92 replies to this topic

[jenjen]

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i work at a doctor's office and deal with pharmacists all day long. some of them are really stupid! like, its amazing they graduated. i mean, come on! computers? people had IBS long before computers existed. oh, man! thats the silliest thing i've ever heard!whats his number? i'd love to hear what causes headaches! jj

[Nat]

Like Wanderingstar, I do find that my computer sometimes aggravates my symptoms. I used to work 10 to 12 hours a day in front of a computer and I now associate my symptoms with its use. However, I won't say the computer is responsible for my woes but it certainly contributed to it (because I don't exercise enough or change my position often enough).Nat

[eric]

Just fyi, not really on IBS but mast cell degranulation and dermatitis study and computers and tv's. LOLThis was not a controlled experiment.J Cutan Pathol 2001 Nov;28(10):513-519 Related Articles, LinkOut, Books Cutaneous mast cells are altered in normal healthy volunteers sitting in front of ordinary TVs/PCs - results from open-field provocation experiments. Johansson O, Gangi S, Liang Y, Yoshimura K, Jing C, Liu PY. The Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. BACKGROUND: Considerable controversy has surrounded the question of possible biological responses to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated from visual display terminals (VDTs), such as personal computers (PCs) and ordinary television sets (TVs). The cellular and molecular mechanisms for such potential harmful health hazards have not yet been understood, although clues from the literature include mast cells and histamine. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate possible biological mast cell responses to TV/PC screens. METHODS: Using the indirect immunofluorescence technique, we studied the presence of histamine-containing mast cells in the dermis of healthy volunteers. Cutaneous biopsies taken before and after exposure to ordinary TV/PC screens for 2 or 4 h were investigated in 13 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Our present in vivo study indicates that normal cutaneous mast cells could be altered by exposure from ordinary TV/PC screens. To our great surprise, we found the number of mast cells in the papillary and reticular dermis to increase, to varying degrees, in 5 out the 13 subjects after such an exposure. A migration of mast cells towards the uppermost dermis appeared as the most important event. Thus, the normally upper "empty zone" of the dermis disappeared, and instead, a higher density of mast cells were found in this zone. These cells also seemed to have a tendency to increase in number towards the epidermal-dermal junctional zone and some of them lost their granular content and the cytoplasm shrunk (=degranulation). These findings could only be seen in the exposed skin. Two of the 13 cases instead showed a decrease in mast cell number, but the shift in mast cells towards the upper dermis was still visible. Twenty-four h after the provocation, the cellular number and location were normalized in all subjects. CONCLUSIONS: By definition, normal healthy volunteers are assumed not to react to a TV/PC screen provocation. To our great surprise, this proved not to be true. The present results might lay a foundation to understand the underlying cause of so-called "screen dermatitis" with special reference to mast cells. However, blind or double-blind experiments using patients ought to be further investigated in order to find out the exact cause for the observed changes. Such causes include the effects of surrounding airborne chemicals, stress factors, etc. PMID: 11737520 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[NickT]

Although I don't think computers (specifically the monitors) are the "root cause" for IBS, I do think they can be a contributing factor in stressing the brain.In America, our electricity runs about 115 volts and 60 cycles per second (alternating current). If ever you've seen a computer on tv, you can usually see the "refresh" rate (of the display) as the scans (pictures) are being re-drawn at a rate of about 60 times a second. If I remember correctly, the human brain also operates at the "60 cycles" rate. It is possible that these 2 rates (electric and human) could become out of sync.Add in the fact, that most of us work on computers under flourescent lights (which also rapidly flicker), it's easy to see how our brains are being sublimily stimulated by our surroundings. Note that strobe lights and video games have been linked to triggering seizures in epileptics.People with FM frequently complain about to much computer use.Solutions, try setting your monitor refresh rate to 72-75 cycles. Work under regular incandescent light bulbs instead of flourescent lights. Try one of those new LCD flat screen monitors. Always have a light on by the monitor, so the monitor is not the brightest source of illumination.Of course all this is <b>IMHO</b>;, but it does make some sense to my fractured mind.Regards - NickTesla

[DGGinNYC]

...and frogs cause warts and there's nothing a good bloodletting won't cure.Was this guy trained by Hypocrates personally?

