How often can children's lungs be x-rayed?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

It's hard to believe that just over a century ago, people did not hear about such a mundane procedure as x-rays. The use of x-rays for medical purposes began almost immediately after their discovery. Such a study is based on their peculiarity of weakening, passing through the tissues of the body, and being reflected in the form of an outline of the examined organ on the surface of the future image.

Today, this is one of the most reliable and common ways in the medical environment to confirm such serious diagnoses as tuberculosis or pneumonia. Of course, the functionality of X-rays is not limited to the diagnosis of these diseases. After all, with their help you can enlighten almost any human organ.

How is it done?

For the subject, this procedure is not difficult. In the X-ray room, as a rule, the patient is asked to wear a special lead apron as protection, covering the entire body and leaving a gap only in the area that needs to be examined. To undergo the procedure, the patient must undressbelt and get rid of all metal - jewelry, hairpins, pins.

Then the patient stands on a special platform and, on command, is pressed against the metal plate with his chest, and with his chin - against the stand intended for this in the body of the apparatus. After that, the person conducting the examination retires behind the protective screen and gives the command to inhale and hold the breath for a while.

This is done so that the chest at the time of the picture is the maximum width, and the gaps are open. In this position, the image is easiest to study and identify problems. How an x-ray of the lungs of a child is taken, the photo below illustrates quite clearly. It shows the position of a small patient in front of the apparatus and what is the role of the parent in this case

Where can I take an x-ray of a child's lungs?

Such studies are carried out by medical institutions that have a qualified specialist with a permit for this type of work, an equipped office with a device equipped with the necessary documentation, and, of course, permission for this type of activity.

Most often, such rooms are equipped in clinics, emergency rooms or specialized phthisiatric medical facilities. According to sanitary standards, X-ray equipment should be placed in a separate building. It is not allowed to arrange such an office in residential buildings, the first floor of which is given over to a medical facility.

Who is allowed to perform this procedure?In order to be admitted to an x-ray examination, a specialist must have a completed education in the field of medicine at a level not lower than medical, in addition to undergo special training. This work is classified as harmful, so employees of x-ray rooms have the appropriate category and preferential experience.

Parental doubts

When parents are told that their child is scheduled for an x-ray, many questions immediately arise. Chief among them: how necessary is this type of research? Is there an alternative? What kind of option are we talking about - fluorography, x-ray or computed tomography? What to do if the results obtained in the picture do not satisfy the doctors? Can children have repeated lung x-rays at short intervals?

On the last point, you should immediately decide: do not agree to a second procedure! Take the results you have and take them to another doctor.

X-ray of the lungs in children is prescribed, as a rule, rarely, only for important indications. But sometimes there is no other way to confirm or deny a certain disease. The most informative and at the same time sparing of the types of X-ray examination is computed tomography. But this procedure is not too easy and requires a long stay in a motionless position, which is sometimes impossible for the baby.

Which is worse?

Children's lung x-rays are considered slightly more harmful than tomography, but the procedure itself takes much lesstime and is prescribed even for newborns. Since the slightest movement during the acquisition process can spoil the result, parents of the smallest patients are encouraged to be present during the procedure and hold the baby still for the entire short time.

At the same time, the body of the parent, as well as the rest of the body of the baby (except for the examined one), must be protected by a protective lead screen.

The most severe and dangerous to he alth is fluorography, which is strictly forbidden for children to do. It is applied from the age of at least 16-18 years.

A few words about adults

He althy people do not need an x-ray procedure, but according to existing sanitary standards, the entire adult population is required to undergo a preventive fluorographic examination once a year with a mark in the outpatient card and in the sanitary book. Mass checks of employees exist in many enterprises.

Some argue whether it is possible to detect with the help of fluorography or x-ray of the lungs the presence of such a bad habit as smoking. Unfortunately no. It is possible to determine this only with the help of computed tomography, and then only when serious negative changes began in the lungs of a smoker with many years of experience.

Can pregnant women do this procedure? No, X-rays are categorically contraindicated for them due to the very high risk of developing a mutation in the fetus.

Then what?

What happens after the procedure? The next step is to studyemployee-specialist of the received picture and its description. The qualifications of a medical worker in this case is very, very important. His task is not to miss the slightest detail in the picture.

