CLEVELAND (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- More than 3 billion people have them
worldwide. More than 90 percent of the Western world uses them. Americans
average about 13 hours a month talking on them. However, there are some
downsides to using that device we just can't seem to get enough of.
Men: beware! A new study shows cell phone usage may be linked to infertility
problems.
"There was degradation in the quality of the sperm in the group which was
exposed to the cell phone for one hour," Ashok Agarwal, Ph.D., Director of the
Center for Reproductive Medicine at The Cleveland Clinic, told Ivanhoe.
Men who used their cell phones for more than four hours per day had the lowest
quality of sperm.
Another recent study showed heavy cell phone use is linked to a 50-percent
increased risk for developing tumors of the salivary gland.
Studies show it takes twice as long for a person to fall asleep after talking on
a cell phone for just 30 minutes.
Here's another downside: You could get what doctors call "mobile phone
dermatitis" or a rash in reaction to the nickel in some cell phones.
Your hands aren't free of risk either. Those who send a lot of texts may be at
risk for blackberry thumb -- sore digits from overuse and repetition.
Experts recommend using hands-free devices and when talking, holding the phone
away from the body. Less frequent calls that are shorter in duration may also be
a good precautionary step.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
Angie Kiska
Media Relations
The Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH
(216) 444-6002
kiskaa@ccf.org
