Three CT Brain Scan within 3 months too much?

I was in a pretty bad car accident, but fully recovered. My doctor had me take three ct scans in three months. I was still in 10th grade at the time and didn't know any better. Now that I am in college, I found out that you shouldn't take no more than 2 ct scans within 10 years.

I have chronic sinusitis and a different doctor told me I needed a CT scan, and when I told him that about my previous ct scans he was surprised to hear it and then he told me that once radiation goes in the body it never comes out, and that got me totally freaked out. It seemed like he was doing his best to keep his cool with me so that he won't scare me.

So i was wondering how bad it could be... and what exactly are the effects of CT scans if they do go bad? How bad is it when a person takes three CT scans within three months? And what kind of a doctor would do this to me???

my wife has CT scans every three to six months. The oncology Dr. said they have to it so they can see how much the cancer has spread, she also has a brain tumor. he told us that it will be ok. he will be taking them every six month for awhile. That was 4years ago. so i am hoping it isn't to bad. I don't want to lose her sooner than I have too

A Dr that wanted to make sure you were being treated properly? The radiation exposure from a brain CT and especially a sinus CT is negligible compared to the amount received from a whole body CT. I think I had at least 5 whole body CTs last 18 months alone. 3 done with injected contrast and 2 more done without contrast at the same time as PET scans and a sixth partial CT done at the same time as an upper body MRI.

It really comes down to a matter of risk vs benefit. Were the reasons for the CTs serious or trivial? Yours sound serious. The true extent of your sinusitis will never be properly diagnosable until you have had a sinus CT scan. (I have chronic sinusitis) After your car accident the Dr probably wanted to check for brain bleeds or other damage. Neither of these health issues was trivial. I'd get the CTs and quit worrying about the small level of radiation exposure from limited area CTs like you have described.

Also, your figures about no more than 2 CTs in ten years is very questionable. A better choice might be no CT scans at all that are not absolutely necessary to ensure your continued health. Personally I'd never worry about having a CT every 3-5 years as an adult unless there were extenuating health circumstances.

It is repeated CT scans done on small children that are dangerous about creating cancer risks down the road. Most kids receiving multiple CTs would have died anyways from whatever caused them to need the CTs had the testing not been done. Risk vs benefit.

I know that for me, I used to get ct scans often, it started at 1 every month for 3 months, then every 3 months for a year, and then every 6 months. I didn't have any adverse effects but of course radiation is not the best for you. Like i said though, I'm fine.