are x-rays bad for you?

Question

i recentley fell and sliped on a rock that was in the water,and i stopped myself by landing on my arm,well it was badly busied and i thought i sprained it or cracked it so i had a couple of x-rays done on my arm ,and that was the first time ive ever had x-rays done before and im the type of person that worries about everything,but i was wondering if those x-rays were bad for my body. i know x-ray machines are more advanced these days but someone please ease my mind! thanks :)

Answer 1

Are X-Rays Bad For You?
X-rays are a wonderful addition to the world of medicine; they let doctors peer inside a patient without any surgery at all. It's much easier and safer to look at a broken bone using X-rays than it is to open a patient up.
But X-rays can also be harmful. In the early days of X-ray science, a lot of doctors would expose patients and themselves to the beams for long periods of time. Eventually, doctors and patients started developing radiation sickness, and the medical community knew something was wrong.

The problem is that X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation. When normal light hits an atom, it can't change the atom in any significant way. But when an X-ray hits an atom, it can knock electrons off the atom to create an ion, an electrically-charged atom. Free electrons then collide with other atoms to create more ions.

An ion's electrical charge can lead to unnatural chemical reactions inside cells. Among other things, the charge can break DNA chains. A cell with a broken strand of DNA will either die or the DNA will develop a mutation. If a lot of cells die, the body can develop various diseases. If the DNA mutates, a cell may become cancerous, and this cancer may spread. If the mutation is in a sperm or an egg cell, it may lead to birth defects. Because of all these risks, doctors use X-rays sparingly today.

Even with these risks, X-ray scanning is still a safer option than surgery. X-ray machines are an invaluable tool in medicine, as well as an asset in security and scientific research. They are truly one of the most useful inventions of all time.

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Answer 2

Yes. There's a reason the dentist goes into the other room, and they make you wear a lead apron when you get a dental X-ray.

The risk is *extremely* minor if you are getting a small number of them done. The government considers it safe for people to get the equivalent of 50 X-rays per year worth of radiation from various sources. They also find that that's the equivalent of flying 100000 miles per year in airplanes (there's more radiation up there because the atmosphere does a good job of absorbing X-rays and energetic charged particles from space). So you shouldn't be worried about a few arm X-rays. Doctors weigh the risks of doing an X-ray versus the risks of not treating some potential symptoms when they decide to give X-rays. The only people who are generally involved with enough X-rays for it to be a significant health risk are the technicians, and, of course, that's why they leave the room when they do the procedures and flip a switch remotely.

Answer 3

They can be but in order for anything bad to happen you would probably need to be exposed to it like thousands of time everyday for a period of years. A long time ago some shoe stores had a machine that would X-Ray your feet to help fit your shoes but they were pulled due to the reasons you mentioned. Exposure for both the customer and the shoe salesman. Bare in mind these guys were looking into this machine countless times a day for years.

Plus today's X-Ray machines are a lot better at sealing radiation than the earliest ones (earliest meaning late 1800s) which wouldn't even be in working condition in a museum let alone a hospital anymore.

Doctors have to tell you there's a risk no matter how infinitessimal it is because if they didn't and you got sick your family could turn around and sue them. So doctors are taught to give these disclaimers. This is what's called "covering your own ***".

Answer 4

Not at all in your case.
X-Rays will leave behind a very minute amount of radiation. For it to become dangerous you would need a lot more xrays, your hospital and GP will keep a record of your X-Rays and will know about it should you need to have one in future. I have had Xrays twice on each side of my mouth and had my chest x-rayed.
Doctors and Nurses usually hide behind a screen of some sort to avoid over exposure because they take xrays on a daily basis.

Answer 5

Technically, yes, they are bad for you, but not to the degree that it would ever actually affect you. The amount of radiation is very minimal. Keep in mind that radiation is all around us - you're being bombarded constantly by tiny, tiny amounts of radiation. You would need to have many, many, many, many (am I getting the point across?) many, many, many x-rays before you would see any problems from the radiation exposure. Don't worry about this...it's a minimal amount compared to what you absorb naturally.

Answer 6

taking alot of x-rays is bad for bone marrow..... 1 or 2 does not harm you and even if it does a little, it recovers with time........

Answer 7

Nope- if they'd overdosed you you'd know to it by now- You essentially get bombarded with electrons, and if you'd been exposed to too much youd have leasions and ulcers on your skin, and would vomit out your internal organs before dying in extreme cases of radiation poisoning.

Answer 8

Yes, x-rays are bad for you.

Answer 9

no only if you do them alot of times in the the same day
then there bad