General Medical Advices

Posts Tagged ‘Ionizing radiation’

How can ionizing radiation affect children?

Like adults, children are exposed to small amounts of ionizing radiation from the soil in which they live, food and water to eat and drink, the air we breathe and from extraterrestrial sources. There is no evidence that exposure to ionizing radiation levels that normally occur affects the health of children or adults.

If a pregnant woman is exposed to high levels of ionizing radiation, it is possible that your baby is born with certain brain abnormalities. There is a period of 8 weeks during early pregnancy when the fetus is particularly sensitive to the effects of ionizing radiation levels higher than normal. As ionizing radiation levels increase, so does the likelihood of brain abnormalities. Read the rest of this entry »

How might I be exposed to ionizing radiation?

You are exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation from the sun, rocks, soil, natural sources in the body, radioactive waste from nuclear weapons tests in the past, certain consumer products and radioactive materials released from hospitals and from nuclear power plants and coal.

You are exposed to more if you work as a pilot, flight attendant, astronaut, medical or X-ray, or work in an industrial plant or nuclear power.

You receive additional exposure for each x-ray and nuclear medicine, and the amount depends on the type and number of tests. Read the rest of this entry »

Ionizing radiation is any of several types of particles and rays given off by radioactive material, high voltage equipment, nuclear reactions and the stars. The types that are generally important for your health are alpha and beta particles, X rays and gamma rays.

Alpha and beta are small pieces of high speed, emitted by radioactive atoms when they are transformed into another substance. X-rays and gamma rays are types of electromagnetic radiation. These radiation particles and rays carry enough energy to displace electrons from atoms and molecules (such as water, protein and DNA) that impact or passing by. This process is called ionization, so that this radiation is called “ionizing radiation.” Read the rest of this entry »