Inventions and discoveries have made our science progress beyond the realms of imaginations. As history depicts, most of the inventions were made by accident and with out prior intention. Or rather the intention was different for the experimentation and something else was invented. X-ray too was invented accidently by Wilhelm Roentgen, a German Physicist in 1895. The discovery was made while Roentgen was making an experiment with electron beam with gas discharge tube. Century later, X-rays have become an essential part of medical field and almost all primary diagnosis is performed on the basis of X-ray results.

Like every invention and technological innovations X-ray too has its plus and minus points. Although initially, they were not noticeable, today many disadvantages of regular exposure to X-rays have come forward.

Benefits of X-rays

These rays are very powerful and let the doctor see through the tissues and examine the internal organs and formation or presence of any foreign body inside with great clarity. Even though, X-rays cannot penetrate the bones, other organs and their movements can be clearly and vividly seen by the examiner. X-rays in modified form are used to see soft tissues like lungs, intestines or blood vessels. This has been a very remarkable revolution as with the help of X-rays doctors can now diagnose any ailment or disease with more confidence and precision. Fluoroscopy is also one type of X-ray examination which is used to detect problems in joints and bones. X-ray machines are also widely used in carrying experiments in different field. Some of these fields include cosmology, quantum mechanics theory and crystallography. Nowadays, X-ray scanners are regularly used to detect flaws in metal equipments. One of the most obvious uses is X-ray detectors at the airport or at any security check post. Many times use of analytical X-rays is also made.

Disadvantages or hazards of X-rays

Since X-rays are high frequency electromagnetic waves, they can pass through any tissue or cell and hence we can see all the things clearly. The nature of these rays is ionizing and hence while moving through a particular tissue during examination, they can cause damage by altering its structure. Sometimes the frequency or intensity of X-rays is very high. In such cases, the cells are destroyed or turn to mutation which can cause great damage to internal organs. Many times DNA cells in the body are damaged. DNA cells are important part of genetic configuration and these damaged DNA cells can be forwarded from generation to generation and at some stage result in deformity. The whole generation has to face this deformity.

Irritation, redness are some of the regular symptoms of side effects of X-rays. Many times radiologists use analytical X-ray examination. These can burn the skin or even internal cells and can cause irreparable damage.  So, although there are lots of benefits of X-ray, it has some disadvantages too. These hazards are not regular but are often found to occur whenever the body is over exposed to these rays. So using X-ray once in a while for medical purposes cannot be harmful, but when too many examinations have to be carried, these rays leave some side effects in the body.