{"id":4922,"date":"2017-06-15T12:59:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-15T16:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/radiology\/?p=4922"},"modified":"2018-04-04T12:40:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:40:40","slug":"what-is-an-x-ray-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/med.virginia.edu\/radiology\/2017\/06\/15\/what-is-an-x-ray-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an X-ray? (For Kids)"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is an X-ray? (For Kids)<\/span><\/h2>\n

Parents, if your child is having an X-ray exam, this is the information they (and you, too) will need to know. You can read through this information yourself or read it to your child. It should help calm exam-day nerves.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

What is an X-ray?<\/span><\/h3>\n

When a doctor needs to see something inside of your body, they might use an X-ray exam to take pictures of the inside of you from the outside of you. Don\u2019t worry, it doesn\u2019t hurt a bit and it\u2019ll be done before you know it! <\/span><\/p>\n

The picture of your body is pretty cool, too. Solid things like your bones will show up white while squishy materials like your muscles will look gray. \u00a0The air in your lungs will look black.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why you need an X-ray\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sometimes doctors need to look at your bones, teeth, lungs, or stomach to find what hurts and why it hurts so they can help you feel better. Doctors might also need you to have an X-ray exam so that they can check up on you after you\u2019ve already been treated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Before the big picture<\/span><\/h3>\n

The person who will take the X-ray picture is called the technologist. They\u2019ll help you get ready for the X-ray by telling you how to stand, sit, or lay down, and they might strap down the part of your body they need a picture of. This strap will be like the seatbelt to hold you in place during the X-ray exam. <\/span><\/p>\n

For your X-ray exam, you\u2019ll want to wear loose, comfy clothes. You might even get to put on a gown for the exam. The technologist may also have you wear a protective neck covering, or they might put a heavy blanket on parts of your body that they don\u2019t need a picture of to protect you from getting too much radiation. X-rays use a small amount of radiation, electromagnetic waves that can go through your skin, to take pictures of the inside of your body. It won\u2019t hurt you during your X-ray, but too much radiation can be bad for you over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, your technologist might need to give you a dye called contrast. This will make your pictures really clear, which will help your doctor see better so they know how to help you. You might have to drink the contrast (with a yummy flavor like pink lemonade or fruit punch!) or a nurse will give it to you with a needle; but for X-rays you usually don\u2019t need it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Say Cheese!<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

When it\u2019s time to take the picture, your technologist will ask you to freeze, and you\u2019ll stay completely still just like you do when you play freeze tag. It\u2019s very important that you stay as still as possible so that your pictures aren\u2019t blurry. Your technologist might ask you to hold your breath like you\u2019re underwater, but you won\u2019t have to hold it for long. Sometimes, you will need to move so that they can take a different picture. Your technologist will help you move to the right place and will tell you how to freeze again.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After the big picture<\/span><\/h3>\n

Once your technologist has taken all the pictures they need, they\u2019ll tell you that you can move again. They\u2019ll remove any straps and help you up. Then they\u2019ll give your pictures to the radiologist, the doctor who will look at them and see if there\u2019s anything the matter with your insides. Your doctor will tell you what to do next!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

There\u2019s a lot to learn about <\/span><\/i>pediatric imaging at UVA<\/span><\/i><\/a>. Most importantly, the <\/span><\/i>imaging and radiology<\/span><\/i><\/a> staff have joined the <\/span><\/i>Image Gently<\/span><\/i><\/a> alliance, a group that seeks to use the lowest possible radiation doses. Also, here\u2019s where you can take an in-depth look at <\/span><\/i>X-rays and the specific exams<\/span><\/i><\/a> doctors use them for.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is an X-ray? (For Kids) Parents, if your child is having an X-ray exam, this is the information they (and you, too) will need to know. You can read through this information yourself or read it to your child. It should help calm exam-day nerves.     What is an X-ray? When a doctor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":4929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-radiology-stories"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"\nWhat is an X-ray? 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