Acute radiation sickness, known clinically as "acute radiation syndrome" and often called "radiation poisoning" or "radiation sickness", is a set of symptoms that occurs after exposure to a large amount of ionizing radiation during a short period of time. Radiation poisoning is generally associated with acute exposure and has a characteristic set of symptoms that occur in an orderly fashion. Read on to find out more.
Steps
Step 1. Understand the cause of radiation poisoning
This disease is caused by ionizing radiation. This kind of radiation could take the form of X-rays, gamma rays and particle bombardment (neutron beam, electron beam, protons, mesons and others). Ionizing radiation causes immediate chemical effects on human tissues. There are two possible types of exposure: irradiation and contamination. Irradiation involves exposure to radioactive waves as has just been illustrated, while contamination involves contact with radioactive powder or liquid. Acute radiation sickness occurs only with irradiation, while contamination results from ingesting radioactive material through the skin and reaching the bone marrow, where it can result in cancer.
Non-ionizing radiation occurs in the form of light, radio waves, microwaves and electromagnetic radiation produced by radar systems. It does not harm the body
Step 2. Understand the development of radiation poisoning
This disease usually begins when a person's body (or most of the body) has been exposed to a massive dose of radiation that is able to penetrate it, thereby reaching internal organs in a short period of time (usually within some minutes). For the disease to occur it is necessary that the amount of radiation exceed a certain threshold; the magnitude of the dose is the single factor that determines the greatest impact on health. The following exposure times and levels are indicative of the severity of radiation exposure:
- A high dose (> 8 Gy or 800 rad) of radiation absorbed by the whole body in a short period of time; this means that, most likely, death will occur within a few days or weeks.
- A moderate dose (1-4 Gy or 100-400 rad) can cause symptoms to appear within hours or days after exposure. Symptoms will develop fairly predictably, with a good chance of survival, especially with immediate medical attention. Such exposure is likely to increase the chances of developing cancer later in life than that of a person who has not had exposure.
- A low dose (<0.05 Gy or 5 rad) of radiation means that no poisoning will occur and there will likely be no increased likelihood of visible health consequences over the course of life, although there may be a high risk of cancer., compared to that of the average population.
- A single large and rapid dose of radiation absorbed by the whole body can be fatal, while exposure to the same dose spread over a period of weeks or months can produce a much smaller effect.
Step 3. Learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of acute radiation sickness
Radiation exposure can cause acute (immediate) and chronic (delayed-acting) symptoms of the disease. Doctors can identify the level of radiation exposure based on the timing and nature of symptoms, since their level and extent vary with the dosage received (with symptoms conforming to each person depending on the dose). The following symptoms are quite common in a person suffering from acute radiation sickness:
- Nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and diarrhea may occur within minutes or days after radiation exposure; they are known as "prodromes". These symptoms tend to occur between 2 and 12 hours after exposure to 2 Gy or more of radiation (haematopoietic syndrome).
- Within 24 to 36 hours, symptoms may occur intermittently, and a symptom-free period of about a week, known as the "latency phase", may occur. Usually, the person looks and feels healthy for a short time, after which they may fall ill again with loss of appetite, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, general weakness, paleness, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly seizures. and coma. During the "feel good" week, the blood cells in the patient's bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes waste away without being replaced, causing severe damage to the number of white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells, in that order..
- Damage to the skin may also occur. It comes in the form of swelling, itching, and redness of the skin (like a bad sunburn). Usually, skin redness takes place with a dosage of around 2 Gy. Hair loss can occur. Like the gastrointestinal symptoms mentioned above, skin problems can also occur intermittently - the skin may appear to have healed for a short time, and then develop complications again.
- Generally, when the blood of a person exposed to radiation is analyzed, a decrease in cells is observed. This carries an increased risk of infections due to low white blood cell counts, bleeding due to low platelet counts, and anemia due to low red blood cell counts.
- Exposure to 4 Gy or more of radiation will cause a gastrointestinal syndrome, during which the person suffers severe dehydration in the first 2 days, then has a 4 or 5 day respite in which the patient "feels good", but, finally, dehydration returns with bloody diarrhea, as bacteria from the digestive tract begin to invade the whole body, causing infections.
