PROVOCATION OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC DISTRESS SYNDROME

Background Many patients in Sweden are today distressed by fears of '' electric fields.'' This phenomenon was almost unknown to occupational health clinics 10 years ago. Case history and examination A 35-year-ol d male plumber complained of fatigue, headache, lack of concentration, numbness and paresthesia in his arms, and a greasy feeling in his pal ms, where he observed tiny shiny spots. These symptoms made him unable to work. It all started after a period of high strain at the work. He feared negative influences, mainly from electric fields. Signs indica ting nerve entrapment in the upper extremities were found in a clinica l examination. Provocation study The patient was blindly provocated in a whole-body electromagnetic coil at 34 or 100 mu T randomly mixed wi th sham exposures. After being blinded against irrelevant external cue s, he was not able to detect the existence of or any symptoms at eithe r field intensity. He was informed about the results and was later abl e to return to his previous work. Conclusions No sensitivity to electr omagnetic fields could be objectively verified for this patient, who w as suspected to suffer from a thoracic outlet syndrome.