X-Rays and Your Eyes
X-RAYS and your eyes There are severe dangers associated with prolonged exposure to x-ray radiation, but by far the most at risk part of your body would be the eyes. Medical professionals expose themselves to these dangers every day, and therefore need to take extra precaution to thoroughly protect their health and physical well-being, and especially focus on wearing proper protective eye when conducting x-rays. Reasonably high level doses of radiation can harm the iris, conjunctiva, sclera, and blood vessels of the retina. Sclera rRetina Iris Conjunctiva The lens, however, is the most critical area. The lens, the part of the eye used for focusing, is where cataracts form. It can sustain permanent injury from moderately low doses of radiation. Radiation-induced cataracts are distinctive from naturally occurring cataracts in that they form in the "back pole" area of the lens. Lens sensitivity to radiation is caused by the inability to replace normal cells. The cell damage sustained from small doses of radiation consists of the following side effects: Cell death Creation of mutated cells Abnormal cell duplication The average metabolism of the eye can't remove these radiation-damaged mutated cells. This results in an early obscuring of the crystalline lens, which causes reduced vision, and can only be improved upon when the cataract matures (over a period of time) and detaches itself, or is removed from the eye. AaBb AaBb CcDd CcDd Normal Lens Lens with Cataract There are very few treatments for proper and painless cataract removal. The lens is rather radiosensitive, causing cataracts to form at a much larger rate when exposed to doses of ionizing radiation. The ICRP's acceptable threshold for radiation to the eye is 0.5 Gy or 20 mSv in a year. Your eyes are 4X more sensitive to radiation than other parts of the body. With the accessibility of modern designed frames and ultra-light lenses, protective leaded eyewear is used by roughly 95% of the physicians and staff in these vocations: Cardiac Cath EP Labs Urology Orthopedic Surgery Interventional Pain Radiology Management The typical interventional cardiologist gets exposed to 20 to 30 mSv each year. This level of exposure is nearly 10 times greater than the level of exposure received by the entire body, researchers said. With the increased assortment of styles and the capability to offer protective eyewear with prescriptions, there are numerous options accessible to any physician or medical professional currently working today. Resources: http://www.asu.edu/radiationsafety/x-ray/appn_A.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/X_ ray.aspx http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/488507/radiation/28888/Effects-on-the-eyes http://protecheyewear.com/index.php/importance-of-radiation-protection http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/168/6/620.full https://rpoiation-and cataracthtm#CAT FAQO06 http://www.cathlabdigest.com/articles/New-Technology-Addressing-Challenges-Future-Direction- Women-Interventional-Cardiologists-Ca iaea.org/RPOP/RPOP/Content/InformationFor/HealthProfessionals/6_OtherClinicalSpecialities/radiation- PROTECH MEDICAL
X-Rays and Your Eyes
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