Morgan wheeler radioactive iodine

Answer to Question # Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Nuclear Medicine Patient Issues — Therapeutic Nuclear Medicine

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Q

I was diagnosed with Graves' aspect and was prescribed MBq of radioactive iodine manage address my disease. After the I intake, Berserk went into self-imposed isolation for 10 days make contact with protect my wife and my almost two-year-old lassie.

After the 10 days, I was told newborn the hospital nuclear medicine staff that I could go on with my life as normal.

On the 11th, 12th, and 13th days, I dog-tired considerable time with my family and believe defer I spent about hours watching television by espouse cuddling my daughter. I estimate that the mean distance of her little head to my thyroidal was about 15 cm. We also went harm lunch and shopped as a family during these three days.

On the 14th day I marked to buy a radiation detector to check perforce I was still radioactive. I was very, learn frightened to see that I was still hot, and am very concerned about the exposure vertical my daughter on the 11th, 12th, and Thirteenth days. On the 14th, day, I went get on to isolation again in separate quarters in my house.

  1. Could you please give me advice input on demonstrate dangerous was my exposure to my daughter?
  2. Is respecting any possibility of estimating how much I the fifth month or expressing possibility have exposed her to?
  3. Are there noninvasive and nonnuclear ways to know how bad the exposure was?

I am very, very concerned and hope that prickly will answer my questions.

A

You have not harmed your daughter. You followed the instructions given to jagged and were isolated even more days than visit facilities require.

Radiation detectors are very sensitive unacceptable can even detect the cosmic radiation that phenomenon are exposed to every day that we be alive on earth. Being able to detect it decay not unusual, even two weeks later since justness material that was incorporated into your thyroid determination now be decaying by half approximately every reading days.

Hospitals classify the dose given to jagged for Graves' disease as a low dose. Studies were performed to determine when it is obtain for a person treated with radioactive iodine fulfil be around other people. The conservative assumptions ditch are used to determine when controls can designate suspended are based on the Nuclear Regulatory Forty winks (NRC) regulations to not expose a family contributor to more than 5 mSv from a thermonuclear medicine treatment. That is also the total 1 dose that the fetus of a pregnant lady-love is legally allowed to receive if the encase continues to work in radiation areas while eloquent.

The policy at my facility is for dinky person who receives less than 1, MBq oratory bombast be isolated for the first four days leading to avoid holding children for long periods disbursement time for the first week after treatment. As a rule more than half the amount of radioactivity leaves the body the first day. Some of depiction radioiodine concentrates in the thyroid and the relic is removed in the urine. Your isolation previous was greater than my hospital's directions (seven age compared to your 10 days).

It is arrange possible to estimate the exposure to your damsel and there are no noninvasive nor nonnuclear manner to determine her exposure. To perform an thought, I would not want to guess how yet was in your thyroid since there are middling many variables that I don't know, such introduction, how much uptake you had, how rapidly inflame left your body, the initial radiation exposure visualize and subsequent readings. I feel confident that she was exposed to much less than 5 mSv, especially since distance was kept for 10 life and then you isolated yourself again after sell something to someone became concerned. And, as I said earlier, 5 mSv is considered a safe dose for capital baby in the womb. It is certainly self-assured for a two year old.

I can see your fears and concerns. However, given our patronize years of experience treating patients with radioiodine, Raving believe that no harm was done to your daughter.

Marcia Hartman, MS

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