Electrodermal Screening

Many Canadian natural health providers use electrodermal screening (EDS) to gather bioenergy feedback and find energy imbalances that may be symptoms of disease. Some naturopaths also use the devices to test for sensitivities to certain foods and other substances. How effective is electrodermal screening?

Dr. Tom Glew, a naturopath who uses EDS in his Vancouver practice explains, “Electrodermal screening has been developing and evolving for at least 50 years, starting with Dr. Reinhold Voll in Germany in the 1950s.”

“Electrodermal screening is a useful adjunctive tool in the hands of a skilled practitioner. It helps determine functional imbalances or disturbances in the health of any patient and often finds the cause of an illness when conventional testing methods are unable to do so.”

Simple Physics

How EDS works is based on the scientific concept that, at the subatomic level, physical matter is simply bundles of quantum energy. At the atomic level, the exchange of electrons produces electricity that is measurable using an EDS unit. Cancer cells, viruses, toxic chemicals, and other causes of disease all exhibit a measurable level of energy that raises or lowers our natural bioenergy levels.

During EDS, the patient holds an electrode in one hand while the naturopath presses another electrode against an acupuncture point on the other hand. Both electrodes are connected to the EDS unit, which measures the voltage differential between the electrodes and thus between the acupuncture points in the patient’s hands.

“The optimal reading for a bioenergy meridian at a given acupuncture point is 50 millivolts (plus or minus 5 mV),” explains Dr. Craig Wagstaff, a Kelowna naturopath. “The voltage differential (reading) will either be optimal, or it will read above (indicating an overstimulated or yang state) or below (understimulated or yin).”

Begin at Baseline

The first step in diagnosis using EDS is to establish a person’s energy baseline. The naturopath measures a patient’s Galvanic skin response (the skin’s electrical resistance). Further screening then introduces one external frequency at a time into the circuit of the EDS unit to determine to what extent, if any, the individual’s energy deviates from its baseline reading.

For example, if a person is being tested for an apple allergy, the naturopath introduces an ampoule containing a homeopathic solution imprinted with the frequency of apples. If the EDS unit then reads 85 mV instead of the patient’s baseline reading of about 50 mV, that’s a good indication something about apple causes the patient’s energy to become seriously imbalanced. Through EDS, people can find out which foods and other substances (cat dander, bird feathers, moulds) to avoid. By measuring organ energy meridians through specific acupuncture points, EDS units also provide naturopaths with an idea of how efficiently a patient’s organs are functioning.

Bioenergy in Balance

Naturopathic physicians do not diagnose solely on EDS. They understand that EDS is not completely reliable, and should form only one part of a complete diagnostic process. Naturopaths draw on their medical training and experience, as well as their holistic perspective of the human body and how it functions.

Kelly’s Experience

In 2004, 22-year-old Kelly Wilson visited a Kelowna naturopath because a gynecologist had told her nothing could be done about her excessive menstrual bleeding. Kelly had been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition marked by irregular or absent menses, increased hair growth (including facial hair), infertility, and weight gain. She was told she would never bear children. Saddened yet determined to find a solution to her serious health problem, Kelly and her naturopath agreed to try EDS. The data generated pointed to a serious hormonal imbalance (hypothyroidism) in Kelly. As well, it detected the energy signature of cancer cells that had started to form in her thyroid. After two months of taking bioenergy remedies specific to her condition, an ecstatic Kelly informed her naturopath that she had completed a normal menstrual cycle. As Kelly’s hormonal balance was corrected, her weight returned to normal. Happy and healthy, Kelly and her boyfriend married and are now looking forward to family life.