How does radiation poisoning kill you, and why does it sometimes take weeks?
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It damages DNA, which is the info cells need to replicate properly, when it’s damaged the initial old cells are fine but when they need to be shed and new cells need to be made, the damaged DNA can’t make functioning ones anymore and you die of organ failure
Radiation poisoning is when you recieve a VERY large amount of radiation in a VERY short period of time. This is much different then what you would likely ever experience from background or useful medical radiation. Radiation in general can damage you by directly smashing into matter or indirectly by transfering energy to a particle (electron) causing it to smash into the things that make your body work. You can think of it like tiny cannon balls smashing through you.
In the terrible event that you recieve a very large total body dose of radiation you can get acute radiation syndrome (ARS). ARS are biological changes that include death. One of the forms of ARS occurs in brain tissue at very high doses (excess of 100 Gy) and death typically occurs within 24 to 48 hours. The mechanism behind this is not very well understood but its thought that damage to the very small blood vessels (microvasculature) causes them to leak, increasing the pressure in your brain causing eventual death. Another form occurs with your digestive system following a total body dose (5-10 Gy) and typically death occurs within 9 to 10 days. The mechanism behind GI syndrome is that the radiation stops the cells of your GI tract from dividing. The dead cells slough off and after a few days this leads to sepsis and death. The last most common form of ARS results in damage from whole body exposure (2.5 to 5 G) to the hematopoietic system ( the system that makes and maintains red blood cells RBCs and white blood cells WBCs). This again results from the high amount of radiation destroying your bodys ability to replace them you need blood to live). If death occurs (it will without transplant and treatment) it typically happens weeks to 2 months after exposure from bleeding and infection.
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