P.E.T. scans nuclear medicine

[SSSharon]

Just wondering what effects a pet scan has on the person who accompanies someone going for a PET scan are the radio active levels dangerous and if so how do they effect people around the patient ???

[Cheeris]

The radioactivity levels are an issue, but this doesn't mean that it is automatically a concern.

Firstly, a PET scan wouldn't be performed unless it was thought by experts it was needed compared with the risks of NOT receiving a scan (not far off the same sort of risk/benefit ratio you might have with taking a prescription medicine, a practice which is unquestioned).

Secondly, the levels of radiation received, while significant, are inconsequential if you consider they are much the same as those received annually by a regular flightcrew on a transatlantic service.

To answer your question, while the levels of radiation are NOT dangerous in the usual sense, due to the intense but short-term nature it is normally recommended that patients receiving such treatment are isolated for several hours.

[gelda]

I had one a couple of weeks ago and was told not to have any contact with babies or children for 24 hours.