Xray's and long term damage?

[bayouchick02]

Now I know that a lot, if not all of these babies need to be xray'ed at some point during their stay in the NICU. My question is, with all the xray's going on in the pods throughout the shift, could all that radiation affect the nurses (and the babies) in the long run? I know when adults get xrays, anyone in the room at the time must have a lead vest on or step out of the room. I just didnt want any issues 10 years from now.....

[hikernurse]

I keep asking and receiving the same answer--no. I'm not sure I believe it. I know it's not good for the babies, I'm sure the long term ramifications will not be good. With CXR, KUB, fluouros, CT, etc. some of these kiddos get a lot of radiation for their little bodies.

I can't imagine it's any good for us nurses, either. They say the X-Rays follow very narrow paths, but things can malfunction...

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

The radiology course I'm taking at home says that the babies would need to receive 75 Xrays to have received the equivalent of one adult xray. The radiation scatter area is only 6 feet from the baby, so if you move away, you'll be fine. The course also said that the amount of radiation from 1 neonatal XR is equal to you standing in the sun for an hour.