X-rays have helped doctors make a better decision regarding a patient’s diagnosis for more than 100 years. Because this medical scanning technology has been around for so long, and because it does use a small amount of radiation, it has garnered a number of inaccurate assumptions.

Let’s talk about some of the myths and the actual facts about X-ray technology, and where you can go to have a swift and accurate X-ray for your doctor’s assessment.

Myth #1: X-Rays Cause Cancer

Although radiation can lead to cancer if you are exposed to an exorbitant amount of it, an X-ray emits only a minimal amount of radiation to your body. Even more-advanced scanning systems that harness X-ray technology, such as CT scans (CAT scans), expose your body to a lot more radiation than X-rays do.

Either way, your doctor will keep an eye on how much radiation exposure you receive. Feel free to ask your doctor about this issue, too.

Myth #2: X-Rays Make You Radioactive

During an X-ray scan, you do not get exposed to lingering radiation – and you are thus unable to expose other people to radiation following your examination. This is because X-rays aren’t trapped in your body but rather pass through it.

You can actually become slightly radioactive by consuming certain foods. Bananas and Brazil nuts both have high levels of potassium, and potassium is naturally slightly radioactive. Keep in mind that this radioactive material is in such small quantities that it does not cause harm.

Myth #3: Medical X-Ray Scans Can Make You Infertile

This is one of the most common myths about X-rays, and you might have some concerns yourself in this regard. However, there have been no reported cases of infertility being caused by an X-ray scan.

Pregnant women will receive an ultrasound scan to get a picture of the baby rather than a radiation-based scanning technology, but this is to provide extra precaution for the baby. It has nothing to do with fertility or infertility.

Myth #4: X-Rays Are Outdated and Are No Longer Necessary

X-rays are one of the most common diagnostic imaging tests performed worldwide. By far, it is the most powerful tool to examine teeth, bones, and structural injuries in a quick and relatively inexpensive manner.

Myth #5: X-Rays Cause Harmful Side Effects

X-rays do not result in any side effects and are safe to perform when recommended by a medical professional. If your doctor suggests that you have an X-ray, it is because the benefits of X-rays to your health far outweigh any risks.

Common Myths About X-Rays And The Real Truth

• Myth: You can get cancer through X-Rays.
• Truth: No, the dosage is too small for it.

The most common misbelief about X-Rays is that you can get cancer because of it. This is not true. The dosage of radiation you receive in a single examination is as small as the radiation you get from your everyday environments such as food, cosmic rays, and radon gas. Rather, flying in a plane gives you three times the radiation that an average x-ray examination will expose you to!

Thus, put your mind at ease. Even if you get two dental X-rays every year for all your life, the chances of you getting cancer are infinitesimal.

• Myth: You can get radioactive through X-Rays.
• Truth: There is no lingering radiation.

The very nature of X-rays is to pass through the body, meaning they do not stick around in your body. As a result, you cannot expose other people to radiation after your own examination! The only way you can be radioactive is if you swallow a radiation source.

For the purpose of clarity, we should specify that some foods like fruits and vegetables can absorb radioactive chemicals from the soil. If you eat these foods, your saliva and some other body fluids do become radioactive, but it is a negligible amount.

• Myth: All X-Ray scanners are harmful.
• Truth: The exposure is very slight and not dangerous at all.

Medical scanners like CT scans are not the only machine that uses X-Rays. Airport scanners are another conventional device that utilizes them. People think that all these scanners are harmful to us. The truth is that the amount of radiation they give out is insignificant.

For instance, a scanner at the airport gives 0.00002 mSv radiation, while the background radiation we get in a year by devices, food, and environment around us is typically 2.4 mS!
As long as you don’t opt for leisure scans, there is no danger to your health. Leisure scans are private X-rays that hale and hearty people get just to make sure that nothing may be wrong with them. These scans, done yearly, expose a person to about 10mSv, which is equal to the background radiation of five years!

• Myth: You can become infertile through X-Rays
• Truth: There is no scientific evidence of it.

Till now, there are no known cases of infertility due to X-rays and studies have shown that the effect on fertility is almost zero. That said, X-Ray tests are not allowed when a woman is pregnant as it exposes the fetus to a very high dosage of radiation. This can lead to malformations, restricted growth, and even miscarriage.