{"id":3721,"date":"2022-04-26T17:51:44","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T17:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pockethealthqa.wpengine.com\/?p=3721"},"modified":"2025-05-09T16:02:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T20:02:49","slug":"a-radiologists-guide-to-getting-an-x-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pockethealth.com\/patient-resources\/a-radiologists-guide-to-getting-an-x-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"A radiologist\u2019s guide to getting an X-ray"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Dr. Ania Kielar, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and vice-chair of the University of Toronto\u2019s department of medical imaging, explains what an X-ray is and why the procedure is so valuable as a first test when diagnosing a patient.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is an X-ray?<\/strong><br \/>\nAn X-ray is a painless, low-risk procedure that uses electromagnetic energy to generate images of the internal structures of the body. As X-rays pass through a patient they are absorbed in varying degrees (depending on the density of the objects they encounter) before being captured on film or digital media on the other side. Dense objects, such as bones or tumours, appear white on an X-ray, while soft tissues, such as skin, fat and muscle, look grey.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the body part being investigated, technicians may take more than one image, targeting structures that are perpendicular to one another to provide as much information as possible. \u201cIt\u2019s the first test we use for most things but it\u2019s not the most complex test,\u201d Dr. Kielar says. \u201cIt can answer some questions but not everything. If we don\u2019t see anything on an X-ray and the symptoms are significant, then we\u2019ll move on to another test like a CT scan. It\u2019s more accessible than other tests and there\u2019s less radiation compared to a CT scan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does an X-ray show? <\/strong><br \/>\nX-rays are particularly good for examining bones (for fractures, osteoporosis or cancer), teeth (dental decay), the chest (breast cancer, blocked blood vessels or lung infections) and the abdomen (digestive issues or blockages).<\/p>\n<p><strong>How long does an X-ray take?<\/strong><br \/>\nUsually, only a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How can patients prepare for an X-ray?<\/strong><br \/>\nThere\u2019s nothing they really need to do in advance, Dr. Kielar says. \u201cThe technologist will ask you to remove anything, if necessary. If you\u2019re getting an X-ray of your wrist, you don\u2019t want to be wearing a bracelet. If you\u2019re getting a chest X-ray you don\u2019t want to wear a necklace. If you have things that are pierced that you can\u2019t remove, then you leave them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there anything patients should do after an X-ray?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt depends on the results of the procedure but patients can generally go about their day as normal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are there any concerns or risks that accompany an X-ray?<\/strong><br \/>\nAs with any procedure involving low levels of radiation, there are some considerations. \u201cWe try to avoid it in people who are pregnant,\u201d Dr. Kielar says. \u201cWe won\u2019t X-ray the abdomen if we can help it, but it depends on the situation. We always try not to radiate people who are pregnant and we try to avoid it in children for the same reason. But if you have a fractured wrist, the radiation to the fetus is nothing, essentially, so we can still do the X-ray. We always have lead around and we collimate \u2014 meaning the X-ray is very specific to that area \u2014 so it\u2019s not all over the place. It only goes to the section we\u2019re interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>How long does it take for results to come back?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cIt usually takes a few days, depending on how many X-rays are taken at a particular site and when the radiologist is able to get to it,\u201d Dr. Kielar says. \u201cIn the emergency department the results are almost immediate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Has the pandemic changed the way X-rays are performed?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cWe just clean more in between, that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Ania Kielar, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and vice-chair of the University of Toronto\u2019s department of medical imaging, explains what an X-ray is and why the procedure is so valuable as a first test when diagnosing a patient. What is an X-ray? An X-ray is a painless, low-risk procedure that uses electromagnetic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[17],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-3721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge-bank","tag-pockethealth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A radiologist\u2019s guide to getting an X-ray | PocketHealth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pockethealth.com\/patient-resources\/a-radiologists-guide-to-getting-an-x-ray\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A radiologist\u2019s guide to getting an X-ray | PocketHealth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Ania Kielar, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and vice-chair of the University of Toronto\u2019s department of medical imaging, explains what an X-ray is and why the procedure is so valuable as a first test when diagnosing a patient. 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