3 Ways Hospitals Use X-Rays Safely

People can get nervous when doctors need to use an x-ray machine in order to diagnose a broken bone or some other part of their body. Any x-ray technician will know exactly how to keep a patient safe and make sure that no negative effects of the x-rays will occur. There are three main safety concerns that each x-ray technician deals with and would be able to explain to you. Talk to your x-ray technician before your procedure in order to make sure that you feel safe.

1. Making Sure Exposure Time is Low

One of the main factors regarding whether a person will be negatively affected by x-rays is the length of time that he or she is exposed to them. If you are worried at that, feel free to ask your x-ray technician exactly how long the procedure will take. There's an excellent chance that the answer will be under five minutes, which is more than safe. In order to keep the time as short as possible, make sure that you listen to the technician while he or she is giving instructions. The more you follow instructions, the less repetition there will be and you will be able to get out there in no time.

2. Making Sure That You're Protected

When you go into the room where your x-rays are going to be taken, you might feel very vulnerable, especially if you're wearing one of the thin gowns that hospitals use. You'll be happy to know that as soon as you sit down, any part of your skin that could be exposed to the x-rays that is not strictly necessary for the procedure will be safely covered. The covering will be a metal-lined, heavy piece of cloth that will not allow any of the x-rays to pass through. This way, no part of your body that doesn't need to be exposed to x-rays will be exposed.

3. Making Sure the Intensity is Low

Finally, your x-ray technician will keep the x-ray intensity as low as possible. The standard is that a person is exposed to 10 mrem (millirems) of radiation during the course of an x-ray procedure. People who work with x-rays for their job are told to keep below 5,000 mrem in order to stay safe. There are people who receive 500 times as much radiation as an x-ray and are totally fine, meaning that if you undergo an x-ray, you will not suffer any harm.

For more information, talk to your x-ray technician or an x ray sales and service specialist.