I am introducing this topic as a background thread. I am not even slightly panicked by the "crisis" in Japan, and i am not planning on taking KI pills. Keep in mind that I live in So. California, and the so-called plume from the Japanese reactor is predicted to reach my area on Friday. Nevertheless, I don't indulge in overly emotional reactions. So this thread is simply for background information - in case we have another nuclear problem in the USA in the future.

* My understanding is that there are several isotopes that are a potential problem after a nuclear incident. This includes iodine, but also includes cesium and maybe some others. Therefore, I'm speculating that the potassium iodide pills (KI) could only offer protection against radioactive iodine, and would be useless against other isotopes. Can someone confirm? If true, the mania about KI in the USA is really far fetched.

** Generally, most people get a significant source of their iodine from sea salt, or iodized salt. If that is the case, what is the point of taking KI? Assuming that people are exposed to a long-term low-level radiation problem, I would not think that KI pills might help all that much. If people have some sea salt in their cupboards, wouldn't it be sufficient to have that as a normal source of iodine?

*** As an alternative to the second point above, perhaps KI pills are intended as a temp solution to high levels of radioactive iodine in the environment. But in that case, I would wonder how the human body would intake that radioactive iodine, and would it tend to build p in the thyroid - if people's bodies already have adequate iodine sources in the diet?

Just some things to think about. If anybody has any info to share, or some links with helpful background material, by all means add them.

other Pete
-------------

If I remember correctly from childhood (I was chemistry-geek six year-old when Chernobyl blew up and the radioactive cloud drifted right where we were living at the time, but there were lots of talks about it later on), the idea is to saturate your thyroid gland with non-radioactive iodine, so that it won't absorb the nastier kind. It offers no relief from other types of radiation.

Problem is that your liver and kidneys are working hard to remove excess iodine, so the tablets only give about 1 day protection. (mind you, I think the half life of radioactive iodine is 8 days, so a few weeks course might be enough).

And not to scare-monger, but I remember my teachers saying that radioactive iodine is the most lethal type of radiation (not instantly, but it is highly carcinogenic = thyroid cancer later or).

-jh

Fission products include Iodine 131 which is radioactive and would concentrate in the thyroid thereby irradiating the thyroid over time.

The idea is to flood the body with an excess of non-radioactive iodine so it won't keep any I131 that it comes across.

First thing to review is this "Radiation Emergency Medical Management" page, with a list of different contaminants and appropriate therapies.

http://www.remm.nlm.gov/int_contamination.htm

The discussion for Potassium Iodide is here:

http://www.remm.nlm.gov/potassiumiodide.htm

Which provides a link to this FDA page:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm072265.htm

And there's always the wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_iodide

More people in the US will be harmed by taking the tablets than are harmed by whatever reaches these shores from Japan's nuclear reactors.

Hmmm,thinking again (dangerous). . . with the lack of KI tablets/pill availability, how could one reliably saturate their system with iodine to avoid uptake of radioactive iodine into the thyroid?

How about taking the brown liquid form of iodine and just painting it on your skin? As I understand the body will absorb iodine until it is saturated and then leave the rest. Keep painting it on until the body stops taking it in. Thoughts? Comments?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodised_salt



It might actually help some folks out, especially those paying $400 per week dose.

Made a quick check on the local news archives (about Chernobyl and iodine), and found a few interesting facts.

There was a radioactive iodine scare in Scandinavia back then, and lots of people took iodine tablets for 14-28 days after the accident.

According to late 80s leading local scientists that in the news reports remain anonymous however, radioactive iodine is pretty short range, primarily causing havoc and long term effects within about 100 km radius (about 60 miles), and it's not something that is easily spread by wind.

(according to the news at the time) Radioactive iodine can be absorbed by some fungi, including several edible kinds, and this somehow slows the final break down of the iodine => mushrooms can be radioactive/contain very high amounts of iodine for several months after unabsorbed fallout has dispersed.

Probably a great blow for Japanese, who (like us Scandinavians) still collect lots of wild mushrooms.

And like Philip mentions, iodine tablets aren't healthy either, and can cause rash, nausea, numb extremities and metallic taste in mouth (at least those were reported at the time, signs for seeing a doctor I suppose).

The 130mg pill is about the highest allowed level for iodine per day, and you can get even amounts up to that from seaweed, and lesser amounts from any seafood and salt with added iodine, so balance your diet if you decide to take the pill.

