Is It OK to Be Around Animals After X-Ray Exposure?

As with any form of radiation, X-rays pose a slight risk to physical health, but you should not be concerned about the health of your animals after receiving one. The risk to you is negligible, and X-rays do not remain in your body after the examination.

What Are X-rays?

• X-rays are a form of radiant energy, similar to light and radio waves, but which can penetrate your body. Like an electric light, the rays are only present when the power switch is turned on. As soon as it is turned off, the X-rays are gone. They are also referred to as “penetrating radiation,” because they can pass through most of your body. They are blocked, however, by bone. This is why an X-ray photograph reveals a detailed image of an individual’s skeleton.

Radiation Risk

• Even the smallest dose of radiation increases your chance of cancer, and repeated doses should be of even more concern. Despite this, in the case of an X-ray, the risk is very low. According to Dr. Robert H. Wagner of Loyola University Medical Center, 1 million people given a 1 rad dose of radiation would result in 800 additional cancers. A chest X-ray exposes the patient to just 10 millirads of radiation, so you might expect eight of those million people to get cancer. Statistics show, however, that one out of four people will develop cancer anyway, so it is impossible to gauge the impact of a single chest X-ray on this group. These statistics also do not take account of the way the body repairs damage caused by radiation.

Benefits

• Doctors and radiologists who perform X-rays, are well aware of the risks involved. When they decide to perform an X-ray, they have weighed that risk against the potential benefits. Using an X-ray to diagnose the cause of your problem will have far more lasting benefits to your health than if you were to avoid an X-ray due to a fear of radiation. If you are particularly worried, you should keep a record of your X-rays, so your doctor has all the relevant information when deciding whether you need one.

Risk to Animals

• When the X-ray is turned off, the radiation is gone. Unlike other forms of radiation, it will not stay in your system afterward, so there is no risk to animals, or to other people, of receiving a radioactive dose from you. Always ask your doctor if you have concerns, but being close to animals after the procedure should not be one of them.