Reuters – A military helicopter drops water on the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, March 17, 2011. … Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant was crippled after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. Fears of radiation poisoning fueled the government to try to prevent exposure by the distribution of iodine.
According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acute radiation syndrome (ARS), known also as radiation poisoning or radiation sickness, is a serious disease, which can occur any time the body is exposed to very high doses of ionizing radiation in a short time frame. The degree to which you may experience symptoms correlates directly to the amount of radiation absorbed by your body. Here are some facts on acute radiation syndrome.
* In order to develop acute radiation syndrome the radiation must penetrate the body to reach your internal organs. Radiation from X-rays and medical procedures such as CT scans are typically too low to cause this, although cancer treatment radiation may possibly be in high enough doses to create symptoms.
* To develop ARS, you must have been exposed to the radiation in a short amount of time, within minutes, and your whole body must have received the exposure.
* Symptoms begin within minutes to days after exposure and they include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. These can last for several minutes or several days and may be intermittent.
* After the initial symptoms wear off, you may feel like you have recovered and then you will get, sick again, this time more seriously, with symptoms of fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. You may even develop seizure and coma. This stage can last much longer, up to several months.
* Damage to your skin can appear within a few hours after exposure and may last a few weeks to a few years, depending on the severity of the dose of radiation exposure. Symptoms include swelling and itching and a burn similar to severe sunburn. Hair loss may accompany these symptoms.
* Death can occur and the probabilities depend upon the amount of radiation received. If death occurs as a result of ARS, in most cases, it is within a few months of exposure, due to bone marrow destruction, infection and bleeding.
* Survivors of ARS may continue to deal with symptoms up to two years after exposure.
* Treatment consists of preventing further contamination, reducing symptoms, treating organs that have been damaged and controlling pain.
* Decontamination is a process that removes external contamination by radioactive particles. Removal of clothing and shoes accomplishes this by removing approximately 90 percent of contamination. Washing your skin will also aid in further removal of any radioactive particles.
Margie Miklas is a critical-care nurse with more than 30 years experience. She currently works in south Florida in a cardiovascular ICU with a specialty certification in cardiac surgery.
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