What are X-rays?
X-rays are imaging tools that Physicians Medical Urgent Care uses to see inside your body. They’re one of the oldest imaging methods in the modern world.
X-rays work by sending a beam through your body that appears as different shades and colors on the resulting picture. The shades and colors the X-ray produces depend on the density of the body parts that it passes through.
What do X-rays show?
X-rays help your doctor understand details about the state of various body parts and systems. Examples include:
Chest X-rays
Chest X-rays can reveal things like:
- Evidence of breast cancer
- Evidence of lung infections and diseases, like tuberculosis or lung cancer
- Blocked blood vessels
- An enlarged heart
Abdomen X-rays
Abdomen X-rays help your doctor identify foreign objects in the stomach and problems in the digestive tract.
Bone X-rays
Bone X-rays can help identify all sorts of skeletal problems, such as:
- Osteoporosis
- Fractures
- Arthritis
- Bone infections
- Bone cancer
- Spine alignment
X-rays are a powerful diagnostic tool Physicians Medical Urgent Care utilizes to diagnose a variety of injuries and illnesses.
Are X-rays painful?
X-rays aren’t painful. However, you may feel some discomfort while you’re getting your X-ray taken. This is because, to get the best image, while the X-ray technician is working, you must hold your breath and stay very still.
In addition, in order to get the images they need, the technician may ask you to sit, stand, or lay in an uncomfortable position.
Are X-rays safe for children?
Technically speaking, X-rays slightly increase everyone’s risk for cancer because they expose you to radiation. However, even though children are more susceptible to radiation than adults, the amount of radiation that X-rays create is negligible, and experts consider X-rays to be safe.
How long do X-ray results take?
X-rays occur almost instantaneously. They upload digitally to a computer after your X-ray technician takes them. Once uploaded, your doctor examines and interprets them.
You can get results particularly quickly at Physicians Medical Urgent Care because the practice offers an on-site radiology center.
If you need X-rays, trust your diagnostics to Physicians Medical Urgent Care. To schedule an appointment, call or use the online booking tool today. Walk-ins are also welcome at the practice.
