What Happens to the Body If Radiation Exposure?

Medical Video: Radiation Exposure Medical Course
What is radiation?
Ion radiation
Non-ionic radiation
How to deal with radiation hazards?
1. Keep a distance from the radiation source
2. Reducing the duration of radiation exposure
3. Reducing the chance of radiation ions to join the body
4. Using a protector

Medical Video: Radiation Exposure Medical Course

Unconsciously, our lives are surrounded by radiation. Starting from the environment, such as from sunlight and radon gas in the house, to electronic goods that we use everyday. Is all that dangerous?

Not all radiation is harmful to human health. With technological sophistication, radiation can also be used for various human purposes, such as for the treatment of cancer or for medical tests that use X-rays. But still, we must be careful of radiation exposure, because strong radiation exposure can endanger health.

What is radiation?

Radiation may already be familiar to our ears, but we rarely know exactly what radiation is. Radiation is energy that moves in the form of waves or small particles at high speed. Naturally, radiation is in the sun. Meanwhile, human-made radiation is in the form of x-rays, nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants, and cancer treatment.

There are two types of radiation, namely ion radiation and non-ionic radiation.

Ion radiation

Ion radiation can affect atoms found in living things, so exposure to ion radiation can pose health risks by damaging tissue and DNA in genes. By damaging DNA in the body's cells, how can ion radiation cause cancer.

Ion radiation can cause death or abnormalities in cells, temporarily or permanently. Large amounts of radiation exposure can cause illness or even death within hours or days. Your signs of being affected by radiation are nausea, weakness, hair loss, sunburn, and reduced organ function. Ion radiation can also cause mutations in your genes, so you can lower it to your child. This ion radiation can be found in radioactive elements, cosmic particles from outer space, and x-ray machines.

Non-ionic radiation

You must use and be exposed to this non-ion radiation every day. The electronic items you use turn out to produce non-ionic radiation. We can find these non-ionic radiation in microwaves, cellular phones, television stations, radio, wireless telephones, including the earth's magnetic field, household cables, and other electrical equipment.

Unlike ion radiation, non-ion radiation is unable to move electrons or ionize atoms or molecules, so this radiation is not as dangerous as ion radiation. This radiation also has a much lower frequency than ion radiation, so it might not be harmful to health. However, another theory says that exposure to high-frequency and strong non-ionic radiation can also cause serious problems.

How to deal with radiation hazards?

How severe the impact you can experience from radiation depends on how much your body absorbs radiation from the source. The following are things you can control to minimize radiation exposure.

1. Keep a distance from the radiation source

The closer you are to the radiation source, the greater the radiation exposure you can receive. Conversely, if your distance is further away from the radiation source, then the radiation you receive is much less.

2. Reducing the duration of radiation exposure

Just like distance, your time is longer when exposed to radiation, allowing your body to absorb more radiation. So, your exposure to radiation should be limited to a minimum.

3. Reducing the chance of radiation ions to join the body

This can be done by consuming potassium iodide (KI) immediately after exposure to radiation. This potassium iodide can help protect the thyroid from radiation. Why is thyroid? Radiation has a direct effect on the thyroid gland, which damages the ability of the thyroid gland to produce iodine, where iodine is a substance that is needed to form healthy DNA, immune function, metabolism, hormonal balance, and heart health.

So, consumption of potassium iodide can help counteract the effects of radioactive iodine. Potassium iodide may be effective in helping reduce radiation exposure by reducing the accumulation and storage of radioactive toxins in the thyroid. Consumption of potassium iodide can also reduce the risk of developing thyroid cancer.

4. Using a protector

The protector referred to here is to use absorbent material to cover the reactor or other radiation sources, so that radiation emission to the environment can be reduced. These biological protectors vary in effectiveness, depending on the material used to scatter and absorb radiation.