The series of catastrophic events recently in Japan, which started with a magnitude 8.9 earthquake and a tsunami that eventually led to the threat of a nuclear meltdown in several of their nuclear reactors, had many people questioning about the effect or effects of radiation to the body of a person.
The onset of the symptoms of radiation sickness and the duration depends on the doses of exposure or the length of time of exposure to radioactive materials. The higher the doses of exposure the more apparent the symptoms are and the faster the deterioration of the health of a person will be.
On the other hand, lower doses of radiation but exposure is made under a prolonged period of time may also lead to radiation sickness and other health problems as a consequence of weakening the immune system of a person.
Carsten Peter Photography (National Geographic Photo Gallery)
1.Nausea and vomiting are the common symptoms of radiation exposure, the onset of which depends on whether the exposure is mild, moderate, severe or very severe;
2.Bloody vomiting and diarrhea resulting from damage to the intestinal tract lining generally happens when a person is exposed to 200 rems or more;
3.Headache, fatigue and weakness associated with mild exposure to radiation;
4.In addition to the effects of mild exposure, hair loss, fever, infections, poor wound healing and bloody stools and vomit may happen when there is moderate exposure;
5.Due to the fact that radiation destroys the cells of the body that divide rapidly, it will destroy those included in the blood, hair, reproductive and gastrointestinal tract or GI tract and will eventually harm the DNA and RNA of surviving cells;
6.Since reproductive tract cells divide rapidly, damage to these cells may be manifest for radiation exposure of 200 rems only and sterility may be the consequence for some long term radiation sickness victims;
7.For very severe exposure to radiation, nausea and vomiting may occur in less than 30 minutes followed by disorientation, dizziness and low blood pressure. Under these conditions, mortality rate is high and has been known to lead to death. Severe sepsis is the cause of death most of the times; &
8.Long term exposure to radiation at doses lower than what will result in serious radiation sickness may lead to cancer.
Knowing the Effects of Radiation to the Body
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