In some cases, such as boneless bones, absorption of the tracer may take 2 to 3 hours. Can you be around pregnant women or children after a nuclear medicine scan? Absolutely! You can be close to pregnant women and children after most nuclear medicine scans. The majority of the radiation will be gone from your body the morning after the scan. However, we recommend that you avoid spending extended periods of time around pregnant women and young children, such as sleeping during the night with them.
Otherwise, you can go about your normal daily activities. The small amount of radiotracer in your body will gradually lose its radioactivity through the natural process of radioactive decay. Most of it will leave your body through urine or stool for the first few hours and days after the test. Drinking plenty of water can help flush the radiotracer out of your body.
You should follow safety precautions to avoid exposing others to radiation. See the Radiation Safety page for more information. You should be able to go home soon after the scan. You should drink a lot during the rest of the day to help remove the radioactive tracer from your body.
The body removes it in the urine, usually within 24 hours. It usually takes about 2 days for all radioactive material to leave the body. The scan should have no effect, but if you feel pain or redness at the IV site, call your doctor. Nuclear medicine therapy uses a small amount of radioactive material combined with a carrier molecule.
The steps needed to prepare for a nuclear medicine scan depend on the type of test and the tissue being studied. Nuclear medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive material, known as radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers. Most diagnostic investigations in nuclear medicine expose the patient to a small dose of radiation similar to that received on an X-ray. After a nuclear medicine diagnostic procedure, you will be mildly radioactive for a limited time, but generally you will not be considered a hazard to caregivers or hospital staff. A nuclear bone scan is a medical test in which a small amount of radioactive material is used to check the condition of bones.
If you have been scheduled for a procedure at Mount Sinai South Nassau using Nuclear Medicine, review the following frequently asked questions and answers prior to your procedure and let us know if you have any other questions. Nuclear scans produce images based on body chemistry (such as metabolism) rather than physical forms and forms (as is the case with other imaging tests). Nuclear medicine scans (also known as nuclear imaging, radionuclide imaging, and nuclear scans) can help doctors find tumors and see how much cancer has spread in the body (called the cancer stage). If you are concerned about radiation, remember that a nuclear bone scan gives you approximately the same exposure as normal x-rays.
Radioactive iodine (I-13) therapy for hypothyroidism Radioactive iodine I-131 is swallowed in a single capsule or liquid dose and is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Most nuclear medicine scans will give the whole body a similar amount of radiation to what would be received from a few chest x-rays or a CT scan. It's important to remember that radiation exposure from nuclear medicine scans is minimal and poses no risk to patients or those around them. The radiation exposure from most nuclear medicine scans is comparable to that received from other imaging tests such as X-rays or CT scans.
