The topic of discussion here is somewhat tricky, while there are many diseases treated with radiation therapy; the scope of the discussion here goes beyond that. This topic deals with the treatment of radiation injuries such as the radiation resulting from nuclear accidents, or other forms of radiation accidents. Prior to discussing available techniques for the treatment of radiation, let us first examine what radiation itself is all about.
What is Radiation Injury?
Radiation injury could result from the exposure of the body to ionizing radiation. Exposure to ionizing radiation generally refers to the high-energy electromagnetic waves emitted such as X-rays, gamma rays or other particles including alpha particles, beta particles or neutrons. These particles have one unique characteristic -they are able to strip electrons from atomic compounds. Nevertheless the dangers of radiation are related to the concentration level. Low dose radiation has uses in medical applications such as X-rays. Nevertheless high concentrations of radiation is dangerous to humans or other animals, and posses more dangers to the environment as a whole.
Measuring Radiation Exposure in Humans
The levels of exposure to radiation may be difficult to determine, but medical sciences have developed a system to perform this task. The following units, Gray (GY) and Sievert (Sy) are used to signify the levels of radiation in the body. The Sy unit is used to calculate the effectiveness of different kinds of radiation which could cause damage to the body tissues. There is a mathematical formula used to calculate the level of radiation in the body, which is= mGy (1 mGy = 1/1000 Gy) and mSv (1 mSv = 1/1000 Sv). To most of us who are not molecular physicians, the formula looks complicated, but has been used by doctors to determine radiation exposures and treatment options. Exposures to 6 Gy or more is usually fatal.
What Problems Can Radiation Cause to Humans?
Ionizing radiation changes the chemistry of the atoms and molecules which may contain such atoms. This means that when high levels of radiation are released in the natural environment such as through a nuclear accident or bombs, it can certainly kill animals and human beings within the radiation zone. Through changes in the molecules in the environment the human cells, radiation will damage the human cells. Depending on the level of radiation, modest doses of radiation will cause cellular damage, leading to all kinds of sickness such as cancer. Stronger doses of radiation will cause instant death to humans and animals in contact.
Other Health Problems from Radiation
High levels of ionizing radiation may interfere with the production of human blood cells. This will further lead to other complications as a result of the radiation exposure. Further damages of the gastrointestinal tract. Higher levels of radiation may cause more severe problems in humans such as damaging the heart and human blood vessels of the cardiovascular system, and will undoubtedly damage the heart as well as the skin. Radiation can also damage sperm production as well as destroy egg cells, resulting in possible birth defects in infants.
Treating Radiation through Medical Technology
The best form of treatment for persons exposed to high levels of radiation would be for doctors to remove the ingested radioactive materials form the individual exposed to radiation, but this option in not currently available to modern medical sciences. To treat radiation exposure, doctors must first measure the number of lymphocytes in the blood. Lymphocytes refer to white blood cells; the lower the level of lymphocytes in the blood, the more the individual is exposed to radiation. As stated earlier, there is no particular method for treating and removing radioactive compounds from the body. Instead doctors treat the symptoms of the contaminated body so as not to allow the radiation to continue to spread to other organs of the body. So a typical treatment would be for doctors to decontaminate radiation wounds on the skin, by treating with chemicals.
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