Radiation sickness is a disease that occurs due to the effect of ionizing radiation on the human body. The manifestation of the symptoms of the disease is determined by the size of the dose of radiation received by the person, his species, the duration of the radioactive exposure, as well as the dose distribution on the human body.
In this article, we consider the degree of radiation sickness.
Causes of pathology
Radiation sickness occurs due to the influence of radioactive substances that are in the air, in foods, in water, and also due to various types of radiation. Penetrating into the body during inhalation of air, ingestion or through absorption through the eyes and skin, during drug therapy through inhalation or injection. Radioactive substances can be the beginning of the development of radiation sickness. Many are interested in how many degrees radiation sickness has.
Symptoms of radiation sickness
Radiation sickness is characterized by some symptoms, depending on its degree, formation and development. They appear in the form of a number of main phases.
The first phase is the occurrence of nausea, vomiting, a feeling of dryness and bitterness in the mouth may appear. The patient complains that he is quickly tired, drowsiness and headache are noted. Also, this phase is characterized by low blood pressure, in some cases, fever, loss of consciousness and diarrhea are possible.
The above symptoms occur only when receiving a dose that does not exceed 10 Gy. Exposure to such a threshold radiation is manifested in the form of reddening of the skin with a bluish tint in those parts of the body that have suffered the most. The degree of radiation sickness is the dose of radiation is interrelated.
In addition, the first phase of the disease is characterized by symptoms such as a manifestation of a decrease in muscle tone of a uniform nature, changes in heart rate, narrowing of tendon reflexes and trembling fingers.
What's next?
After radiation has been received, somewhere on the third or fourth day the primary symptoms disappear. After this, the second phase of the disease appears, which has a latent character. It lasts from fourteen days to a month. An improvement is noted, any deviations can be noticed with palpation of the pulse and blood pressure readings. During this phase, coordination during movement is disturbed, trembling eyeballs of an involuntary nature appear, reflexes decrease, and there may also be other defects of the neurological system. It is important for everyone to know the degree of radiation sickness.
After twelve days, and with a radiation dose of more than 3 Gy, patients develop progressive baldness and other symptoms of skin lesions. After the second phase is completed, only single polychromatophilic normoblasts and mature neutrophils can be detected in the bone marrow.
If the dose exceeds 10 Gy, then radiation sickness immediately passes from the first phase to the third, characterized by symptoms that get an explicit expression. The clinical picture reflects the development of hemorrhagic syndrome and various infections, damage to the blood system. Lethargy intensifies, consciousness darkens, muscle tone decreases, and cerebral edema expands.
What forms do radiation sickness have?
This disease occurs due to exposure to the human body of ionizing radiation, having a range from 1 to 10 Gy or more. There is an opportunity to classify this pathology as proceeding in acute or chronic form. The development of the chronic form occurs during a periodic or prolonged continuous exposure to the human body of radioactive doses in the range from 0.1 to 0.5 Gy during the day and a total dose of more than 1 Gy.
Degrees of radiation sickness
Acute radiation sickness is divided into four degrees of severity. A mild degree (first) is one whose exposure value is 1-2 Gy, appears after two to three weeks. Medium severity (second degree) - radiation having a dose of 2 to 5 Gy, which appears after ten to twelve hours. Extremely severe (fourth degree) includes a dose of more than 10 Gy, it manifests itself already thirty minutes after irradiation.
Negative transformations in the human body after irradiation are determined by the total dose received by him. A dose of up to 1 Gy brings the patient relatively mild consequences and is regarded as a disease in preclinical form. If the radiation dose is higher than 1 Gy, then there is a threat of developing an intestinal or bone marrow form of the disease, which can be manifested with varying degrees of severity. If irradiation occurs with a dosage of more than 10 Gy, then, as a rule, everything will end in death.
What are the implications?
The consequences of a single or constant small exposure after many months or years can be revealed later as stochastic and somatic effects. Distant consequences are also classified, such as defects in the immune and reproductive systems, genetic abnormalities, and teratogenic effects. We examined the degree of radiation sickness. But how to identify them?
