A bone scan uses images to check for bone damage or disease in the human skeleton. It is carried out to help a doctor evaluate how well your bones are functioning. Bone scans evaluate the metabolism of your bones. Bone metabolism is the action of bones breaking and rebuilding themselves. To achieve this, a bone scan uses a radioactive marker known as a radionuclide.
A bone scan reveals a wide range of ailments in your bones. This scan helps identify the underlying cause of what is causing your bones not to function perfectly. It can be used to check for early signs of bone cancer, bone injuries and diseases. The tests also check for fractures, avascular necrosis and Paget’s disease. A doctor can also use bone scan for arthritis and also to check how well a bone is healing or deteriorating due to a certain infection. This procedure can also be used as a bone density scan for patients with osteoporosis.
Although it is advisable to have a bone scan, there is no specific or set out time to get a bone scan. It can be carried out along with other routine health checks after a certain period of time. However, a doctor can request a bone scan for various reasons including;
A bone scan may be requested by a doctor annually or bi annually to check the spread of an already diagnosed disease.
There are no general rules or guidelines to govern how prepared one should be when going for a bone scan. However, there are a few pointers to observe, that can make the procedure a bit more comfortable.
A bone scan has a generally simple procedure. It can be done even on out-patient. A doctor may ask you to change your clothes off and wear a hospital gown. An intravenous line is then started on the arm or hand. This intravenous is used to inject the radioactive tracer into the vein. Once introduced, the tracer is left for around 1-4 hours. This all depends on the reason the doctors requested a bone scan.
After the tracer has travelled to various bones and tissues the doctor calls you to the scanning machine. By this time the radiotracer has started wearing off and producing Gama rays. You lay down still after taking off all metallic objects. The scanner passes over your whole body taking pictures of where the radiotracer is accumulated. It does this by scanning for these Gama rays.
After taking a bone scan, your results will be read to you by a qualified doctor. Mostly, they use a simple and easy to understand language. It is however nice to know what scan results mean. If the radiotracer or dye used is spread evenly all over your body, the results are normal.
You do not have a major bone ailment troubling you. In your bone scan results, there are areas called Hot Spots. Darker spots are also known as Hot Spots. Lighter ones are called Cold Spots. The dark is the places where the dye has accumulated more. Light spots are the areas where the dye does not collect. Bone scan hot spots white or dark are a sign of bone deformation or ailment.
The procedure for a bone scan does not take very long. Once you are injected with the radiotracer, scanning can begin depending on what sickness the doctor is scanning for. It takes at most four hours for the radiotracer to flow through your body. During this time you can even leave the medical facility. The radioactive material in your body is too little to affect people around you. The scanning period is when you have to be physically present and takes generally around one hour in most cases.
Despite the many advantages of bone scanning, this procedure has a few shortcomings. Though not often, some patients may suffer some side effects. These effects include
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Professionally, a trained Microbiologist and Plant operator, Eustace is an experienced health content writer who is passionate about helping people lead a healthy life.
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