How to Identify Radiation Burns

Radiation burns are far more common than you might think. Almost all of us have suffered from the most common type--sunburn--at one time or another. Others have dealt with burns due to radiation therapy. We live with a certain amount of background radiation in our environment without harm, but when we're overexposed, burns are one of the warning signals.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Find out what kind of radiation you've been exposed to. Sunburn, the most common type of radiation burn, is due to exposure to ultraviolet-B rays that burn the tissue under the skin. This burn is usually an overall red inflammation on exposed parts of the skin. Like any other burn, sunburn can be first, second or third degree, with the worst burns raising blisters and leaving scars after healing. Sunburn radiates heat, and part of the secret to successfully treating sunburn is to help the heat escape by cooling the burned area.
2. Look for specific patterns of burn from radiation therapy. Radiation burns from therapeutic X-ray and radiation treatment appear on the part of the body the radiation penetrated to attack the target cells. A red, inflamed area appears, often with little sores scattered where the ray was strongest. Although the regulation of medical radiation has improved greatly, patients who must have repeated treatment or X-rays often develop these burns.
3. Consider job-related sources. Radiation from industrial sources can be external, like a burn caused by handling radioactive material, or internal, like those suffered by welders when the infrared and ultraviolet radiation given off by a carbon-arc torch burns the cornea of the eye. External burns can be identified by their patchy, red inflammation. Burned corneas can result in blindness, and burns caused by carbon-arc radiation can also be suffered by someone simply watching the welding process.
4. Take stock of where you've been recently. There are other, unexpected types of radiation burns from products like heat and tanning lamps that emit large doses of infrared rays. Burns suffered from these appliances look much like sunburn, with an all-over red inflammation the most common result. Like other radiation burns, they may not appear at the time of exposure but develop sometime afterward.

Tips & Warnings

• All burns can be painful and dangerous, and radiation burns are especially painful because the tissue under the skin is burned as well as its surface. In addition to healing the surface, take care to treat the underlying tissue. For sunburn, this means keeping the skin cool and clean to avoid secondary infections that may attack weakened tissue.
• The worst type of burn, a third-degree burn, may be extremely painful or not painful at all. This is because the skin is literally scorched, and nerve endings are destroyed.
• Various oils and creams are marketed for use by radiation-therapy patients, one being emu oil. Experiments have also been conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center that indicate that curcumin, a component of curry, may help protect skin against radiation burns. Before buying any new preparation, though, get your doctor's opinion.
• People suffering medical and industrial radiation burns should be taken to a hospital for immediate medical attention.
• If the skin is broken, bleeding or dark and blistered, see your doctor immediately.
• If you've been in a situation that could result in burns to your eyes or corneas and you notice spots or gray patches in your vision, see a doctor immediately.