and radiation, most people think of infrared, x-rays, or gamma rays. Of course, if you put the radiation from the router in this line, the question arises of how harmful it is to the body.

But if we talk about electromagnetic radiation, we must not forget that everything around us radiates. Radio operates on electromagnetic waves. Current flowing through the wires excites an electromagnetic field. Cell phones work on the same principle. Anything that has current or movement of charges creates electromagnetic fields.

The damage depends on the strength of the radiation and how close you are to them. There are infrared heaters. They can heat up silently when standing some distance away from you, but if you put your hand on the heating element, you will not avoid injury.

In general, this principle applies to everything. Many Wi-Fi opponents insist that the same microwave ovens operate on the same frequency as wireless networks. The answer is above: a frequency range is assigned for household appliances and the civilian population, beyond which they cannot go. Well, the radiation power of a Wi-Fi antenna and a microwave oven cannot be compared.

With radio and electromagnetic waves, it's all about quantity.

You can't escape radiation, phones, radios and electricity are all around us. All that remains is to go to Siberia and build a house in a deep forest. Although this won't help either. Radio towers and antennas are everywhere, otherwise it would be impossible to make calls from one part of the planet to another. Don't forget the satellites that constantly hang above our heads. And by GPS, to which satellite phones are connected.

There is no need to go to the other extreme, given that any radiation is safe. The poison differs from the medicine only in dosage, so there is no need to come under powerful radiation sources and stand next to working antennas.

Western scientific research

Damage to Wi-Fi worries people not only in Russia, but also in other countries. The effects of wireless networks on organisms have been studied by several laboratories. The dangers of Wi-Fi were widely discussed in 2015, when every newspaper published studies on the dangers of electromagnetic radiation. They all referred to the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine.

The media posted a link to an archive of articles, but no one posted a link to a specific article. I had to open the magazine myself and do some research. Unfortunately, I did not find specific studies on Wi-Fi and people for the years 2013-2016. There are several articles expressing concern about the effects of the camps on people, there is an article about headaches and wireless networks, but it is argued that more research is needed to confirm or refute.

The closest materials found are two studies by Turkish scientists on the effects of Wi-Fi on rats. One studied a group of eight animals. One of them lived next to a Wi-Fi antenna that was constantly on all year round, and the second was out of range.

This is an almost exact quote from the article, so it is unclear what “closed” means and what power the antenna had. The second study tested the effects of Wi-Fi on the reproductive function of female rats of the same species.

According to research, radiation is very dangerous (at least for mice). In one group of animals, changes in the brain, internal organs and effects on sperm were recorded. A group of females influences the development of children (inhibits them), etc.

Unfortunately, in the accessible part of the article there is no data about what kind of antenna it was, how close the subjects lived in it, no data on nutrition, and whether they belonged to the same group. In the absence of information about antenna power and distance, coffee grounds prediction begins.

The research was conducted in 2013-2014, but this data has not yet been widely disseminated in the scientific community. In subsequent interviews, doctors from Western countries do not refer to any particular studies, but only state that the effect on humans has not been studied. You shouldn't give up on the experiment entirely, but don't expect the router to have the same effect on you as it did on this small group of rats.

In general, speaking about the lack of knowledge about influenza, scientists still advise being careful. You should not place the router next to yourself or your workplace, you should not buy overly powerful industrial models, and so on.

The official position of the Russian Ministry of Health

Our Ministry of Health states that the damage caused by Wi-Fi has not been fully studied. The exact effect on human health could not be determined. They recommend waiting for studies to determine the influencing factors, but there is no information on when these will be conducted.

The Department of Health is taking a cautious approach, neither blaming nor defending wireless networks. The strong position of a serious organization that does not want to cause unrest with unfounded statements.

We doctors are quite suspicious and conservative people, especially when it comes to new technologies. But routers, as is known, work in every medical institution and do not have a significant impact on the health of doctors or patients. Safety studies are usually preceded by anecdotal observations and expert opinions. For example, we learned fairly quickly about the dangers of X-rays from medical personnel, which led to the development of X-ray machines and protective measures.

Over the years of using routers, some statistics on the destructive impact should have accumulated, especially considering that the heads of institutions had routers to begin with. There was no total “death” of medical managers, accountants and chief doctors.

The average life expectancy in the world has increased by 10-15 years in the last 20 years alone. Therefore, there is no need to talk about the total negative impact of the Internet and Wi-Fi radiation on humanity.

If you look at the results of the studies mentioned above, you will see that there is no conclusive evidence that this type of radiation is harmful. In a number of other studies (there are more of them), no side effects of radiation were found.

In addition, even much cruder methods of wave action, such as ultrasound, do not have a significant effect on the human body and are prescribed for diagnosis for children and pregnant women.

It is not clear why we should a priori consider life-threatening Wi-Fi radiation. In this regard, I recall the saying of Euclid: “What is asserted without evidence can be rejected without explanation.”

Comparison of exposure from a router and other devices

To better understand the situation and how dangerous or safe a router located in an apartment is, you should compare the radiation it produces with other devices that are located in a person’s home.

