My friend was working in the navy for a good 3 1/2 years. He wasn't in a nuclear ship, he was a signalman (no more signalmen in the navy, they converted to quartermaster). There were radio and communication equipment that he worked closely with and recieved radiation poisoning from the equipment. The doctor said that the radiation cut 10 years off of his life and that he'll be sterile in the next 5 years. He's on the 3 year mark and the sperm tests confirmed that he isn't sterile. Is it possible that the diagnosis of the doctor could be wrong?
2006-07-23 10:50:09 · 3 answers · asked by donovan d 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
Yes. Please bear with the length of my answer.
First and foremost, the United States Navy uses great amount of care in how much radiation both the people who work with the nuclear gear ("nukes") and the folks who don't ("coners" on a sub, anyone not associated with the engine room). The radiation levels that sailors receive is well, well, well below the legal limits specified by the federal government for your average nuclear worker. So, the guy who plays Homer Simpson on a daily basis has a higher limit than sailors do. Furthermore, being on the land and playing games in the sun exposes you to more radiation than a nuclear trained sailor will get in a year. The radiation that the radio gear gives off is less potent than the reactor can put off, so if that gives you any indication as to the faith I put in the doctor's prognosis...
Short answer, your friend is fine. He should be able to have kids if he wants, and they should all have just two eyes and ten fingers (unless three eyes is a dominant gene in his family...)
Hope that helps.
2006-07-23 11:01:24 · answer #1 · answered by Womp 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The doctor could be wrong...but he could be right, as well. AND your friend's sperm could be affected in ways that are not apparent from sperm counts. Any children he fathers could have severe birth defects if he really had a lot of exposure to radiation.
2006-07-23 10:56:02 · answer #2 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Was this a military doc? If so, there's a good chance he's wrong. Tell him to get a second opinion from a civilian doc.
2006-07-23 15:38:02 · answer #3 · answered by anonymous 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