Talk to your doctor or radiologist about any concerns you may have about the risks of a given procedure. For more discussions about benefit versus risk, see the Benefits and Risks section. The Image Gently Alliance: imagegently. Please type your comment or suggestion into the text box below. Note: we are unable to answer specific questions or offer individual medical advice or opinions.
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Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the ACR-accredited facilities database.
This website does not provide cost information. The costs for specific medical imaging tests, treatments and procedures may vary by geographic region. Web page review process: This Web page is reviewed regularly by a physician with expertise in the medical area presented and is further reviewed by committees from the Radiological Society of North America RSNA and the American College of Radiology ACR , comprising physicians with expertise in several radiologic areas. Outside links: For the convenience of our users, RadiologyInfo.
Toggle navigation. What are x-rays and what do they do? Measuring radiation dosage Naturally occurring "background" radiation Effective radiation dose in adults Benefit versus risk. Measuring radiation dosage When radiation passes through the body, some of it is absorbed. Naturally occurring "background" radiation We are exposed to natural sources of radiation all the time. To continue reading this article, you must log in.
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Your appointment letter will mention anything you need to do to prepare. You won't experience any after effects from a standard X-ray and will be able to go home shortly afterwards. You can return to your normal activities straight away. You may have some temporary side effects from the contrast agent if one was used during your X-ray. For example, barium can turn your poo a whitish colour for a few days and an injection given to relax your stomach before the X-ray may cause your eyesight to be blurry for a few hours.
Some people develop a rash or feel sick after having an iodine injection. The X-ray images will often need to be examined by a doctor called a radiologist before you're told the results. They may discuss their findings with you on the same day, or they may send a report to your GP or the doctor who requested the X-ray, who can discuss the results with you a few days later. People are often concerned about being exposed to radiation during an X-ray.
However, the part of your body being examined will only be exposed to a low level of radiation for a fraction of a second. Generally, the amount of radiation you're exposed to during an X-ray is the equivalent to between a few days and a few years of exposure to natural radiation from the environment.
Being exposed to X-rays does carry a risk of causing cancer many years or decades later, but this risk is thought to be very small. For example, an X-ray of your chest, limbs or teeth is equivalent to a few days' worth of background radiation, and has less than a 1 in 1,, chance of causing cancer. For more information, see GOV. There is agreement that mammography breast x-rays is important in the fight against breast cancer. But scientific information is still growing on the proper role of mammography.
Right now it is believed that women more likely to need mammography are those with symptoms, or those past menopause, or those with a personal or family history of breast cancer. Talk with your doctor about the value of breast x-rays in your particular case.
Cut out the X-Ray Record Card and keep it in your wallet. When an x-ray is taken, have the date, the type of exam, and where the x-ray is kept, filled out on the card.
Then, if another doctor suggests an x-ray of the same part of your body, you can tell him or her about the previous x-ray.
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