Ask for alternative procedures that do not use radiation, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasounds, which would provide similar results.įor majority of the patients, the benefits of X-rays far outweigh risks associated with exposure to radiation. Hence, you should discuss your concerns regarding medical imaging procedures with your physicians. While the risk from single X-ray exposure is very low still, an individual’s accumulated exposure over a lifetime to radiation may be significant. You should discuss with your physician or radiographer regarding the potential benefits and risks beforehand in case you are concerned about the procedure. The risks and benefits of getting X-ray examination are weighed before it’s done. The chances of cancer with this radiation exposure are less than 1 in 1,000,000. X-ray exposure does increase your risk of genetic malformations, tissue damage and cancer many decades or years later however, this risk of cancer is believed to be quite small.įor instance, an X-ray examination of your limbs, teeth or chest is equal to exposure for a few days to background radiation. Generally, the quantity of radiation that you get exposed to while undergoing an X-ray is equivalent to getting exposed to natural environmental radiation ranging between a few days and a few years. The information your physician gets from the diagnostic X-ray may even save a life. For the majority of the time, doing an X-ray is fine as the exam may help your physician find out the cause of your problem and decide on your treatment. However, during an X-ray examination, the area of your body that is being examined is exposed to radiation of a low level for a short time. Many individuals are concerned about getting exposed to the radiation during X-rays. Materials with high density such as metal and bones show white on X-ray. The quantity of X-rays absorbed by a particular structure depends upon the density of that structure. A detector placed on patient’s body takes up the rays and forms an image from them. Beams of X-ray pass through the body and are absorbed by different structures in varying amounts. An X-ray is a painless and quick procedure that is used to produce images of the organs present inside your body-especially your bones.
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