The most harmful in this case is the microwave oven. According to experts, with prolonged exposure, its waves can cause changes in the body, in particular, the structure of internal organs. People who are constantly near microwaves, after some time, begin to complain of headaches, increased fatigue, and so on.

Another, no less popular gadget today is a mobile phone. Its indicators are significantly lower, but they are not reduced to zero. The impact occurs if the mobile phone is constantly near the body, and this is a fairly common phenomenon in modern life. You should know that doctors strictly prohibit keeping phones in pockets, especially near the intimate area.

Important! The safest devices are those with low power. As for routers, if a person is at a distance of 2-3 meters from the device, then there is practically no impact.

Is it really that harmful?

It would seem that the harm from Wi-Fi is obvious. But is the devil as terrible as he is painted? Please take a look at the table below. It provides information about the radiation power of various household appliances in the apartment. As you can see, the router is far from being in first place in terms of influence. In front of him is a mobile phone (which everyone has) and a microwave oven (which is in every third home), and in addition to them, a hairdryer, TV, vacuum cleaner and much, much more!

Just think how many objects are fraught with danger for us in our own apartment... life becomes scary :-)! But don't worry, it's actually not that scary! The harmfulness of Wi-Fi in an apartment is greatly exaggerated. And to prove this, let's look at how the technology works.

Negatives of Wi-Fi for humans

It is worth once again dwelling in more detail on the question: is Wi-Fi in an apartment harmful? The influence, first of all, is:

• On the cardiovascular system. During research, it was officially proven that prolonged exposure to radio waves leads to vascular spasms. This affects decreased attention, increased fatigue, and so on.
• Male potency and reproductive functions. Scientists also conducted experiments that showed a significant decrease in the vital activity of male cells when exposed to radio waves. For this reason, it is not recommended for the stronger sex to place their workstations near the router.

Harm of Wi-Fi on children's bodies

As for children, and especially infants, radio waves have the greatest negative impact on them. This is primarily due to the thinness of the skull, which is characteristic of children.

The most damage is done to the nervous system. It is for this reason that experts do not recommend installing modems in kindergartens and primary schools. There is still no concrete evidence of harm, but it is still recommended to keep newborns away from electromagnetic devices.

Important! According to statistics, children who are constantly exposed to radio waves are nervous, more capricious, and sleep worse.

Numerous devices have a negative impact on children

Discussion of the experiment results

Research has shown some adverse biological effects from Wi-Fi radiation. Table 1 shows the results of the pathological examination. After the fourth month of testing, degradation of tissue cells of some organs was detected. Degradation of liver, brain and lung tissues is clearly observed. The tissues of the liver and brain were inflamed, and an abscess of the lung tissue was observed. The observations are confirmed by the results of laboratory biochemical tests. Control samples from mice not exposed to radiation tested normal until the end of the test.

Table 1

Note: N = NORMAL; D = cellular degeneration (damaged cell).

The appearance of normal and degraded tissues of various organs is shown in Figures 2a-4b. Organs were observed: liver, brain, lungs.

Figure 2a - Normal liver tissue at 400x magnification

Figure 2b - Liver tissue degradation at 400x magnification

Figure 3a - Normal brain tissue at 400x magnification

Figure 3a - Degradation of brain tissue at 400x magnification

Figure 4a - Normal lung tissue at 400x magnification

Figure 4a - Degradation of lung tissue at a magnification of 400 times

Placing a router in an apartment

While scientists have not yet proven whether a router in an apartment can cause harm or not, some people are seriously thinking about giving up a large number of electrical appliances. Such measures are highly questionable.

In fact, routers can irradiate the human body, but they do so to a very small extent. Accordingly, if there is no specific contraindication, there is no point in excluding equipment from the home.

Modern home devices such as TV, computer, telephone have the greatest impact on the visual organs. Of course, Wi-Fi does not fall into this category, unless it forces a person to spend more time on the Internet or watching TV series.

Important! There are no clear instructions as to where exactly the router should be located in the apartment. However, it is optimal to place it at least 2-3 meters from the working area.

Testing methodology

Strong Wi-Fi can cause a “thermal effect,” which is a force that heats fluid in cells and damages them. To avoid the thermal effect, sanitary standards recommend a power of Wi-Fi routers of 0.614 W/m (0.1 W/cm2) for access points installed in open areas, and 0.19 W/m (0.01 W/cm2) for indoor use. Also note that an important quantity used to measure the level of cellular damage due to radiation is the specific absorption rate (SAR), which is measured in watts per kilogram of tissue (W/kg). SAR is a measure of how quickly energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to an electromagnetic field. The US FCC limit is 1.6 W/kg and the European limit is 2 W/kg. Russia has its own system for measuring radiated power - in watts per square centimeter.

The laboratory setup is shown in Figure 1. An external antenna is connected to a signal generator operating at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, the radiation from the antenna is directed into cage “A”, which contains 30 male mice. The cell is located in the far field of the antenna radiation at a distance of 1 meter from it. The far zone of an antenna is the region of the field in which the angular distribution of the field is practically independent of the distance from the antenna. 15 male mice were placed in the second cage “B”, which were located away from the working area of ​​the Wi-Fi generator, so that the radiation had practically no effect on them. The samples were irradiated 8 hours a day for six months. Both cages contained mouse samples of the same age and size.

