Radiation Effects
| Dose (Sv) | Clinical picture | White blood cell | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≤1 | Mild or absent symptoms Episodic vomiting and nausea for 48 hours | Mildly depressed white blood count at 2-4 weeks | No fetal effects Counselling needed if pregnant and >100 mSv |
| 1-8 | Haematopoetic syndrome, anorexia nausea and vomiting, fatigue 1-4 hours after exposure Latent 2-28 days, bone marrow suppression, leukopenia, infection, thrombocytopenia, bleeding, bruising Hair loss at 2-4 weeks | Serial lymphocyte counts predict severity | Survival about 50% without treatment, 60% with medical treatment |
| 6-20 | Gastrointestinal syndrome, early nausea and vomiting. Fatigue and anorexia, latent hours – 1 week, severe gastrointestinal symptoms: fever, abdominal pain, cramps, watery diarrhoea, haemorrhage, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration | Also associated with bone marrow suppression | >10 Sv usually results in death within 2 weeks |
| >20 | Almost instant vomiting, explosive bloody diarrhoea, headache, collapse, level of consciousness, agitation, burning sensation of skin, may have lucid interval in hours, death from coma, convulsions, hypotension, shock | Death in a few days |