Radiation Sickness: Prevention, Identification, and Treatment in a Collapsed Society

Radiation
sickness, also known as acute radiation syndrome, can be prevented and treated,
if necessary, in most people, even in a collapsed society, providing that preparations have been made. 

Radiation
sickness is that damage to the body caused by a large dose of radiation in a short
period of time.  The degree of sickness
depends on the dosage.  Radiation
sickness does not arise from low-dose imaging tests like X-rays or CT
scans.  Excluding the bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII, most cases of radiation sickness have occurred
after industrial nuclear accidents like Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011.  Those close to the scene of the blast or
accident may receive doses that are quickly fatal and there will be little we
can do to help them.  We can, however,
help those who receive lower doses. 

Preventing and Reducing Radiation Exposure

• Relocate so
  that you are not living in or near a potential nuclear target such as a big
  city or a military base.  An ounce of
  prevention is worth a pound of cure.
• If, however,
  the bomb has already exploded, immediately decide whether to evacuate or take
  shelter.  After arriving at your shelter
  but before entering, or evacuating and arriving at a safe location, remove contaminated
  clothing and leave it far clear of yourself and others.  Shower and shampoo well. 

• Cresson
  Kearney’s Nuclear War Survival Skills manual (link below) contains detailed
  information on constructing an emergency shelter to reduce radiation exposure.  Dr. Alton’s Survival Medicine Handbook (3^rd and 4^th
  editions are identical) addresses this issue to the extent of decreasing
  exposure, including taking potassium iodide tablets, and symptoms of those who
  receive excessive doses.  Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd
  Edition, presents more detailed information for roughly identifying the
  degree of radiation exposure.

Identifying the Extent of Radiation
Exposure

The severity
of signs and symptoms depends on several factors:

• The strength of radiated energy[1]
  [2]
• Exposure time[3] [4]
• The distance
  between the person and the radiation source[5]
  
• How
  sensitive the affected tissue is (bone marrow, gastrointestinal, cerebral, and vascular
  tissues are more sensitive)[6]
• Total or
  partial body exposure[7] [8]

Initial signs of treatable radiation
sickness:

Nausea and
vomiting[9]

The amount
of time between exposure and presentation of symptoms indicates how much
radiation was absorbed. [10]

• Mild:  hours to weeks before symptoms present[11]
• Serious:
  Minutes to days after exposure[12]

After the first
round of radiation sickness there may follow a period without any symptoms, which
is then followed by new symptoms. [13]

• Diarrhea[14]

• Headache[15]

• Fever[16]

• Dizziness
  and disorientation[17]

• Weakness and
  fatigue[18]

• Hair loss[19]

• Bloody vomit
  and stools from internal bleeding[20]

• Infections[21]

• Low blood
  pressure[22]
  

(I’m sorry this table is such a disaster.  It looks fine on my screen.  No matter how I try to manipulate it, it will not appear correctly for you.  I apologize. 

Treatment:

The advantage
of the table above is that if you’ve got patients with radiation sickness, you
can roughly estimate the extent of exposure and likelihood of survival.  Those with rapid onset symptoms and minimal
or absent symptom-free period, particularly if they display cardiovascular and
central nervous system signs, are going to die regardless of what you do.  Treatment and supplies need to be conserved
for those who have better chances for living—those with only gastrointestinal
and marrow suppression symptoms, delayed onset, and a long asymptomatic period
may benefit from IV fluids and antibiotic treatment (if you have enough to
spare).[24]

Unfortunately,
most of us will not be able to store the large quantities of IV antibiotics and
fluids necessary to manage radiation sickness. 
Potassium iodide tablets will prevent the body from absorbing
radioactive iodine, but what about radioactive cesium and strontium?  Other substances that prevent radiation
uptake and eliminate it from the body were addressed in an article two years
ago (link below).  The most significant,
in my opinion, were calcium and pectin, and again, as always, I’m thinking I
should order some more.  Do we know how
effective they would be in treating more serious cases of acute radiation
syndrome?  Nope.  

According to the table above, patients who receive less than 150-200 rads will display only minimal symptoms.   The greater risk is for cancer in the years ahead.  As the exposure reaches 450 rads, the death rate increases to 50%.  As the exposure approaches 800 rads, the mortality rate nears 100%.

And now you
might be thinking it would be a good idea to have a dosimeter or Geiger counter
for checking radiation levels. 
(Remember, Cresson Kearney’s book provides instructions on building one
at home with stuff you probably already have on hand.)  After all, it would be really helpful to have
a handheld device just tell you how much radiation you’ve been blasted
with. 

Unfortunately,
the vast majority of dosimeters available—and all the ones I found on Amazon—only
measure in the range of 0-1 rad, and the levels we are concerned with are
10s-100s of rads.[25]  So while a dosimeter or Geiger counter will
be handy for monitoring radiation levels after an event, neither one will do
anything to help manage a patient with radiation sickness.

References:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/radiation-sickness/symptoms-causes/syc-20377058

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/arsphysicianfactsheet.htm

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24328-radiation-sickness

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000026.htm

Links to related posts:

Do You Really Need Potassium Iodide Tablets?

Nuclear
Events:  Making a Potassium Iodide Liquid
Mixture for Children  

Eleven Substances
that Prevent Radiation Uptake and Eliminate Radiation from the Body  

Nuclear War
Survival Skills