[Jeff Blackmore]

I have found weightlifting helps with constipation. Maybe its because you strain or because it raises matabolism. Try it, even light weight will help you!

[Sherlock]

Rubbish.First of all, with the mind-boggling number of computers and users, why don't they all have IBS? Secondly, did IBS not exist before computers became mainstream? I think after I'd burst out laughing at his ignorance I would have thrown something in the general direction of his forehead.

[eric]

Not all IBSers even use computers, however I could see it as a trigger for some for a bunch of reasons.

[stargazer]

This is absolutely one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard! Computers? Really now. I know I wasn't near computers when I started having symptoms over 13 years ago!

[SteveE]

As someone who once studied brainwaves in a lab, I can tell you that this isn't an issue as far as anyone knows. We used to have to filter 60Hz signal out of our brainwave recordings, though because it would interfere with the stuff we were mostly interested in between 1-40Hz.Anyway, when I first saw the subject heading, I didn't really expect that we'd be discussing EEG. I was thinking that this might pertain to being sedentary--sitting all day and not stretching. I certainly think that frequent breaks from long periods at the computer are important for just that reason. I believe the cramping symptoms in particular are adversely affected by sitting too long with no breaks.

[br-549]

Everyone KNOWS that IBS is caused by the alignment of the stars, planets and moon! To obtain a full cure you need to go outside at midnite on a full moon and howl for 10minutes. You must do this for the FULL 10 minutes and after three months of this procedure your IBS will disappear? Norb

[123abc]

hahahahhaha! That was very, very funny!I had IBS when I was an infant, then when I was 10. It went away. At age 13, I got a part-time job at a computer store. Now, at age 15, my IBS has recently returned. I spent 2 years around computers without a single problem. When you combine work/school/home I spend several hours a day in front of a computer. I had problems before I started using them, and for years I was fine while spending hours on them. That pharmacist doesn't know what he's talking about!

[jane93]

Did you also know that microwaves can give you IBS? According to a strange friend of mine they rearrange the mollecules and make them harder to digest

[Nikki]

LOL Mike- too funny! I had to think about that for a while. If it is caused by foul humours, would purging not help us? Therefore some of us (with IBS-d) would be ok! Because we are always purging the bowels! LOLLeeches, Bloodletting, pretty standard really

[Fay]

I doubt there even were computers around when I first had my D-attacks about 28 years ago! Tell him he's very wrong!Fay

[moulage]

When I read the subject of the post, I thought it was going to be about people going to sites like these and then believing that they have IBS because of a hypochondria-type reaction. This is just as ridiculous, though. How would that explain all the people here that developed their IBS before computers, and the ones like me who had IBS diagnosed while I was doing an "on your feet all day job" for years? Some pharmacists think they are able to diagnose these days probably based on a small sampling of people's comments they hear from day to day, who are grasping at straws, themselves. Maybe he has come to that conclusion, because he works with computers too. Actually, it would have been more accurate for him to ask: "what medications have/are you on now?" because that is probably more of a factor for people developing IBS than computers. A good pharmacist might consider this possibility.

[HipJan]

My former nutritionist told me I shouldn't spend so much time in front of the computer. I clearly seem to have problems with my auto. nervous system, and he said that sitting in front of a computer can help stimulate the ANS (which I don't need). I sort of half believed, and half disbelieved, what he said. It was interesting that last week, my brother told me that he notices his heart arrhythmia (sp??) seems to act up when he's at the computer a particularly long time. My brother's a conservative, scientific type (electrical engineer) - and I tend not to think he'd be dreaming this up.What your pharmacist said sounds kind of looney tunes. But, when you think about it, he might (accidentally?) be on to something - sort of, in a roundabout way.