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Lead Apron Protection for Patients
As a quick review, x-rays are high energy particles with
the ability to pass through solid objects, such as the
human body. The health care benefits are enormous, however,
there are many safety issues which must be addressed to
avoid potential side effects for overexposure to radiation.
As a patient receiving occasional radiation exposure, there
is virtually no risk whatsoever as the amount of radiation
is not great enough to produce damage to your cells, body
tissues or organs. If you were to wear a lead apron or
other protective device (shielding the body from the radiation
exposure), the x-ray beam could not pass through your body.
Without the x-ray beam passing through your body, the film
would not receive any energy to make an exposure and the
film would be blank. Therefore, in order to obtain a good
quality diagnostic x-ray examination, the patient cannot
have the body part which is being examined, covered or
shielded. However, if you are receiving an x-ray of your
hand or foot, for example, then it would be appropriate
to shield your pelvic area with a lead apron to avoid unnecessary
radiation exposure (as the pelvic area is not being examined
in this case). Competent radiology technologists (the people
who take the x-ray films) take great care to avoid unnecessary
radiation exposure to their patients. This mostly involves
shielding body parts (with lead) not being examined.
Professionals and others who work in a radiology department
are exposed to radiation every day. Over the many years
of x-ray use, it was determined that a certain level of
radiation protection is required for the people who work
around x-rays. The radiology staff work with tremendous
amounts of radiation that could produce harmful side affects
if appropriate protection were not provided. Therefore,
in order to provide a safe environment for health care
workers, guidelines and rules have been established to
ensure safety for all people involved with the production
and interpretation of radiology procedures.
Howard I. Potash, M.D.
Radiologist
Drs. Hill & Thomas Co.
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