-jh

Which is exactly why they're telling Americans not to take any KI now.

We'd be better off declining that next CT scan that the doctor wants to do "just to be sure". Actually, Americans already get a lot more radiation compared to other countries because we're going kind of bonkers over high energy diagnostic tools like CT scans over the years. That's primarily why the average Australian gets like 2 mSv of radiation a year while the average for an American is something like 6 mSv. We're already awash in radiation compared to what people are experiencing in Tokyo right now.

The following is by a doctor who is an expert in austere medicine and is well known in the special operations community. I have not worked with him in person but I have corresponded with him on medical issues. Use at your own risk, etc etc etc, yada yada yada. I tweaked a few bits of salty language to conform to ETS's system.

Some of you guys will recognize Dr. Brown as Res-Q-Doc. Since he posted this on a few boards a couple of days ago, it has already started showing up with other people's names attached. Give him the credit if you pass it along.

In my case, I'm prepared with iodine not because of Japan but because I live within 45 miles of an American nuclear power plant. I have a supply of KI tablets that I've supplemented with Polar Pure as explained by Doc Brown below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Questions pouring in. I'll post a more detailed answer when I get one typed up this afternoon. Not for CBRN types but regular folks & medics.

Short answers:
1. No Japan isn't putting out enough rads to be a serious concern for us at this time.
2. Yes you should supplement Iodine, although not for the reasons you may think.
3. No you don't need to stockpile the expensive Iodine tablets.
4. Yes there are cheap alternatives and you may wish to consider having some around.

OK here is the draft I knocked out this afternoon between patients. DRAFT, so play nice.

<continued below>

<continued>

Emergency Iodine Supplementation In Radiation Dispersal Emergencies: A Brief Guide

Dr. Keith Brown, FAAFP (US), FRSTMH (UK)
NOTE: If you will gift me $5 (or whatever) via PayPal (MKBROWN13@YAHOO.COM) I will send the total onto Japan for use by RELIABLE relief teams (rather than media jerks *coughGuptaetalcough*).

DISCLAIMER: This is for information only! Iodine is a dangerous material and should not be handled or experimented with. By reading this document in part or in whole you and every person you have ever had contact with or your heirs have ever had contact with or your estate has ever had contact with explicitly absolve the author, poster, website, and every human being alive on the planet now or in the future of any responsibility for the use, misuse, or abuse of this information!

DO NOT SUPPLEMENT POTASSIUM IODIDE OR FREE IODINE UNLESS DIRECTED TO DO SO BY EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES OR MEDICAL PERSONNEL. USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT IF YOU ARE IN A RADIATION DISPERSAL AREA AND HAVE NO CONTACT WITH THE ABOVE. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR DECISIONS TO USE OR NOT USE IODINE SUPPLEMENTATION PRODUCTS IN A RADIATION EMERGENCY!

Iodine is a chemical element that is essential to your health and welfare. It is needed for your thyroid gland to make required hormones, plays a role in fertility, resistance to several types of cancer as well as diabetes heart disease and stroke.

Your body is unable to make iodine and MUST recover it from your diet. Iodine deficiency is a serious problem in much of the world and if a pregnant woman is iodine deficient her children may be born with a form of mental retardation call cretinism, which is where the insult ‘you cretin!’ comes from.

Fortunately, most commercially processed salt is now ‘iodized’ and supplies all you need if you have normal thyroid gland function AND are not currently being exposed to significant radiation. Iodized table salt does NOT have enough Iodine to protect you from radioactive Iodine.

Iodized salt is not a .gov conspiracy to control your mind through contaminated food and if you think it is please don’t contaminate the world with your idiocy.

Potassium, being a free element, normally is found combined with something, most commonly Iodine, to produce Potassium Iodide or similar stable compounds, often abbreviated ‘KI.’ The standard dose of ‘emergency’ Potassium Iodide for an adult is 130 mg of Potassium Iodide, about 100 mg of free Iodine. Dosing discussed in detail below. The Iodine is the thing, the Potassium is irrelevant, you won’t take in enough to produce ‘hyperkalemia.’ An older form is/was Potassium Iodate (KIO3) and was a lot harder on the stomach. I doubt you will ever see any unless it is in an old stash. Dose just like KI.

