What is radiation sickness?

Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

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Radioactive rays can damage the body to different degrees depending on the dose. Exposure to radiation at a higher dose can cause radiation sickness (radiation syndrome). Their first symptoms include feeling weak and sick, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms then go away and the patient feels better for a while (latency phase). Fever, diarrhea, bleeding, hair loss and painful open wounds on the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat occur days to weeks later. Depending on the radiation dose, the patient can then recover very slowly, or his brain swells (cerebral edema) and he dies.

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