
Shielding can help lower radiation exposure. Not surprisingly, X-rays that cover more of the body expose your child to more radiation than X-rays over a smaller part of the body. This is roughly equal to the amount of radiation exposure you would normally get in a couple of years. In contrast, a standard chest CT might provide several hundred times that amount of radiation. This is why most healthcare providers don’t worry much about radiation exposure from a single X-ray. This is not very much radiation-less than you get on an airplane flight. For example, a standard X-ray of the chest provides about the same amount of radiation that you would normally get from background environmental radiation in 2 to 3 days. Different types of X-ray tests use different amounts of radiation. Increased radiation exposure may raise your child’s risk for future cancer. What are the risks to children of radiation exposure from X-rays? A CT scan exposes your child to much more radiation than a single X-ray image (radiograph). A computed tomography (CT) scan is another type of imaging test that uses X-ray technology. Continuous X-ray (fluoroscopy) may expose your child to more radiation than a single X-ray. But some of it can come from certain medical tests, like X-rays.Ĭertain kinds of X-ray imaging expose your child to more radiation than others. Some of this radiation exposure might come from natural sources. The main concern is that radiation exposure may slightly raise your child’s risk of cancer later in life. These lower doses of radiation may not be completely risk free, though. Medical tests use much, much smaller doses of radiation. In very large doses, it can cause severe sickness and death. People who live at high altitudes or who take many flights are around even more radiation exposure.īut radiation can damage living tissue and alter DNA, especially in large doses. Every day, we take in small amounts of radiation from the sun and other sources. You may be concerned about exposing your child to radiation.

You can then view these pictures on a photographic film or on a computer monitor. This lets the radiologist to get X-ray pictures.

X-rays have more energy than rays of visible light or radio waves. X-rays are forms of radiant energy, like light or radio waves. These tests expose children to low doses of radiation. They give your healthcare provider information about structures inside the body. What is radiation exposure from X-rays in children?
