# My wife is radioactive from tracers! Need help ASAP! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754 "2011-01-07T16:40:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/1 "2011-01-07T16:40:19Z")
My wife took a radioactive iodine pill (dose unknown) for beginning tests for hypothyroidism. Said doctor said the radiation was only a tracer, not the amount she’d get if they really wanted to zap the organ. The doctor told her not to pick up/ babies or hug pregnant women–and to sleep on the other side of the bed with me.:eek: Well, what about _my_ jewels? A lot of us remember the dentist laying over our nuts some super-duper material (so it seemed) that, like Superman, was impervious to anything. Should I get underpants made of this? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/2 "2011-01-07T16:45:24Z")
The thing at the dentist is just a lead apron. In any case, the danger of exposure from therapeutic radioiodine is about on par with being struck by lightning. Multiple times. Remember that this stuff is _in_ your wife’s body right now. If it’s not going to kill her, it won’t affect you. That said, there’s nothing wrong with exercising an abundance of caution. I recommend placing her in a lead-lined snuggy until she stops glowing. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/3 "2011-01-07T16:51:38Z")
Perhaps she’ll mutate into Wonder Woman? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/4 "2011-01-07T16:56:34Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > In any case, the danger of exposure from therapeutic radioiodine is about on par with being struck by lightning. Multiple times. It’s my understanding that being struck by lightning mutiple times is pretty god damned dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/5 "2011-01-07T17:09:46Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, what about _my_ jewels? A lot of us remember the dentist laying over our nuts some super-duper material (so it seemed) that, like Superman, was impervious to anything. Should I get underpants made of this? Are you planning on fathering children - that is, getting someone pregnant, not taking preexisting kids to a ballgame - any time in the next few days? If not, then no, you don’t need to take extra precautions besides what the doctor has already told you. If you’re trying to get someone pregnant right now, then it might be prudent to sleep in another bed, but that’s what we call an “overabundance of caution”, not a routine medical recommendation. Babies and pregnant women (well, their fetuses) are undergoing rapid cell division, making radiation exposure more likely to produce defects in the DNA. That’s why they don’t want her near them right now. You, being older and not gestating, aren’t undergoing particularly rapid cell division, and won’t be affected by the small amount of radioactivity coming off your wife right now. The exception is in your testes, which are making sperm. But a few days and those sperm dividing now will be dead anyhow, and your body will make new to replace them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/6 "2011-01-07T17:18:19Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, what about _my_ jewels? If you’re really worried, just keep them off her neck until the treatment is complete. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/7 "2011-01-07T17:23:06Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > A lot of us remember the dentist laying over our nuts some super-duper material (so it seemed) that, like Superman, was impervious to anything. Should I get underpants made of this? > [@friedo](#): > > The thing at the dentist is just a lead apron. The logical conclusion is, of course, to rush out and buy lead underpants. Or, you can pick up one of [these](http://www.pnwx.com/Accessories/LeadProducts/Aprons/?Spec=Half) which are apparently designed specifically for “gonad protection”. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/8 "2011-01-07T17:23:33Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > The doctor told her … not to sleep on the other side of the bed with me.:eek: > > ? Double check this advice. Maybe this was a recommendation independent of the iodine pill she took. Might be good advice for her either way, if long-term health is at stake! . 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/9 "2011-01-07T17:24:33Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > But a few days and those sperm dividing now will be dead anyhow, and your body will make new to replace them. I’m not going to google it while at work, but I believe it’s more on the order of 90 days from initial genesis to death for sperm cells. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/10 "2011-01-07T17:31:18Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Well, what about _my_ jewels? A lot of us remember the dentist laying over our nuts some super-duper material (so it seemed) that, like Superman, was impervious to anything. Should I get underpants made of this? You’ve got [mail](http://www.britishplate.org.uk/images/mailskirt.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/11 "2011-01-07T17:32:27Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > I’m not going to google it while at work, but I believe it’s more on the order of 90 days from initial genesis to death for sperm cells. I think you’re right, actually. I was thinking of the lifespan of a mature sperm. :smack: So make that “a few months” instead. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/12 "2011-01-07T17:41:16Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > If you’re trying to get **someone** pregnant right now, then it might be prudent to sleep in another bed umm…“someone?” If it’s a question of “someone”\*,methinks it would be _especially_ prudent to sleep on the couch. Or in the doghouse. 🙂 \*i.e. not the wife, however radioactive she may be… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/13 "2011-01-07T17:44:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > umm…“someone?” Hey, people have all sorts of arrangements, man. I try never to make assumptions! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/14 "2011-01-07T17:53:09Z")
Just don’t get her angry. You won’t like her when she’s angry. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/15 "2011-01-07T18:23:58Z")
IANAD, etc. I got my thyroid nuked. The Dr. came out in a lead apron, donned gauntlets, opened a lead jar, took out a capsule with tongs, put it in a little paper pill cup and said “here, swallow this”. :eek: The Dr. said I needed for no one to drink after me or kiss me for a couple of days, to replace the sheets and replace my toothbrush. Anyway, I had small children (one of them nursing at the time), so I just scheduled it for a Friday and they all went to grandma’s for the weekend. Anyway, difficult as it may seem, avoid swiving and frottaging for a couple of days and you should be good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/16 "2011-01-07T21:01:01Z")
I had a nuclear stress test last July. The doctor didn’t say anything about staying away from other people (it’s apparently a pretty low dose of Tc9-9m which emits relatively low-energy photons). So, when I got home I wondered if my home-brew Geiger detector would pick anything up. I turned it on, and it sounded like a swarm of bees! The individual clicks were coming so fast that they merged into a continuous Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I thought it was really amusing, so I put it across the room, and then took a video of me walking toward it… Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click Click BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ:p ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/17 "2011-01-07T22:16:31Z")
She just told me she received 32 micro curies w a half life of 13 days. Isn’t how that muscular green guy and Gamara started? If I take her in a dark closet and bite her will I see a spark? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/18 "2011-01-07T22:27:25Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > IANA > I got my thyroid nuked. The Dr. came out in a lead apron, donned gauntlets, opened a lead jar, took out a capsule with tongs, put it in a little paper pill cup and said “here, swallow this”. :eek: > > The Dr. said I needed for no one to drink after me or kiss me for a couple of days, to replace the sheets and replace my toothbrush. Anyway, I had small children (one of them nursing at the time), so I just scheduled it for a Friday and they all went to grandma’s for the weekend. > > Anyway, difficult as it may seem, avoid swiving and frottaging for a couple of days and you should be good. 🙂 Are you in Ernest? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/19 "2011-01-08T01:47:33Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > SIf I take her in a dark closet and bite her will I see a spark? Almost certainly, just like before she took the iodine pill. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754/20 "2011-01-08T03:23:11Z")
The main reason doctors and radiology technicians take big precautions is because they’re dealing with this stuff every day. And dosages are cumulative. You’re getting one big dose, but they get lots of small doses over the years. So cutting down their dosage is just prudent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-wife-is-radioactive-from-tracers-need-help-asap/566754.md?page=2)