If you’re like most people, your cell phone is practically another extension of your body. But, did you know that your little attachment can have deadly consequences? Take the Texas teenager who recently died after reportedly using her phone in the bathtub. Per family members, the 14-year-old was electrocuted after she either grabbed her cell that was unplugged or reached to plug it in.
“There was a burn mark on her hand, the hand that would have grabbed the phone. And that was just very obvious that that’s what had happened,” the teen girl’s grandmother, Donna O’Guinn told KCBD-TV.
Here are three more ways your cell phone may be harming you:
Possible Cancer Link
The largest case-control study completed to date — surrounding a possible link between cell phone use and brain tumors — looked at more than 5,000 people who developed brain tumors (gliomas or meningiomas) and a similar group of participants without tumors. Overall, no link was discovered involving brain tumor risk and the call frequency, time, or cell phone use spanning over 10-years. Still, findings suggested a possible increased risk of glioma, and a slightly smaller risk of an increased risk of meningioma, in the 10 percent of people who used their cell phones the most.
The warnings go back as far as 2011, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified cell phone radiation possibly carcinogenic, meaning there “could be some risk” of carcinogenicity.
Although there’s a good amount of conflicting research, no firm conclusions, another study suggests that, “children have the potential to be at greater risk than adults for developing brain cancer from cell phones. Their nervous systems are still developing and therefore more vulnerable to factors that may cause cancer.”
In the meantime, the FDA has suggested steps to reduce fear associated with exposure to radio frequency energy:
- Reserve the use of cell phones for shorter conversations or for times when a landline phone is not available.
- Use a hands-free device, which places more distance between the phone and the head of the user.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also advises users to opt for a phone with a low Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) rating. An SAR rating measures “the amount of radio frequency (RF) energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone.”