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosis and treatment of radiation sickness is performed by doctors such as an oncologist, therapist and hematologist. It is based on the identification of clinical type symptoms that appear in a person after radiation. The dose received by him is detected due to dosimetric data, as well as using chromosome analysis during the first two days after exposure to radiation. This method makes it possible to choose the right therapeutic tactics to identify quantitative indicators of radioactive effects on tissues and make an acute prognosis of the disease.
Therapy depends on the severity of radiation sickness.
Features of the treatment of radiation sickness
If a person received radiation, then it must be processed in the following way: remove all available clothing, wash it in the shower soon, rinse the mouth, eyes, nose thoroughly, rinse the stomach and give him an antiemetic drug. In the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to conduct anti-shock measures, give the person detoxification, sedatives and cardiovascular drugs. The patient should also take those drugs that block the symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract.
The treatment of the acute degree of radiation sickness requires the use of drugs that prevent vomiting and stop nausea. If vomiting is irrepressible, the use of atropine and chlorpromazine is necessary. If the patient is dehydrated, physiological saline should be administered. In severe cases of the disease, detoxification treatment is necessary in the first three days after the exposure. To prevent collapse, experts prescribe cardiamine, contrycal, mesatone and trasilol.
Different types of insulators are used to prevent external and internal infections in radiation sickness of the first degree. They supply sterile air, care items, food and medical materials are also sterile. The skin integuments and the visible mucosa should be treated with an antiseptic. To suppress the activity of the intestinal flora, nonabsorbable antibiotics (ristomycin, neomycin, gentamicin) are used, accompanied by the simultaneous use of nystatin. But it is important to determine the degree of radiation sickness in humans.
Complications of an infectious nature are eliminated through the use of antibacterial drugs in large doses (kanamycin, methicillin, zeporin), administered intravenously. To enhance the fight against bacteria, you can use biological drugs that have a targeted effect (hyperimmune, antiseptic, antistaphylococcal plasma). Most often, the action of antibiotics begins within two days, in the absence of a positive result, the drug must be changed and another prescribed, given the bacteriological cultures of blood, urine, sputum, etc.
In severe
If a patient has severe radiation sickness with a diagnosis of suppression of deep immunological reactivity, as well as hematopoiesis depression, experts recommend a bone marrow transplant. This method has limited capabilities, since there are no effective measures to help overcome tissue incompatibility reactions. Donor bone marrow is selected on the basis of a large number of factors, the principles that are established for allomyelotransplantation must be observed. It is necessary to conduct preliminary immunosuppression to the recipient.
We found out how many degrees radiation sickness has.
Preventive actions
Currently, preventive measures to avoid radiation sickness are based on the partial screening of certain parts of the human body, the use of special drugs, the effect of which helps to reduce the patient’s sensitivity to radiation sources, as a result of which the effect of various radiochemical reactions is quite slowed down. In addition, people at risk for this disease are recommended to take vitamins C, P, B6 and anabolic hormonal drugs. Such preventive measures reduce the sensitivity of the human body to the effects of radiation. The most effective and widely used prophylaxis of radiation sickness in acute form is the use of radioprotectors, which act as protective compounds of chemical origin.
In contact with infected objects, shielding of all parts of the body is necessary. In addition, it is necessary to take drugs that can reduce the degree of sensitivity of the body to radioactive radiation.
Radiation in a person’s home
Very rarely, people think about this, but in any apartment or house there is a source of radiation. In especially large quantities, they are in old rooms in which old things and objects are stored.
For example, the old clock of the Soviet era can be a source of radiation. In the state at that time, in the process of manufacturing watches and other items, a light mass based on radium-226 was often used. Although outwardly it was very beautiful, because the arrows could glow in the dark, however, they radiated radiation.
The same applies to watches that were made in the sixties. Such often were mostly covered by light mass, and the proportion of radiation was determined depending on the strength of their glow.
There may also be radioactive dishes. In the Soviet period, dishes made of light green glass were produced. During its manufacture, uranium dioxide was used. In addition, buttons were also made from this element. Another source of radiation may be furniture made of chipboard, as well as other building materials.
Radiation surrounds a person everywhere, and isolating oneself completely is simply impossible. However, small doses are not dangerous, while large doses are quite rare.
We examined in the article how many degrees radiation sickness has.