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Radiation sickness is a group of pathological changes caused by the action of ionizing radiation on the body. The symptoms and effects of radiation sickness depend primarily on the dose of ionizing radiation absorbed by the body. Radiation sickness should not be confused with radiation exposure, which is a side effect of radiation therapy.

Radiation sicknessis a group of pathological changes caused by the action of ionizing radiation on the body.Symptomsandeffects of radiation sickness depend primarily on the dose of ionizing radiation absorbed by the body. The age of the irradiated person is also important. For obvious reasons, radiation-induced changes in children are more dangerous than in adults.

Radiation sickness - causes

He althcare workers, especially those specializing in nuclear medicine, are the most exposed to exposure to ionizing radiation. It is a branch of medicine in which special drugs (called radiopharmaceuticals) combined with radioactive isotopes are used in diagnosis and treatment. Radiation sickness can also be the result of working in the field of a broken X-ray tube or working on this device without the use of appropriate protective measures.

Special situations that can lead to radiation sickness are nuclear reactor failures (e.g. the Chernobyl disaster in 1986) or the use of nuclear weapons (e.g. the atomic attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945).

There are three ways for isotopes to enter the body: respiratory, digestive and through skin wounds directly into the blood.

Radiation sickness - symptoms

There is an acute radiation sickness - if symptoms appear in the first days up to 2 weeks after irradiation - and a chronic one - which may appear long after irradiation.

Acute radiation sickness

  • subclinical form - general weakness and reduction in the number of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood (lymphopenia)
  • hematological form - general weakness, decreased number of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood (lymphopenia), anemia, decreased immunity, hemorrhagic diathesis
  • intestinal form - there are bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic diathesis and water and water disturbanceselectrolyte and swelling. Everyone with this form of radiation sickness dies.
  • cerebral form - convulsions and loss of consciousness occur soon after irradiation, and then the patient dies
  • enzyme form - the patient loses consciousness and dies soon
Important

Radiation sickness and radiation reaction

Radiation sickness should not be confused with radiation exposure, which is a side effect of radiation therapy. The radiation reaction may be the result of a malfunction of the equipment used for cancer radiotherapy or, less frequently, of imaging tests (eg X-ray). As a consequence, a patient who undergoes such examinations or radiotherapy treatment receives a very high dose of ionizing radiation in a short time. Symptoms of the radiation reaction are severe red skin (it looks like sunburned), nagging itching, excessive dryness and spontaneous peeling of the skin, susceptibility to bacterial, fungal and viral infections.

Chronic radiation sickness

These are long-term effects of single irradiation or long-term exposure to repeated small doses of radiation. They reveal themselves after a few or several years after the exposure. Chronic radiation sickness results in:

  • development of malignant tumors
  • infertility
  • hormonal disorders
  • cataracts

Irradiation increases the incidence of leukemia.

Worth knowing

Radiation sickness and pregnancy

The effects of irradiation during pregnancy depend on the dose and duration of pregnancy. In early pregnancy, high-dose irradiation most often leads to intrauterine fetal death, and later irradiation promotes the occurrence of birth defects or perinatal death.

Radiation sickness - treatment

Treatment of radiation sickness depends on its type. For example, in the hematological form, blood substitutes, whole blood, blood products, drugs stimulating the process of myeloid hematopoiesis, antibiotics, antifungal and antiviral drugs are used. In turn, in the case of the intestinal form, parenteral nutrition is necessary. They are used until the damaged digestive tract regenerates.

Worth knowing

Radiation sickness - effects

Irradiation can lead to bleeding disorders, burns, leukemia, water and electrolyte imbalance, damage to cells of the immune system, genetic changes, and more.

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Category:

Oncology