What Exactly Are The Health Risks Of Radiation Exposure?
Everyone is talking about radiation these days and putting lot of fear into the general populace. The question of the presence of radiation is a great question to ask but there is another big question that needs to be answered. It is true that radiation is dangerous but what can it do? In short, what exactly are the health risks of radiation exposure?
How Much Radiation Are You Getting?
Before delving into the exact repercussions of radiation exposure, you first want to realize that the amount of radiation that you get will have a lot to do with what symptoms and effects you experience, if any. You could receive a very high dose of radiation for a short period of time or you could receive lower doses of radiation over a longer period time. In both these circumstances radiation would build up in the body and most likely do considerable damage. You could also be exposed to lower doses of radiation a few times in your life and not experience any adverse effects. Think of x-rays in this context.
Cancer
The effect that most people are aware of as being linked to large doses of radiation is cancer. Cancer is the uninhibited growth of cells. In healthy human beings, the body has mechanisms for controlling the growth of cells whether these cells are being repaired or even replaced. Of course, this is not all radiation can do.
DNA Changes
DNA can be changed through radiation. This is a problem because DNA contains the schematic that the body uses to create new cells properly. Alterations in DNA, also known as mutations, can be fixed by the body in some cases but often are not. When the body's ability to create new cells as it should is compromised then many other health issues will result.
Physical Symptoms
What about the symptoms that a person who received too much radiation will experience? Especially in cases of acute exposure where a person will have received high doses of radiation for a short time, there are a number of physical symptoms that are likely to develop. A person may get radiation burns or radiation sickness to begin with.
The specific symptoms may also include diminished organ function, hair loss, nausea, and weakness. The type of high dose of radiation that can cause symptoms like these may accelerate aging or even kill an individual. If exposure to radiation is going to cause death then the individual will most likely die within 2 months of the exposure.
How Much Radiation Is Safe?
Radiation is to be avoided whenever possible because of the health risks just mentioned. The level of exposure at which individuals will experience these symptoms can vary so it's hard to tell how much radiation is too much until serious damage has been done. Radiation is never really safe but there are levels that the body can tolerate without too much damage. Whatever the source of radiation that you face may be, you always want to be aware of just how many health risks radiation carries with it.
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