Walking ghost phase

The walking ghost phase in radiation sickness is the period of apparent recovery of a patient between the appearance of the first massive symptoms and the subsequent, inevitable death. The reason for this is that the ionizing radiation primarily destroys stem cells , whereas already differentiated cells are less sensitive to radiation. As a result of the destruction of stem cells, there is no replenishment of new cells, so that dying, fully differentiated cells can no longer be replaced.

The walking ghost phase occurs in the case of acute radiation sickness caused by a high equivalent dose of 6 to 20 Sievert with a fatal whole-body dose (for example caused by radioactivity or X-rays ).

Therapy is therefore limited to palliative , pain-relieving measures.

The phase can last for hours to a few days. In the case of higher radiation doses, it is completely eliminated; these doses are immediately or within a few hours deadly due to the effects of radiation on the central nervous system .

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !