Effects of nuclear weapons on the gastrointestinal system

Nuclear weapons have both blast injury and radiation effects on the gut. The successful management of survivors requires a combined medical and surgical approach, and is likely to need at least 5 - 6 weeks of in-patient therapy for gastrointestinal radiation syndrome. It should be remembered that the haemopoietic syndrome is an invariable companion. The chance of survival for people with acute radiation syndrome decreases with increasing radiation dose. Most people who do not recover from ARS will die within a few weeks of exposure. The cause of death in most cases is the destruction of the bone marrow, which results in infections and internal bleeding. For the survivors, the recovery process may last from several weeks up to 2 years. Long-term survivors face an increased solid cancer risk of approximately 47% per sievert.