A recent scientific study identified a link between microwave radiation of the kind emitted by cellular phones and two different kinds of damage to the eye. At least one type of damage apparently never heals.

When the eyeis exposed for a prolonged time to microwave radiation, thereis large-scale damage to the optical quality of the lens. But there seemed to be a maximum level to this kind of damage, and when the exposure stops, the damage begins to heal.

However, at the same time, a different kind of damage occurs at the microscopic level. Tiny "bubbles" appear on the surface of the lens. This kind of damage reaches no maximum level, but instead accumulates progressively, and it did not heal even after the experiment stopped. It was theorized that the bubbles were caused by friction between cellsthat were exposed to the radiation.

Bioelectromagnetics July 2005; 26(5):398-405IsraCast July 27, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from cell phones is a topic that provokes a good deal of controversy. Many experts believe that the radiation is too low-level to cause harm. However, they often base this on an examination of thermal or heat-related effects. The danger from cell phones is far more likely to originate in the low-intensity pulsed microwave radiation that the phones emit.

There is a growing body of evidence that long-term exposure to this kind of cell phone radiation can indeed be a danger. As well as these studies showing they can affect the sensitive cells of your eyes, there has been research indicating that it can cause:

• Brain cancer
• Tumor growth on the auditory nerve
• Possibly Alzheimer's disease
• Many other potential problems

Fortunately, the danger decreases exponentially the farther the cell phone is from your body. If you have a cell phone, I strongly recommend you use a headset, and keep the phone itself well away from your body.

Although that reduces the radiation risk considerably, some emissions can still travel up the headset wire and into the head. Probably the best solution is to get a cell phone with a good speaker phone and always use it. Keeping the phone as far away from your body is the ideal solution.

For many of you this is simply not very practical, so I recommend attaching the newair cell phone headsets that we have just introduced. If you use a cell phone without the speaker phone feature, then this is simply a must. There is no excuse to not use this technology, which virtually eliminates all the dangers of using a cell phone.

There are also, of course, more commonplace dangers to using cell phones. If you use one while driving your car, you increase your chance of having an accident by up to 400 percent. Worldwide, auto accidents account for 23 percentof all deaths from injury, which comes to over1 million deaths each year. At the same time, cancer, another deadly cell phone risk, has surpassed heart disease in America as the leading cause of death for those under 85. Itkills over 1,500 people every day in the United Statesalone.

Every year, more and more people are switching to cell phones. Many are now using cell phones as their only phone, especially among younger people, who could be exposing themselves to EMF radiation and other risks over a period of decades.

Please avoid having yourself become a statistic. If you use a cell phone at all, wear a headset with a ferrite bead, don't use the cell phone in the car, and in general try to minimize your cell phone use. Related Articles: Electromagnetic Fields and Cell PhonesAre Cell Phones Safe For Your Children?"If Mobile Phones Were a Type of Food, They Simply Would Not be Licensed"

Dr. Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com, one of the world's most visited and trusted health websites, and publisher of the free Mercola.com e-newsletter -- the #1 dietary health and wellness newsletter on the Web with over 500,000 subscribers. Dr. Mercola, a physician for over two decades, is also a New York Times bestselling author whose latest book, "Dr. Mercola's Total Health Program," presents his entire renowned dietary health program and has sold over 150,000 copies. He is routinely interviewed by the media for his expert insights, including CNN and ABC World News Tonight. His passion is to change the fatally flawed conventional medical system to one focused on real prevention and cure.