How harmful is your gadget?

Can you think of a life without gizmos like cell phone, microwave ovens, iPod or other blue tooth devices? Different studies have articulated that few gizmos are injurious to user's health. But, surely we can take some precautionary steps to avoid the harmful effects. So, here are some ways to minimize their ill effects.

Cell phones: One of the basic gadgets is a cell phone. According to research, Cell phones emit electromagnetic rays that can cause damage to your natural health and might also be a cause of brain tumors. Here are some useful suggestions to minimize the effects:

• Limit the time you use your cell phone for calling.

• Avoid using the cell phone with weak signals.

• Try to choose a device with lowest SAR possible. (SAR means Specific Absorption rate, which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field, absorbed by the body)

• Use corded land phone while calling from home.

• Keep your phone at a distance from your body, while talking.

Bluetooth Headsets: The bluetooth technology is used to transfer information between two or more devices that are near to each other. Generally, it is used to transfer sound data with telephones (i.e., with a Bluetooth headset) or byte data with hand-held computers (transferring files). The Bluetooth headsets communicate with other using radio waves and according to research, excessive usage of Bluetooth devices often leads to ear infections. Actually, these devices are prone to emit radiations and even, they pick up fungi and bacteria from ear and can be an easy carrier of the infection.

IPod: Listening music using an iPod is always delightful. But, this gadget is also harmful for its users. According to a research, listening to music in an iPod is addictive and can be precarious for your ears. Listening to music at lofty volume levels can really cause permanent harm to your ears. More so, the iPod's buds, which fit into the ear, can increase the amount of sound pressure directed into the ear canal. Research says that a typical person can safely listen to an iPod for 4.6 hours per day at 70% volume using stock headphones. The harm can be avoided by keeping following points in mind:

• Use a normal volume level to listen music from iPod. Because, hearing at full volume for more than a few minutes is really harmful to hearing health.

• Use your iPod at frequent intervals of time; continuous usage for a long time can also cause harm.

So, it is not possible to say good bye to these gadgets forever for the sake of their ill effects. But, surely we can take some precautionary steps to avoid the harmful effects.