Effects of Radiation on the Human Body

The human body does not handle extreme ammounts of radiation verry well. You can be exposed to radiation in verious amounts. Everyone is exposed to radiation in some way every day. Eather in the form of sun light, or even nuclear radiation. Prolonged exposer to any type of radiation has some effect on the human body. In the form of light radiation your skin most commenly will just get burned, or worse you can get skin cancer. But if you are exposed to nuclear radiation the effects are more worse. First your hair will start to fall out in patches. this is because the cells in your skin repoduce more quickley than others. And just like in cancer treatment the cells die. Since brain cells do not reproduce, they won't be damaged directly unless the exposure is 5,000 rems or greater. Like the heart, radiation kills nerve cells and small blood vessels, and can cause seizures and immediate death. When a person is exposed to around 100 rems, the blood's lymphocyte cell count will be reduced, leaving the victim more susceptible to infection. This is often refered to as mild radiation sickness. Early symptoms of radiation sickness mimic those of flu and may go unnoticed unless a blood count is done.According to data from Hiroshima and Nagaski, show that symptoms may persist for up to 10 years and may also have an increased long-term risk for leukemia and lymphoma. Radiation damage to the intestinal tract lining will cause nausea, bloody vomiting and diarrhea. This is occurs when the victim's exposure is 200 rems or more. The radiation will begin to destroy the cells in the body that divide rapidly. These including blood, GI tract, reproductive and hair cells, and harms their DNA and RNA of surviving cells. Overall radiation is not good for the human body. In very small ammounts you can live, but if you are exposed to great ammounts you will most likley die.