Figure 1 — Experimental scheme

The far field of an antenna can be determined as follows: First determine the wavelength

where c is the speed of light, f is the frequency of radiation. Then the far zone is determined by the formula:

Where D is the length of the antenna (in the experiment it is 0.267 meters)

Separately, we note that the possibility of a negative influence of water and food on the quality of the experiment was excluded as much as possible. The rodents consumed dietary food and purified water at constant room temperature. After 2 weeks of the first month, the first group of mice (3 from each cage “A” and “B”) were sent to the veterinary laboratory for biological testing. A second similar group was sent after another 2 weeks of microwave exposure, and then the procedure was repeated for the remaining rodents.

Accommodation in the dormitory

As for installing a modem in the bedroom, most experts are inclined to believe that such an idea should be abandoned. The reason is that a person or family is in a given room for quite a long time, accordingly, the influence of radio waves will be significant.

And although the actual harm of Wi-Fi waves has not been proven, very often you can find recommendations for replacing routers with a wired connection. Whether it is worth resorting to this option is up to family members to decide.

Correct placement of the router in the apartment

What is it and what does it emit?

There is a Wi-Fi router in almost every apartment

Wi-Fi is a radiation that delivers radio waves in the 2.4-5 GHz range from the router to electronic devices. There are no wires. One device provides communication with the outside world to as many devices as required.

Note! A large number of connected gadgets can slightly slow down the Internet speed.

Along with the ease of use of the router, there are some doubts about its impact on living organisms, in particular people. So, what is the harm of Wi-Fi radiation?

Transmitting data using radio waves means that your home router is constantly spreading it out. That is, radio waves with different intensities and frequencies are present in a person’s living space. These waves are of the same order as those from a cell phone, microwave, TV, and much more. And, of course, they affect the vital functions of the body.

For your information! The familiar microwave oven (especially older models) emits radio waves 100 thousand times more than a router.

Reducing radiation exposure from a router device

If the issue is still a concern, you may want to consider reducing your router exposure. There are several options for how this can be done:

• Installing the router at a significant distance from people. In this case, the danger is reduced, but the quality of the received signal suffers.
• Try not to install the router near places where people constantly live, such as a bedroom. In an apartment, the device is usually placed somewhere in the hallway or storage room.
• Installing one more powerful device, instead of several weak ones. This recommendation is suitable for office devices.
• If there is a long break in operation, you should turn off the router to interrupt the signal propagation.

Correct position of the router in the office

What the Russians discovered

How to resolve the "wireless adapter or access point problem" error

No large-scale studies have been carried out on Russian territory. Therefore, domestic scientists refer to foreign data when forming their conclusions, which do not contradict Western ones. The harm caused by Wi-Fi is considered negligible or completely excluded; the frequency of health problems with a 24-hour radio signal does not increase.

Most domestic scientists supported a neutral attitude towards wave irradiation. They believe that it is recommended to reduce it by turning off electrical devices at night, but one should not completely exclude any harm from Wi-Fi to health. If it is detected (and there is no confirmed harm from constant exposure to radiation), then it is insignificant.

Interesting! So far, all opinions about the harm of waves are a myth.

Expert Nadezhda Koloskova, a doctor of the highest category, spoke about the dangers of waves from a router. The doctor received experimental data and examined patients who regularly use the device. She believes the following:

• It takes decades to fully understand the effects of waves.
• It is necessary to reduce the presence of children near equipment, but not completely prohibit it.
• There will be less danger if technology is used less frequently.

The pediatrician believes that the impact of waves on health is not serious, but still exists. The International Association of Oncologists, studying the research of doctors from different parts of the world, did not find a direct connection between electromagnetic effects from devices and the emergence of malignant neoplasms.

One of the scientists, D. Backstein, reinforced this opinion with information from the International Journal of Economics. The material reviewed by the scientist contains about 10 studies. There is no direct connection with oncology, but relevant research is not being completed at the moment.

Important! Surveys were conducted on the effect of technology on the human brain, central nervous system and human body. There is no direct oncoeffect.

Is radiation from a modem harmful?

From a medical point of view, it is not advisable to install a modem near the bed. To understand whether sleeping next to a router is harmful, scientists conducted a lot of research. Here are the conclusions they were able to draw:

• Electromagnetic radiation, which a sleeper inevitably receives if the router is standing next to the bed, disrupts sleep phases, causes a feeling of fatigue, insomnia, and increases the level of irritability. In short, the brain does not rest properly.
• A router next to the bed also affects the blood vessels of the brain, causing them to narrow and, as a result, spasms. The result is overvoltage;

• In children who have a modem near their bed, the latter may cause hyperactivity and increased excitability. However, these disorders could also be triggered by ordinary stress or the child’s character traits. In a word, this point has not been fully proven.
• Scientists also tried to find out whether sitting in bed next to a Wi-Fi router is harmful for the reproductive organs of women and men. It was possible to prove that men suffer more harm, especially if they place the laptop not just next to it, but right on their knees. According to studies, about a quarter of their healthy sperm die.