Are X-Rays Safe? What You Need to Know

Medical imaging is an essential part of diagnostic care, getting a direct analysis of what’s going on in the body to determine conditions and treatment. One of the most common forms of medical imaging is the oldest, dating back to X-rays, discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895, which allowed for the first glimpse inside the body without the need for surgery.

This process works through exposure to radiation, which, for many people, raises questions of safety despite its longevity in medicine. To help alleviate some concerns, let’s review what X-rays are, how they work, the issues people have with them, and their overall safety.

Dr. Andrew Nangalama and the American River Urgent Care medical team assist residents of the Orangevale and Rancho Cordova, California, areas with various medical imaging services to assess and treat problems, including the use of X-rays for diagnosis.

How X-rays work

Also referred to as plain radiographs, getting an X-ray requires a form of radiation to take internal pictures of various parts of your body. When placed in the device, the body part to be examined is positioned in a manner that can be done while standing or lying down, depending on the area to be assessed. 

The radiation takes one or several pictures, which are placed on film. It is a common method for detecting bone fractures and breaks, confirming the causes of pain and swelling, identifying foreign objects in the body, diagnosing lung infections, and assessing bone and joint structural problems. 

Aside from bone breaks, common conditions this imaging gets used for include arthritis, herniated discs, kidney stones, scoliosis, tumors, and dental cavities.

The fears of its use

Radiation is a scary word for many people, as the effects of many types of this energy can do a lot of damage to our bodies. High doses of radiation, even in small bursts, cause harm by doing damage on a cellular level. However, it presents specific problems for developing fetuses, children, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems. 

This form of radiation qualifies as carcinogenic, and fears of cancer from radiation likely also contribute to preexisting fears of using it, however small the amounts of it you’re exposed to in any one screening.

The safety of its use

However, it’s essential to know that we use radiation in low doses to help, such as exposure to ultraviolet rays, which provides our bodies with vitamin D. X-rays are another naturally occurring form of radiation that, in the small controlled doses we’re exposed to during imaging procedures, don’t pose a health threat.

Thanks to the decades we’ve had to study the effects, we can confirm that in controlled environments where medical professionals work, with all the precautions we take, your risk of cancer from X-rays is very low. With the range of imaging options we have to test for medical problems, X-rays still provide a service to preserving our health after all these years.

This medical imaging method is safe. For any concerns about its use or other questions about diagnostic screenings, please contact Dr. Nangalama and the American River Urgent Care team today.