Radiation in Diagnostic Imaging: Reduce your Risk

Diagnostic imaging is one of the many keys to quality health care. By using diagnostic imaging to see inside your body, your doctor can avoid unnecessary surgery and can find out what is happening much earlier than she might be able to otherwise.

Many diagnostic imaging exams use radiation to take pictures. Radiation is a very powerful form of energy. And because of its strength, radiation can be harmful. You need to work with your doctor to be sure that your risk of being harmed by radiation is kept as low as possible.

What is the Risk?

The power of radiation can change the cells in your body. Ultimately, those changes can lead to cancer. The more diagnostic imaging tests you have that use radiation, the more your cells will change and the higher your risk will be.

Some people have a higher risk of cancer from radiation than others. For example, the risk is higher for females than for males. Age also matters: the younger you are, the higher your risk. A single CT of the chest has about the same cancer risk for an adult as smoking about 2,100 cigarettes. For a child, a CT could have the same risk as smoking about 6,000 cigarettes.

Unborn babies have the highest risk of developing health problems due to radiation exposure. Because of this, women who might be pregnant should not have diagnostic imaging that uses radiation.

Managing Your Risk

To reduce your risk, it is important to use diagnostic imaging that involves radiation only when necessary. Your doctor is careful in ordering radiation tests because she does not want to expose you to unnecessary radiation.

You can help ensure you do not have diagnostic imaging exams you do not need by keeping track of all of the exams you have ever had. Today more than ever, people change doctors and often use more than one doctor at a time.

By keeping a log of diagnostic exams you’ve had—the date of the test, the type of test, and what it was used for—you can help all your doctors know how many imaging tests you’ve had and whether they can use the images created in a recent exam instead of ordering another. This will help you avoid extra exams and extra radiation.