Radiation sickness - radiation poisoning

Radiation and Human Health

We know that radiation is dangerous forour health since it interferes with the process of cell division inour body. What is more, there are many different causes and types ofradiation we are supposed to keep ourselves away from. Basically,there is an acute radiation syndrome affecting us due to temporaryexposure to radiation and chronic radiation syndrome taking placeafter radiation exposure in the long run.

Also, we can be exposed to radiationinternally and externally. This means that the radiation can beemitted from the inside of our body, like after consuming somethingradioactive, or from the outside, like after being exposed to anoutside device which emits radioactive rays. Read on to learn moreabout this life-threatening phenomenon.

What is Radioactive and What Can It Be?

There are many different sources ofradioactive emission, causing us to get radioactive poisoning due toexposure. One of the main sources of radioactive elements is warfaresince here many nuclear weapons are used. These are all radioactiveand cause numerous health problems. For example, fallout materialfrom a nuclear explosion is capable of emitting heat radiation whichcauses burns. However, gamma rays from a nuclear explosion cause muchmore damage.

Since all these weapons are produced innuclear reactors, these are causing the radiation sickness too.Moreover, these materials being hard to control often causeexplosions and accidents, leading to exposure and, therefore,poisoning. Also, handling radioactive materials inadequately orwithout proper protection can cause body damage and radiationpoisoning easily.

Manifestations of Radioactive Poisoning

Once a person has been exposed toradioactive elements, his/her blood cell count drastically decreases.Therefore, immunity of this person is jeopardized and this individualmay become sterile, suffer from nausea, headaches, internal bleeding,bone marrow deterioration, diarrhea and dehydration. The worst casescenario is an extremely painful death, with no cure or a chance ofprevention since we are still to learn how to treat radiation damagesuccessfully.

Prevention of Radiation Exposure

The only way to stop radiation fromdamaging your body, is to stay away from it. Those who need to beexposed to radiation should only do this in a minimal timespan, beingas far from the radioactive device as possible. Proximity is known tomultiply the effect and strength of radiation. Also, people who workwith radioactive materials need to wear protective equipment andsuits, handling these materials with extreme care.