How long does radiation stay in the body after treatment?

Answer 1

What kind of treatment? If you went in for radiation treatment and the source was external (meaning you were positioned and the source was set up and/or moved around you), the radiation passes into you and then it's gone. You don't walk out "radioactive" after this kind of treatment. (Proton treatment is slightly different.) The same idea applies to "seeds" of radioisotopes put in the body up next to the tissue to be treated. When removed, the radiation goes with them. If you have been given radiation treatment by virtue of oral or intravenous preparations, the time interval will vary as the dose and the particular isotope you were given. The different radioisotopes behave differently. With a bit more information, a bit less general an answer may have been able to have been supplied.

Answer 2

There are different types of radiation and many may stay in the body longer than others. However, radiation such as x-rays as well as some forms of radiation from treatments like proton or chemotherapy remain in the body a very short time. Radioactivity, however, decreases slowly over time.

Answer 3

The radiation stops as soon as they turn the X-ray machine off. It is only activated in short bursts, like a photographic flash. It does not store up in your body like a towel being squirted with water.

MRIs do not use radiation. They simply set up an electromagnetic field around the patient or object, hen introduce changes to this field and detect how the body reacts. So, there is never any radiation to begin with.

Answer 4

The radiation does not "last" in your body after a chest x-ray.

Answer 5

For ever