Post Date December, 03 2023
Cold weather and warm bedding always leave people nostalgic, and electric blankets have become a "must-have" for warm bedding, especially in the south where they are more widely used. Recently, there have been reports that long-term use of electric blankets can affect the female endocrine system and even affect the quality of male sperm, leading to infertility. Is the electric blanket really so scary? Experts told reporters that electric blankets do generate electric and magnetic fields after being electrified, but they are below environmental standards. It is recommended to cut off the power supply early when using electric blankets.
Electric blanket electric field below environmental standards
The electric blanket contains electric heating wires, which are equivalent to wires. After being electrified, a resistance is used to generate heat, thereby playing a warm role. When current passes through the electric heating wire, a magnetic field will definitely be generated, and an electric field will also be formed. It should be noted that the magnetic field and electric field generated by the electric blanket after being electrified are far lower than environmental standards. The electric field specified by environmental standards is 4kV/m, and if measured on the electric blanket, it is only about tens of volts/meter, which is between the two The gap is still quite large. The magnetic field generated by the electric blanket is only about 1% of the environmental standard, "senior engineer and expert from the Supervision and Management Department of the Shanghai Radiation Environment Supervision Station told reporters.
It should be noted that although the electric and magnetic fields generated by the electric blanket after being electrified are much lower than environmental standards, people may come into direct contact with the blanket during sleep. In addition, if citizens keep the electric blanket energized while sleeping, they will have direct contact with the blanket for a longer period of time. There have also been medical reports that the use of electric blankets may become one of the factors leading to miscarriage for pregnant women within one month of pregnancy.
Or affect the reproductive system and embryonic development
Experts introduce that during sleep, the back of the human body is in direct "intimate contact" with the electric blanket, and the time is relatively long. Experts also introduced in their paper "Electromagnetic Radiation Pollution and Protection" that as a common power frequency radiation source in household appliances, electric blankets, especially because they are the radiation source that embryos or fetuses may receive with the highest electromagnetic field intensity and longest action time, have attracted attention to the issue of whether electric blankets have adverse effects on human health, especially on offspring. Epidemiological investigations have shown that the use of electric blankets in early pregnancy (within 12 weeks of pregnancy) is associated with an increased incidence of miscarriage, and the use of electric blankets in early pregnancy is one of the risk factors for miscarriage.
Experts from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University explain that research on neonatal birth defects in the United States suggests that radiation does not necessarily cause neonatal deformities. China defines toxic, harmful, and radiation as adverse factors for neonatal defects. But specifically, it is difficult to determine how much impact this radiation may have on pregnant women or others, and over 60% of birth defects themselves cannot be traced to the cause. From the perspective of birth defects, the most sensitive period is between 5 and 13 weeks of pregnancy.
Testicles are more susceptible to environmental influences
Being in a magnetic field, the radiation of the magnetic field will definitely have some effects on the human body. Previously, the conclusions drawn from different research topics in this area were not the same. However, based on the overall trend of global research, the radiation of magnetic fields can indeed have adverse effects on the reproductive system function of the human body. According to the director of the male department and doctoral supervisor expert at the Reproductive Center of Peking University Third Hospital.
In addition, this is also related to the physiological structure of men themselves. The testicles are the only glands in the male body that are outside the body, while all other glands are inside the human body. The reason for this is that the testicles are suitable for a relatively low temperature environment, usually around 35 ℃, while the average body temperature of the human body is generally around 37 ℃. In addition, the glandular tissue of the testes is also more susceptible to the influence of the surrounding environment. Some people also have hidden pills, which are easy to cause testicular infertility for a long time. Because the temperature inside the human body is relatively high, the spermatid in the testicles are damaged, resulting in infertility.
Long term use of electric blankets can keep the testicles in a high temperature state, and from this perspective, it does have a certain impact on male reproductive function. In addition, long-term use of electric blankets can increase the temperature, which is not achievable by the surrounding air. Relatively high temperatures can also cause damage to the testicles. But as for the specific impact, it is currently uncertain. Because if we want to conduct experiments in this area, some of them are also unethical. From the perspective of mechanism and general knowledge, it still has a certain impact on male reproductive function.
Experts also say that it's not just long-term use of electric blankets, but other lifestyles that can affect male reproductive function, including frequent hot baths, saunas, and more.
(Intern Editor: Huang Jiazhen)
