Degrees, causes and symptoms of radiation sickness
Content:
- Radiation sickness symptoms
- Forms of radiation sickness
- The degree of radiation sickness
- Diagnosis of radiation sickness
- Treatment of radiation sickness
- Prevention of radiation sickness
Definition of radiation sickness
Radiation sickness is a disease, the occurrence of which occurs as a result of exposure to the human body of radiation of an ionizing type. The symptomatology of the disease depends on the magnitude of the dose of the radiation received, its type, on the duration of the radioactive effect on the body, on the distribution of the dose on the human body.
The causes of radiation sickness
Radiation sickness is caused by various types of radiation and radioactive substances in the air, in food, as well as in water. The penetration of radioactive substances into the body through inhalation of air, during meals with food, absorption through the skin and eyes, during drug treatment using injections or inhalation may be the basis for the onset of radiation sickness.
Radiation sickness symptoms
Radiation sickness has certain symptoms, which depend on the degree of the disease, its formation, as well as development and is manifested in several main phases. The first phase is characterized by the appearance of nausea, vomiting is possible, bitterness and a feeling of dryness in the mouth. The patient begins to complain of rapidly approaching fatigue, headache and drowsiness. This phase is characterized by low blood pressure, in some cases, fever, diarrhea, loss of consciousness.
The above symptoms appear when receiving a dose not exceeding 10 Gy. Irradiation crossing the threshold of 10 Gy is characterized by reddening of the skin with a pronounced shade of bluish color on the most affected parts of the body. For radiation sickness in the first phase, the following symptoms are also characteristic: a change in pulse rate, a manifestation of a uniform decrease in muscle tone, trembling of the fingers, narrowing of tendon reflexes.
After receiving radiation, the symptoms of the primary reaction disappear in about 3-4 days. The second phase of the disease begins, which has a latent (latent) appearance and lasts from two weeks to a month. There is an improvement in the condition, the deviation of well-being can only be determined by the changed pulse rate and blood pressure. In this phase, coordination is impaired during movement, reflexes are reduced, involuntary tremors of the eyeballs appear, and other neurological disorders are possible.
After 12 days at a dose of more than 3 Gy, patients begin to develop progressive baldness and other manifestations of skin lesions. At a dose exceeding 10 Gy, radiation sickness immediately goes from the first to the third phase, which is characterized by pronounced symptoms. The clinical picture shows damage to the circulatory system, the development of various infections and hemorrhagic type syndrome. There is an increase in lethargy, consciousness darkens, cerebral edema increases, muscle tone decreases.
Forms of radiation sickness
The emergence of radiation sickness from the influence on the human body of ionizing radiation with a range of 1 to 10 Gy and more, allows to classify this disease as proceeding in a chronic or acute form. The chronic form of radiation sickness develops in the course of a long continuous or periodic effect on the body with radioactive doses from 0.1 to 0.5 Gy per day and a total dose of more than 1 Gy.
The degree of radiation sickness
The acute form of radiation sickness is divided into four degrees of severity:
- The first degree (mild) refers to the amount of radiation with a dose of 1-2 Gy, it manifests itself in 2-3 weeks.
- The second degree (moderate) includes irradiation with a dose of 2-5 Gy, which manifests itself within five days.
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The third degree of exposure (severe) refers to the dose received within 5-10 Gy, which manifests itself after 10-12 hours.
- The fourth (extremely severe) dose is considered to be over 10 Gy; its manifestation is possible half an hour after exposure.
Negative changes in the human body after irradiation depend on the total dose he received. A dose up to 1 Gy has relatively mild consequences and can be assessed as a pre-clinical disease. Irradiation with a dose of more than 1 Gy threatens the development of a bone marrow or intestinal form of radiation sickness, which can manifest itself in varying degrees of severity. A single irradiation with a dose of more than 10 Gy is usually fatal.
The results of constant or a single minor exposure over a long period (months or years) may manifest consequences in the form of somatic and stochastic effects. Disorders of the reproductive and immune systems, sclerotic changes, radiation cataract, shortened life span, genetic abnormalities and teratogenic effects are classified as long-term effects of radiation.
Diagnosis of radiation sickness
Doctors such as therapist, oncologist and hematologist are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. The basis of diagnosis is clinical-type signs that appeared in a patient after irradiation. The dose received is detected using dosimetric data and by chromosomal analysis within the first two days after exposure. This method allows you to choose the correct treatment tactics, see the quantitative parameters of the radioactive effect on tissues and predict the acute form of the disease.
Diagnosis of radiation sickness requires a whole range of studies: specialist advice, laboratory blood tests, bone marrow biopsy, general assessment of the circulatory system using sodium nuclienate. Patients are prescribed electroencephalography, computed tomography, ultrasound. As additional diagnostic methods, dosimetric tests of blood, feces and urine are performed. In the presence of all of the above data, the doctor can objectively assess the degree of the disease and prescribe treatment.
Treatment of radiation sickness
A person who has received radiation must be treated in a special way: remove all clothes from him, wash him quickly under the shower, rinse the mouth, nose and eyes, wash the stomach and give him an antiemetic. Compulsory in the treatment of this disease is anti-shock therapy, taking cardiovascular, sedative and detoxifying agents. The patient must take drugs that block the symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract.
For the treatment of the first phase of the disease, drugs are used to relieve nausea and prevent vomiting. If cases of vomiting are indomitable, chlorpromazine and atropine are used. If the patient has dehydration, the administration of saline will be required. A severe degree of radiation sickness in the first three days after irradiation requires detoxification therapy. To prevent collapse, doctors prescribe norepinephrine, cardiamine, mezaton, as well as trasilol and counterkal.
Various types of isolators are used to prevent internal and external infections. They are supplied with sterile air, and all medical supplies, care items and food are also sterile. The skin and visible mucous membranes are treated with antiseptics. The activity of the intestinal flora is suppressed by nonabsorbable antibiotics (gentamicin, neomycin, ristomycin) while taking nystatin.
Infectious complications are treated with large doses of antibacterial drugs (ceporin, methicillin, kanamycin), which are administered intravenously. The fight against bacteria can be enhanced with drugs of a biological type and targeted exposure (antistaphylococcal plasma, antipseudomonal plasma, hyperimmune plasma). Usually, antibiotics begin to act within two days, if there is no positive result, the antibiotic is changed and another is prescribed, taking into account bacteriological cultures of sputum, blood, urine, etc.
In severe radiation sickness, when a deep suppression of immunological reactivity is diagnosed and a depression of hematopoiesis occurs, doctors recommend a bone marrow transplant. This method has limited capabilities due to the lack of effective measures to overcome the tissue incompatibility reaction. The donor's bone marrow is selected taking into account a variety of factors and adhering to the principles established for allomyyelografting. The recipient is previously immunosuppressed.
Prevention of radiation sickness
Preventive measures against radiation sickness consist in shielding those parts of the body that are exposed to radiation. Also, drugs are prescribed that reduce the body's sensitivity to sources of radioactive radiation. Those in the risk zone are offered vitamins B6, C, P and hormonal agents of the anabolic type for use.
The most effective preventive measures are considered to be the use of radioprotectors, which are chemical protective compounds, but have a large number of side effects.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
