Does A CT Scan Of The Head Cause Radiation All

Posted on Sun, 10 Mar 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Does a CT scan of the head cause radiation all over the body or just the head and surrounding tissues? Also i have had 1 plain chest X-ray, one plain spine x-ray, both hips regular X-rays, and one single head CT scan all this year , should i be concerned about cancer down the road? Please answer both questions , Thanks

Answered by Dr. Monish De (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer:

The average radiation exposure per x-ray is .28 mSv.

Detailed Answer:

Hi

CT scan head expose briefly to a small targeted amount of ionizing radiation to the head only and not to any other body part

At this low doses of radiation a CT scan uses risk of developing cancer from it is so small that it cannot be reliably measured.

The average radiation exposure per x-ray is .28 mSv.

You would need approximately 36 x-rays throughout your lifetime to raise your risk of cancer by .05%.

The average radiation exposure per CT scan is 6.3 mSv.

After approximately two CT scans, your risk of cancer increases by .05

For now you should not be concerned by cancer down the road

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Monish De (3 hours later)

So on the extreme off chance a person who got a head CT scan developed cancer later on, would the cancer be in the same area of the body the CT was done? Or could any part be affected due to radiation?

Follow up: Dr. Monish De (4 hours later)

Never mind, i got an answer , no need to reply, thank you for your help.

Answered by Dr. Monish De (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:

The cancer could develop in same area of body of radiation

Detailed Answer:

Hi

The cancer could develop in same area of body of radiation

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng