How worried should i be? radioimmunoassay query

[studentman]

hi guys

just a quick query i am hoping someone can help me with.

i was working on a radioimmunoassay with I-125 labelled insulin as a tracer and accidently touched my face with my contaminated glove.

at the end of the practical I checked my face and the work station with the geiger counter (background radiation being about 5). However the reading on my face was higher than that on the table. It was just above 5 on my face and much lower on the table.

i told the demonstrator but she said don't worry as long as the reading does not shoot up to 10. but i did not tell her i touched my face because i was already panicking so much by then so i just left.

this caused me to fly into a panic and i have been so depressed i ended up in hospital. i have ended up eating and drinking but had not washed my face for days due to a deep depression.

now i am well scared that i may have ingestion some I-125 and it has been on my face so long...it can cause cancer right?

any words of reassurance welcome

thanx in advance guys...is I-125 safer than i think?

 

[Borek]

If you have ended in hospital that means your panic have put you at much higher risk than radioactive iodine. My bet is that amounts you could have on the glove were much lower than amounts used during therapy, where I-125 is routinely administered.

Don't worry, while security measures are necessary to lower the risks, our bodies are quite strong and they have millions of years of evolutionary experience of dealing with dangers.

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