New dangers of CT Scans
Researchers are finding out that CT Scan systems are emitting more radiation than they should in many hospitals causing patients to experience radiation poisoning type conditions. A school teacher went in for a CT Scan and over the next several weeks found her hair falling out in a arc from her left temple across the top of her head to her right temple. This was the exact area that was radiated by the scanner. She hired a lawyer to help her deal with the hospital and the lawyer found two other cases that were almost identical. Presently Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles is being investigated for giving excess radiation to more than 250 patients. Further research is finding that depending on the type of scan the radiation could be up to 13 times higher than normal. This extra radiation is dangerous and could potentially cause cancer or other diseases over time. Until these issues are solved in hospitals over the country doctors are recommending only performing scans if they are absolutely required. Since there is no way for the patient to determine which scanning systems are putting out too much radiation the best thing is to limit the number of actual scans. Experts in the field are working on standardization on the amount of radiation that is released for a particular scan so that doctors can control how much radiation their patients are exposed to. This is very important to spinal cord injury patients that often get CT scans to determine the damage of the spinal cord with respect to excess fluid in the cord. Getting a scan every three weeks or so is not unusual putting these patients in danger of radiation damage. (Source CBS News).
As always talk to your doctor to figure out the best and safest testing procedures for you. It is unfortunate that a testing platform that doctors and patients have been depending on is found to be extremely dangerous. Until this is resolved it may be best to switch over to an MRI which uses magnetism rather than radiation to get the pictures. Obviously people that have metal objects in their bodies like cochlear implants or pain blockers cannot use the MRI or the implants would be damaged. We are all responsible for our own safety and that includes medical procedures and medicines. Everything has contraindications that need to be looked at to make sure that the test is not more dangerous than the issue we are testing for. That includes watching for things like this that your doctor may not know about. This is especially true of tests like CT Scans that have been around for a long time and have not been reported to have issues. Radiation is something we should all be worried about regardless of the amount because it can potentially cause cellular or DNA damage over time. Just as CT Scans may have issues X-Rays could also be a problem if your doctor asks for a large number of them over a short period of time.
Search the Internet periodically for tests and medications that you are taking to verify that what you are taking are safe. You cannot expect that your doctor is up to speed on every change and issue that pops up. We all have to take responsibility to understand what is happening to us and any issues that could be tied to contraindications from both medications and procedures. These need to be watched for and the phone numbers for doctors and the hospital should be close by in case you need to talk to them. That way you can get the best care and be sure to know that if there is a problem medical personnel will know what to do so you are safe.
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