How to determine, for example, lung cancer? To confirm this diagnosis, computed tomography or x-rays are used. But if there are no other pronounced symptoms of this dangerous disease, most often lung cancer is detected on a fluorographic image. It looks like a round spot and visually resembles a coin.

The presence of pneumonia is indicated by a clearly visible dark area on the lung x-ray, by the form of which the doctor determines the localization and stage of the disease. If we talk about tuberculosis, then its initial signs are detected during the annual fluorographic examination (in adults). If there is suspicion, the patient is sent for an x-ray, which has a much greater effectiveness.

If the patient has bronchitis, the x-ray shows thickening of the bronchial walls, enhanced lung pattern, and blurred edges of the roots of the lungs. Inflammation, like pneumonia, has the appearance of a clearly defined dark spot in the picture. The symptoms of emphysema are similar to those of bronchitis, but even more pronounced.

About results

After deciphering the picture, the specialist writes down the results - his conclusions in the patient's card and in the referral form. This entry is an official confirmation or refutation of the diagnosis. In this case, the use of the term "blackout" denotes the presence of a darkspots in the lighter area of the lung scan. But sometimes this also applies to spots that are lighter than the surrounding background.

When it comes to he althy lungs, a homogeneous structure, a clear even pattern and the absence of any blackout spots are indicated.

X-ray of a child's lungs - how often?

The vast majority of parents ask the same questions. How often can an x-ray of a child's lungs be taken? How harmful is the examination? What is the total dose of radiation during the year should and can be considered safe?

X-rays that affect the body during this procedure are radioactive. When radiation is received in serious amounts by cells, a mutation called radiation sickness is possible, and, as a result, various tumors.

But the rays emitted by an x-ray machine carry an extremely low dose of such radiation. It can be compared with the dose received in a large city with a dense population and an average level of background radiation for several days.

On the expediency of appointments

Single x-rays of the head, hips or chest are routine medical examinations and are not considered to cause any specific harm to the child. And yet, such studies are prescribed by doctors only in case of serious danger or the impossibility of making a correct diagnosis in their absence.

Thus, a course of antibiotics prescribed for suspected pneumonia without sufficient groundscan be much more harmful than a preliminary lung x-ray. For children, the need for such an appointment must be established precisely. There are many cases in medical practice when microdoses of radiation received by a baby are much more harmless to his he alth than the consequences of a categorical refusal to take an x-ray. After all, he is able to detect a fracture of the bones, their correct or incorrect accretion, a foreign body in the stomach, and the like.

We all receive a certain dose of radiation from air, food and water. And also at airports during the passage of introscopes and during air flights.

When and how much?

How much x-ray exposure is considered safe? First of all, it should be taken into account that each locality has its own radiation background. It depends on the ecological situation, the presence or absence of rocks, the height above sea level.

According to the WHO, an x-ray is prescribed for a child only if it is not possible to make a correct diagnosis without it. Most often we are talking about injuries and bruises of the skull, jaw, problems with the hip joints. If no more than 5-6 such procedures are carried out during the year, there will be no changes in the radiation background of the child's body and negative consequences can be neglected.

According to statistics, this norm is exceeded extremely rarely, except for cases of serious injuries, in which the need for an x-ray occurs much more often. It is very important on which devicea picture is taken. Modern technology allows minimizing the impact of X-rays on the child's body, while achieving the most accurate image.

That's why parents who have received a referral for an x-ray of the child's lungs, where to do it, should think carefully. An institution with state-of-the-art medical equipment should be chosen, especially if the total radiation dose it has received is already quite high.

Let's talk about the little ones

One of the most pressing parental questions: Do children have lung X-rays in the first year of life, and if not, starting at what age? And how often are such studies possible?

Sometimes a baby needs an X-ray examination immediately after birth - in case of deformity of the skull bones or dislocation of the hip joints when moving through the birth canal. In such situations, the picture is taken in the very first days after birth. Children during the procedure are protected by placing them in a special chamber and closing the rest of the body from radiation, except for the area under study.

When is a lung x-ray required for children? The doctor will certainly prescribe a picture of the chest, suspecting pneumonia, in case of a fracture of the ribs or problems with the spinal column. For prevention, this procedure is not used. The method for detecting tuberculosis in children is the Mantoux test, and only with a constant increase in it, the doctor prescribes an additional examination of the lungs.

Sometimes a child needs a dental exam in cases of dental problems. If there is a suspicion that a foreign body has been swallowed by the baby,order an abdominal examination.