What Is Radiation Sickness And What Does It Entail?

Posted by juliabennet on November 1st, 2011

There is no denying that radiation can have harmful and even deadly effects on both the environment and those who dwell within it.  Radiation poisoning and radiation sickness have killed countless individuals throughout the world, and have also had detrimental long-term effects on those who have come into contact with harmful radiation levels in their lifetime.  Additionally, many health problems that have resulted from harmful radiation, have been passed down from parents who were affected to their unborn children.

Radiation poisoning or radiation sickness is a short way of explaining the clinical term known as ARS.  This is Acute Radiation Syndrome.  This type of syndrome is generally defined as health issues that continue for several months following exposure to high ionizing radiation levels.   In addition, as explained above, some effects can continue for a lifetime.

Some people who come into contact with harmful levels of radiation will have few health effects while others will have many.  This is based on two key factors.  The first key factor is the general health of the individual who comes into contact with the radiation.  If the person in question is already dealing with a unhealthy lifestyle or pre-existing health concerns, then radiation can actually heighten these issues.

The second key factor is the amount of radiation that the affected person comes into contact with.  If they come into contact with extremely high levels of radiation they could acquire extreme levels of radiation poisoning that could last months or that could even result in death.  Whereas someone who comes into contact with lower levels of radiation could suffer the effects of radiation sickness for a shortened period of time with no long-term consequences.

Individuals who only come into contact with low levels of radiation will generally experience gastrointestinal problems.  These include but are not limited to nausea, bleeding, or infections.  This bleeding will be a result of low blood counts.  An individual experiencing higher levels of radiation poisoning could actually experience neurological problems that could be long-term or that could sadly result in death.

When most people suffer from radiation sickness they will have to endure blood transfusions to clear their bodies of the radiation and will have to take long term antibiotics to continually fight the spread of the radiation internally.

It should also be noted that radiation levels are generally regulated where they are used.  However, many "safe" levels of radiation have proven to actually cause radiation sickness when they are used by workers on a daily basis.  Studies at one plant that uses nuclear power have proven that long term exposure to even safe levels of radiation can result in various levels of radiation poisoning.  In addition, individuals who work with or around radiation have shown significantly higher chances of being diagnosed with various types of cancers, as opposed to those who don't work around radiation.

Radiation is a dangerous thing even in controlled environments.  This is why more and more agencies are demanding that stronger regulations be put in place to protect those who work with or around elements such as nuclear power.

Radiation poisoning can result in major health concerns or even death. To learn more about radiation sickness and its effects, turn to the top resource for radiation news, Radiation Articles.