Chest X-ray

A chest X-ray takes a few minutes and can be done on the same day that I see you. It gives an overall picture of your lungs and can give clues that you might need further tests such as a CT scan.

You might be worried about having a chest X-ray but fear not. The radiation dose from a chest X-ray is very low and is similar to eating 100g of Brazil nuts!

The radiation dose from a chest X-ray is very low (0.014 milliSieverts, mSv) and Public Health England calculate that, on average, people are exposed to about 2.7 mSv of radiation per year with most of this coming from naturally occurring sources. Who would have imagined that eating 100g of Brazil nuts (0.01 mSv) gives you almost the same level of radiation exposure as a chest X-ray?