illness it produces.
Thus, liquids should be given to replace dehydration
and loss of body fluids from vomiting; skin burns should be treated ag normal
burns to aid the healing process; and, most importantly, antibiotics should
be administered,
There are other measures which may be taken, but for the
most part they are unproved,
Protective Measures.
the effect of radiation.
experimentation.
These are:
These are designed to counteract,
or moderate,
Most of the information available deals with animal
The measures generally involve injecting animals with certain
chemicals before they are exposed.
These chemically will generally increase
the animal's* chance of surviving what normally would be a lethal dose.
There
are no human experiments of this type.
Recovery Agents.
These are used to treat immediate damage and to prevent
or minimize damaging results later on.
for acute treatment,
bleeding,
Other than the usual methods described
these include blood transfusions, drugs to control
and bone marrow injections.
The evidence for bone marrow injections,
which help the marrow of the affected person produce blood cells until the
patient's marrow recovers, is not clear.
from Dr, George B.
Darling,
Testimony on blood transfusions
former head of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission
in Javan, who met with the Special Joint Committee,
is somewhat negative as
to their effectiveness.
Removal Agents,
This is one method which has had mixed success in the
administration of chemicals to the exposed person,
The patient drinks ur
is injected with the material, which helps to carry away from the body
greater than normal quantities of the radioactive material,
This kind of
treatment is usually only effective if administered almost immediately after
the internal exposure has taken place.
lO14btI