Trapped in my homemade cage: Meet the woman who is allergic to modern technology
Velma can't use a mobile phone, satnav or WiFi, or even use a hairdryer to blow dry her hair.
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link to uk.news.yahoo.com]
Velma Lyrae spends up to 18 hours a day confined to a cage because she is allergic to modern technology.
The 51-year-old can't use a mobile phone, satnav or WiFi, or even use a hairdryer to blow dry her hair.
Instead she spends her days reading books, doing artwork and writing letters, all from the comfort of her Faraday cage
She suffers from an increasing common condition called
electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS) which means she cannot stand to be near electromagnetic fields.
Velma's condition emerged with the arrival of 3G mobile phones, although having a previous electric shock is believed to make people more susceptible.
As a teenager Velma suffered a shock when she touched the switch of an electric fire in her bathroom.
At first the symptoms were barely noticeable but they have become progressively worse over time.
Now, unable to work Velma suffers agonising head and nerve pain, memory loss, tinnitus, heart palpitations, vertigo and aching joints if she goes anywhere near technology - and is forced to spend every day in a makeshift cage in her flat in Blackheath, London.
Velma made the cage herself from second hand material costing £300. A brand new cage would have cost her £800.
She claims metal fibres in the netting reflect the electro-magnetic waves and stop her from suffering EHS symptoms.
She said: "I can't do anything that normal people do without my symptoms showing. I have to do everything in my cage - eat, sleep, read, write.
"I always wear a shielded scarf round my head when I leave the house to protect myself from radiation signals.
"It's made my life a living hell."
Eventually think about it this could put a person on disability!
United States
