I'm Having A CAT SCAN Done. Is It Safe? Are There Any Risks and/or Side Effe!
Question: I'm having CAT SCANS done of my Abdomen and Pelvis. Are CAT SCANS Safe? Are there any side effects? Thanks!
Answers: I'm having CAT SCANS done of my Abdomen and Pelvis. Are CAT SCANS Safe? Are there any side effects? Thanks!
A MRI (using a magnetic field and RF signals) and a CT scan (using ionizing radiaton) are different exams. Iodinated contrast is used in CT scanning, and Gadolinium is used in MRI scanning. Just 10-15 years ago, we used an ionic contrast agent in CT scanning. Many people had allergic reactions to this type of contrast. But now, practically every imaging department/facility uses a non-ionic contrast agent. The rate of allergic reactions has dropped dramatically. In fact, I would be hard pressed to remember the last time a patient of mine had any type of reaction from this contrast. Most everyone will experience a funny, metallic taste in their mouth and a warm, flushed feeling (especially in the genital area, believe it or not!) upon injection of this contrast, but that sensation only lasts a minute or so.
As to the risks and benefits, you should check out this patient preparation and education page. It has a lot of information, in layman's terms!
"What are the benefits vs. risks?
BENEFITS:
***Viewing a CT scan, an experienced radiologist can diagnose many causes of abdominal pain with very high accuracy, enabling faster treatment and often eliminating the need for additional, more invasive diagnostic procedures.
***When pain is caused by infection and inflammation, the speed, ease and accuracy of a CT examination can reduce the risk of serious complications caused by a burst appendix or ruptured diverticulum and the subsequent spread of infection.
***CT scanning is painless, noninvasive and accurate.
***A major advantage of CT is that it is able to image bone, soft tissue and blood vessels all at the same time.
***Unlike conventional x-rays, CT scanning provides very detailed images of many types of tissue as well as the lungs, bones, and blood vessels.
***CT examinations are fast and simple; in emergency cases, they can reveal internal injuries and bleeding quickly enough to help save lives.
***CT has been shown to be a cost-effective imaging tool for a wide range of clinical problems.
***CT may be less expensive than MRI. In addition, it is less sensitive to patient movement.
***CT can be performed if you have an implanted medical device of any kind, unlike MRI.
***CT imaging provides real-time imaging, making it a good tool for guiding minimally invasive procedures such as needle biopsies and needle aspirations of many areas of the body, particularly the lungs, abdomen, pelvis and bones.
***A diagnosis determined by CT scanning may eliminate the need for exploratory surgery and surgical biopsy.
***No radiation remains in a patient's body after a CT examination.
***X-rays used in CT scans usually have no side effects.
RISKS:
***There is always a slight chance of cancer from radiation. However, the benefit of an accurate diagnosis far outweighs the risk.
***The effective radiation dose from this procedure is about 10 mSv, which is about the same as the average person receives from background radiation in three years. See the Safety page for more information about radiation dose.
***Women should always inform their physician or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant. See the Safety page for more information about pregnancy and x-rays.
***CT scanning is, in general, not recommended for pregnant women because of potential risk to the baby.
***Nursing mothers should wait for 24 hours after contrast material injection before resuming breast-feeding.
***The risk of serious allergic reaction to contrast materials that contain iodine is rare, and radiology departments are well-equipped to deal with them.
***Children should have a CT study only if it is essential for making a diagnosis and should not have repeated CT studies unless absolutely necessary."
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm...
My daughter has Had a few MRI scans and they are very safe. She suffered no side effects at all. You do have to remove all jewelery though,lol. And its one big and very noisy machine.
No safety issues/side effects are involved.
Are they using dye for contrast?
That would be my only concern because someone people have a reaction to it. They start out very slow though and look for reactions if you haven't ever had the dye before. If you do have a reaction, they just give you benedryl.
Other than that it's safe.
The only possible risk to you would be if you're having a CT with contrast and you're iodine allergic and are unaware of it. There is a non-iodine contrast medium, Gadolinium, which can be used in this case.
There is absolutely no risk or side effects with a CT. This is computed tomography and is a deep tissue X-ray.
Well, you can have some intestinal cramping and diarrhea could be a problem... That doesn't happen always. Other then the very warm feeling you have momentarily from the dye. and a feeling that you wet your pant, when you didn't . hay , it 's a piece of cake. I wouldn't worry about it.