As a medical diagnostic tool, computed tomography - known as CT scanning - almost can't be beat for the depth and quality with which it can examine an area of the body. And quickly get to the dysfunction which may be affecting it or even the whole body, when the issue with the organ or body system is serious enough.
But there are a few reasons why we may not want to be so eager to have a CT scan at the drop of a hat, no matter how attractive the idea of getting this comprehensive and very revealing look into the inner-workings of our bodies may be. And that may be why it's not a good idea to have frequent CT scans.
For starters, CT scanning still uses radiation as a means of imaging the organ or affected area of the body. True, it's less than traditional radiography, but it is still ionizing (which means it passes through body cells) radiation of the sort that is given off when a nuclear bomb explodes.
In fact, it is conservatively estimated that we are now being exposed to twice the annual dosage of radiation that we experienced in 1980! This is due to the rise in popularity of this profoundly-effective medical imaging device.
Also, all this radiation exposure that the cells in our bodies are undergoing could cause long-term increases in certain types of cancers over the next twenty to thirty years. This is because ionizing radiation of a strong enough dose can affect a cell's DNA strand, which in turn could lead to the body later being unable to self-repair that damage as it ages and gets less efficient at such activities.
Let's face it: People and doctors are in love with the idea of CT scanning to get right to the heart of a diagnosis as quickly as they can. But many health issues are not spotted any more quickly with computed tomography than they are with traditional medical exams such as body fluid testing, auscultation (listening to the sounds a body makes using a stethoscope, generally), and using the hands to examine for body masses such as lumps or swelling.
Because of this fascination with a rightfully-respected diagnostic imaging test, we just may be subjecting our bodies to unneeded and unnecessary levels of radiation that really could affect us much further down the road, as we start to age.
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