The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide information about radiation emergencies for the public and professionals.
Radiation emergencies may be intentional (e.g., caused by terrorists) or unintentional. CDC provides some examples of different types of radiation emergencies and information what to do if a radiation emergency happens in your area.
Are you prepared? If a disaster strikes in your community, you might not have access to food, water, or electricity for several days. Preparing an emergency kit for your family is an important step in keeping them safe and healthy during an emergency.
After a radiation emergency, pregnant women should follow instructions from emergency officials and seek medical attention as soon as emergency officials say it is safe to do so.
This infographic contains information about external contamination, internal contamination and radiation exposure.
Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) (sometimes known as radiation toxicity or radiation sickness) is an acute illness caused by irradiation of the entire body (or most of the body) by a high dose of penetrating radiation in a very short period of time (usually a matter of minutes). The major cause of thi...s syndrome is depletion of immature parenchymal stem cells in specific tissues. Examples of people who suffered from ARS are the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs, the firefighters that first responded after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant event in 1986, and some unintentional exposures to sterilization irradiators.
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This pocket guide is designed for clinicians, including physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals, who will provide emergency care following a radiological event. It should be used as a supplement to training and practice drills. (Prints on 8½" x 14" paper)
Injury to the skin and underlying tissues from acute exposure to
a large external dose of radiation is referred to as cutaneous
radiation injury (CRI). Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) 1 will
usually be accompanied by some skin damage; however, CRI
can ...occur without symptoms of ARS. This is especially true with
acute exposures to beta radiation or low-energy x-rays, because
beta radiation and low-energy x-rays are less penetrating and less
likely to damage internal organs than gamma radiation is. CRI can
occur with radiation doses as low as 2 Gray (Gy) or 200 rads 2 and
the severity of CRI symptoms will increase with increasing doses.
Most cases of CRI have occurred when people inadvertently came
in contact with unsecured radiation sources from food irradiators,
radiotherapy equipment, or well depth gauges. In addition, cases of
CRI have occurred in people who were overexposed to x-radiation
from fluoroscopy units.
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A brief, 17-minute video covering key radiation principles and radiological procedures. Includes demonstrations on application of these principles and procedures in several patient care scenarios in an emergency services setting.
The purpose of this training is to prepare clinicians in first receiver settings to: (1) Identify factors impacting immediate medical response to mass casualties following major types of radiological incidents, and (2) Demonstrate appropriate patient assessment, triage, treatment and disposition dec...ision-making required during a radiological mass casualty incident.
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This clinical job aid provides health care workers with information on how to collect specimens for early infant diagnosis on dried blood spots, as well as drying and packaging for transport.
Veterinarians are leaders and stewards in preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics for animals and people. Working with animal owners and producers, veterinarians can slow antibiotic resistance by implementing disease prevention strategies and improving the use of antibiotics while also guarante...eing high-quality medical care for animal patients.
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Be Antibiotics Aware - Smart Use, Best Care
Welcome to CDC's Antibiotic Stewardship Training Plan. Modules can be taken in any order. Each module can be taken outside of the training plan by going to TRAIN's search page and entering the key words "CDC Training on Antibiotic Stewardship". Select the courses you would like to take and add them... to Your Learning.
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