Headache, nausea, fatigue, dizziness: Here’s what is really behind the Havana Syndrome phenomenon

Credit: Wikimedia
Credit: Wikimedia

In late 2016, American and Canadian diplomats and intelligence officers stationed in Havana, Cuba, began to report an array of health complaints that were often accompanied by mysterious sounds. Symptoms included headache, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, balance problems, confusion, disorientation, insomnia, tinnitus, ear pain, and head pressure. Over the past seven and a half years the origin and nature of these symptoms have become the subject of intense speculation including suggestions that they were caused by a foreign government using a directed energy weapon.

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An objective review of these studies and the circumstances surrounding this episode leads to the clear conclusion that what has been dubbed ‘Havana Syndrome’ is in fact an example of Iatrogenesis. Derived from the Greek words iatros (physician) and genic (produced by), iatrogenic refers to any condition or illness that is inadvertently caused by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures. In other words, the diagnosis or treatment process itself, rather than an external cause, are responsible for the condition. 

It is time to listen to the consensus of our intelligence agencies and stop wasting time, money, and resources by grasping at far-fetched explanations for Havana Syndrome when conventional science is perfectly capable of explaining it.

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