Can radiation therapy patients be around infants after they have had radiation therapy?

an 83 yr old friend is having radiation therapy and has been told she cannot be around infants. Can this be true? Can she be in the same room and just not hold the baby?

There are a few pieces of information necessary to know for certain about how to answer your question. The first is what sort of radiation your friend is having, and where they are receiving it. The second would be whether or nto your friend is simultaneously also undergoing chemotherapy. (Although it is unlikely that they would receive thsi at the same time as radation given their age.)

With respect to the first point, if your friend is receiving external beam radiation - meaning the type of radiation where they lie on a table/bed, and a large x-ray like machine arm is used to administer the radiation from outside the body, then the answer is that there is no risk to the individual being around infants. In these cases, the patient will contain no radioactive material, and will be perfectly safe minutes following radiation.

If, however, your friend is receiving injected radioactive isotopes (meaning medical substances that are made radioactive) then the answer is a bit different. This situation is much less likely, but the most likely scenario here would be with radioactive iodine injections for thyroid disease. If they are in a situation like this, then they should not be around children following treatment and should have been given strict instructions on how long they should avoid close contact with other individuals (including how far away these individuals should be). This will vary somewhat depending upon the dose given.

With regards to the point dealing with immunity, it is unlikely that radiation will cause a decrease in immunity to the degree that it would be harmful to them. This may depend somewhat on the site treated, but unless it is whole body radiation then they will not be radiating enough bone marrow to immuno-compromise him/her. (Some people may suggest avoiding individuals who are sick, but this is proably not necessary.) If however, your friend is also receiving - or has recently received - chemotherapy, then their immune system becomes more compromised, and they should be avoiding anyone who may have an infection, because of the risk of transmitting, and the decrease ability to fight this infection off.

I'm guessing a lot here, so hopefully this lends some insight.

That seems odd, she might ought to ask the doctor for clarification...it's possible that it's for HER safety (weakened immune system being around a germy baby!) not for the infants! Radiation does not stay in your body unless you have radioactive implants (like in prostate cancer treatment), but my psychic powers (LOL) tell me your friend does not have a prostate!

I had a radiation treatment a few years ago during the first trimester of my last pregnancy. The baby turned out okay. My others were not affected when I held them either. I think your friend was warned to keep away from little ones coz s/he might catch illnesses they carry.

This is for her safety, not the baby. Babies have germs, her immune system is gone with the radiation. Babies also have immunizations with live vaccines. She likely cannot be around anyone that has had a live vaccine recently, possibly including the flu shot.

So yes, this is true. And no, she cant be in the same room or hold the baby at all.

It's absolutely true. Everytime I have it I have to avoid elderly people and babies. Depending on the dosage that they give me the amount of time can change. With the major doses it can be as long as two weeks, the little doses mean avoiding them for 48 hours.