How is radiation sickness defined?

Radiation sickness is defined as a collection of symptoms resulting from high doses of radiation exposure. This condition typically arises after an individual has received a significant dose of ionizing radiation, usually in the range of several hundred to several thousand millisieverts. The symptoms can manifest in various forms, including nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and even more severe health impacts like damage to the bone marrow and immune system.

Understanding that radiation sickness comprises multiple symptoms highlights the systemic nature of the impact of radiation on the body. It is not limited to a specific effect or type of injury, such as hair loss or skin burns, but rather represents a broader, more serious condition that reflects how the exposure affects overall health.

In contrast, the other options describe more localized or immediate effects of radiation that may not encompass the overall spectrum of symptoms associated with radiation sickness. Loss of hair or immediate skin burns may occur from radiation exposure but are not sufficient to define radiation sickness on their own, as they lack the broader systemic implications present in a diagnosed case of radiation exposure leading to sickness. Similarly, short-term nausea from low-level exposure is generally not classified as radiation sickness, as it typically suggests a dose that does not reach the threshold required to trigger the full impact of radiation sickness