Health Risks of X-Ray Scans

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Along with CT Scan, MRI, fluoroscopy and others, X-ray scan has become an essential diagnostic tool. X-ray is a high energy electromagnetic emission that can pass through living tissue. The ray passes will leave an image on special films, called radiograph. X-rays passes through easily through muscle tissues, but less emission can get through bone, Lighter areas are bone and more dense tissues, like internal organs. Repeated x-ray scans can be quite risky, it can damage our tissue. The X-ray can kick electrons to higher level of energy, making atoms to behave differently. This can alter DNA in your body. Any chromosome instability can cause various problems, including cancer. In general, cancer can happen when cells become overactive. They may grow and multiply very quickly, causing various disruptions inside our body. X-ray is more powerful than free radical activity, because it’s potentially more damaging and energetic.

Our body has a natural ability to neutralize free radicals, but x-ray is too powerful for our body to handle. It can alter and kill body cells almost instantly. Once a body cell is altered genetically, it will continue to replicate the genetic error and the result is accumulative. If there’s more and more genetic errors in your body, health problems are inevitable. In reality, there’s no safe level of radiation. Even background radiation can alter our body continuously. X-ray magnifies the problem significantly. Hundreds of millions x-ray scans are performed each year, contributing to the higher rate of atherosclerosis and cancer. Atherosclerosis isn’t only caused by plaque buildup, can also be caused mini tumor nidus, because cells in the arteries misbehave. The extent of the damage caused by x-ray scans is determined by the strength and frequency of the exposure. If possible, patients should get fewer x-ray scans at lower dose. In reality, multiple low dose x-ray scans can be more dangerous than a single high-dose x-ray scan.

Patients should make sure that radiologists and technicians in the hospital always critically control the dose of x-ray scans. With higher x-ray dose, it will be easier to read the radiogram. Adverse effects of repeated x-ray scans are not immediately apparent and this encourages some radiologists to use stronger dose. Although the operator is careful and mindful in what they are doing, you should submit to x-ray scans only when it’s necessary. You shouldn’t do everything that the doctor says without any question. If the doctor starts prescribing too many x-ray scans, you should question it, because the risk is cumulative.

Often, x-ray scans are not necessary and many doctors know that. If the practitioner is experienced enough, he could usually tell what’s wrong. If the doctor prescribes x-ray, he should already do every safe examination procedure, such as by feeling your palpation and listening to your heartbeat. The x-ray scan is intended to confirm whether the previous examination results are true. You need to weigh the risk and benefit, before agreeing to an x-ray scan procedure.