- A person suffering from cerebrovascular syndrome from being exposed to between 20 and 30 Gy of radiation in a single dose will likely experience nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and shock. Blood pressure plummets within hours and eventually the patient falls victim to seizures and coma, and dies within hours or days.
Step 4. If you believe that you or someone else has been exposed to large amounts of radiation, seek immediate medical attention
Even if you haven't experienced the symptoms mentioned, getting examined as soon as possible is always wise.
Step 5. Understand the consequences
There is no single cure (at present) for radiation sickness, but the dosage level determines the consequences, and generally, a person exposed to 6 Gy or more of radiation is doomed to die. For a person who has experienced severe radiation poisoning, therapy is usually supportive. This means that a doctor will prescribe medications or perform procedures to relieve symptoms and help the patient cope with them as and when they arise. In the event of severe radiation exposure where death is the likely consequence, family and friends should be prepared to spend time with the patient (if permitted) and to help with anything that may alleviate his or her ache.
- Therapies may include the use of antibiotics, blood products, colony growth stimulating factors, bone marrow transplantation and stem cell transplantation as clinically indicated. Patients under treatment will often be kept in isolation to prevent infectious agents from infecting other patients (you may therefore not be allowed to sit next to his bed). Medicines can be given for seizures and to relieve anxiety, increasing well-being.
- In most cases, death from radiation sickness is caused by internal bleeding and infection.
- In a person who survives radiation exposure, blood cells will begin to renew themselves after four to five weeks. However, the fatigue, lethargy and weakness will persist for the next few months.
- The lower a person's lymphocyte count 48 hours after radiation exposure, the lower the chances of survival.
Step 6. Be aware of the potential chronic (delayed) effects of radiation exposure
This article has mainly focused on the recognition and response to acute radiation sickness, which requires immediate medical attention. However, even after surviving radiation poisoning, a person can later suffer chronic effects, such as cancer. Studies in animals have shown that severe irradiation can result in birth defects caused by irradiated reproductive cells, but this has not yet been observed in humans at the level of exposure that people have suffered so far.
Advice
- 1 Gy = 100 rad.
- Each year, the average person receives about 3 or 4 mSv from natural and man-made radioactive sources. (1 mSv = 1/1000 Sv)
- Geiger counters can only detect a person who has been contaminated with radiation, not one who has been subjected to irradiation.
- Radition is measured in terms of units that illustrate how much energy has been deposited: röntgen (R), gray (Gy) and sievert (Sv). Although sievert and gray are similar, sievert takes into account the biological effects of radiation exposure.
- Permanent infertility will occur with a dosage of 3 Gy (300 rad) to the testes and 2 Gy (200 rad) to the ovaries.
- A radiation burn is not like a skin burn caused by contact with fire. Instead, it refers to the fact that the skin cells responsible for skin regeneration have been killed by the radiation. Unlike skin burns caused by heat or fire that occur immediately, radiation burns tend to take several days to show.
- Acute radiation sickness is not contagious or transmissible.
- Be aware that some parts of the body are more sensitive to radiation than others. This is why certain areas of the body, such as the reproductive one, are shielded when administering radiation therapy for cancer or other diseases. Reproductive organs, as well as tissues and organs in which cells multiply rapidly, are more prone to radiation damage than other parts of the body.
- The damage to cells caused by ionizing radiation is remarkably similar to the damage to DNA caused by daily metabolic processes (you will probably be aware of the problem of free radicals damaging our cells and the need for antioxidants to help repair the damage). However, research so far has shown that some of the damage caused by radiation is more complex than that done daily by DNA, and as a result, it is not repaired as quickly by our bodies.
Warnings
- The shorter the "lag phase", the higher the radioactive dosage.
- The chances of survival with radioactive dosages greater than 8 Gy, with complete exposure of the body, are minimal. Below this amount, the chances of survival depend on the promptness of medical care and the type of therapy received.
