Good Health l General Information About Radiation Sickness

Symptoms of radiation sickness occur when the body is damaged by a very large dose of radiation over a short period of time.The more radiation a person absorbs, the sicker he or she will get. That's why the first step in preventing harm is to prevent exposure.

If a person is exposed to radiation, especially high dose, there are predictable changes in the body that can be measured. The number of blood cells, the frequency of chromosome aberrations in the blood cells and the amount of radioactive material in urine, are examples of biomarkers that can indicate if one is exposed high dose. If a person does not have early biological changes indicated by these measurements the radiation exposure will not pose an immediate threat to him.

Potassium iodide tablets are often given out to people at risk of contamination or who have been exposed. The compound prevents or reduces absorption of radioactive iodine, a byproduct of nuclear fission, through the thyroid gland, which uses iodine to produce thyroid hormones. But potassium iodide cannot prevent radioactive iodine from entering elsewhere in the body and does not affect the absorption of other radioactive elements, such as cesium, which stays in organs, tissue and the environment much longer than iodine.

Radiation dosage is measured in sieverts (Sv). Short-term exposure of the whole body to about 10,000 mSv or 10 Sv would cause immediate illness, such as nausea and decreased white blood cell count, and subsequent death within a few weeks, according to the World Nuclear Association. The strength of the radiation itself and distance from it are key factors in the severity of radiation sickness.Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhea, headaches and fever.Since radiation destroys infection-fighting white blood cells,

the greatest short-term risk after exposure is infection and the spread of infectious diseases.Ionizing radiation can damage the body's internal chemistry. When damage is severe, the body's natural repair systems can be overwhelmed.In the long-term, cancer is the biggest risk of radiation poisoning. When the body loses its
ability to repair itself and replace damaged tissue, the environment is ripe for cancer cells to grow.

Mutations to genetic material are associated with cancer and may also be passed on to future generations.Children can be more sensitive to radiation exposure because their cells typically divide faster than an adult's, thereby increasing their risk of developing a radiation-related cancer later in life.

Drugs can stimulate the growth of white blood cells and help people fight off infections. Exposed individuals can also be given capsules containing a dye that binds to thallium and cesium and helps the body get rid of these radioactive elements.