The problem with radiation is your thyroid gland is a bit of a hog, and will take a load of iodine the easiest and fastest way possible. In a radiation emergency you may be both inhaling and eating radioactive Iodine… and when your thyroid absorbs the radioactive Iodine the radioactivity goes with it, increasing the risk for damage to the thyroid gland (possibly leading to either too little or too much thyroid hormone production) as well as thyroid cancer. By giving you extra Iodine, we fill up your thyroid gland so it doesn’t take up the radioactive Iodine. It’s not 100% protection, but will help a great deal.

The younger you are the higher the risk, the unborn, infants and small children being the biggest losers. The closer to the ground you are, the higher the risk, as radioactive particles settle to the ground. The more you breathe, eat, and drink in contaminated areas the greater the risk. If you have pre-existing thyroid disease, the higher the risk.
Potassium Iodide or Iodine will NOT protect you from other effects of the radiation on your body. It only protects your thyroid gland.

Thus, .gov has stockpiled iodine, in the form of Potassium Iodide, to hand out if we have a major radiation dispersal event. And you can buy expensive over the counter pills, IoSat the same as .gov has stored, over the counter. But you don’t need to buy that.

Knowledge here:

1. The current Chernobyl-sized event (and possible first ever China-syndrome event if the floor of the containment vessel breaches) in Japan is not putting enough radioactive material into the atmosphere to worry about in North America. You get far more radiation exposure daily if you live downwind from a coal fired power plant.

2. You have plenty of iodine on board for daily use if you use iodized salt and have a normal thyroid gland.

3. If you want to have a supply of iodine available in case of a radiation dispersal event in your area, or if you do not store iodized salt in your food storage program (why wouldn’t you?), you can buy the expensive tablets or use one of several perfectly fine alternatives:

a. Pure iodine crystals in bulk (a few ounces of dry crystals per bottle): you can’t buy this any more in any significant quantity due to its ability to make dangerous things, at least not without a license. This is what I store due to its multitude of uses, but c’set la vie for most of you.

b. Polar Pure Iodine Crystals for water disinfection: a very small bottle of dry crystals that makes a super saturated elemental Iodide solution (SSI). Temperature affects the saturation – the warmer the more Iodine in SSI – so we will say that at 70F there is ‘about’ 25 mg of Iodine in 1 drop (defined as 1/3 ml) of SSI. Dosing discussed below. One bottle of Polar Pure will make about 3 ounces or 90 ml of SSI, so you will get about 70 standard adult dose days. Ideal for storage if kept from heat and light, and cheap - $15 for a 3 ounce bottle that provides 70 doses or the ability to treat 500 gallons of water! My choice for prepping. Pack away and forget till needed, will not deteriorate in your (or anyone else’s) lifetime if stored properly. Buy a quality dropper that delivers 1/3 ml per drop don’t guess.

c. Lugol’s Solution: over the counter, get the 5% not the 2 %. This is 85% water, 10% Potassium Iodide, 5 % iodine that when mixed actually ends up as 15% Potassium Tri-iodide Solution, just fine for thyroid blocking. There is ‘about’ 6.3 mg of Iodine in 1 drop of Lugol’s Solution. Dosing given below. Comes with a dropper usually. Good for storage if kept from heat and light. Should not deteriorate to any significant extent.

d. IoSat tablets: the standard Potassium Iodide KI 130 mg tablet for treatment. Handy. Expensive. Good for travel kits – a patient’s hubby was on the ground at Tokyo Narita airport when the earthquake hit and is stuck there now, good thing my exec. travel kit for him had these, huh? Individually sealed tabs, these are what you want for an Uh-Oh supply in the travel kit. Dosing below.

e. Povidone/Iodine (PI) 10% Solution: Available in pads, sticks, and bottles. Don’t use the ‘scrub’ unless you like diarrhea, it has a soap product in it. Ignore the povidone it’s a surfactant that isn’t digested. PI solution contains ‘about’ a 10% Iodine solution, in other words it’s about 1/3 weaker than Lugols’s Solution. There is ‘about’ 4.2 mg of Iodine in 1 drop of Povidone/Iodine 10% solution. Dosing below.

f. Standard water purification tablets: The old military style has ‘about’ 8 mg of Potassium Iodide KI per tablet… swallowing 12.5 tablets daily is not recommended, you will get some awesome nausea. Better to crush the tabs in the bottle to make an SSKI as above. NOTE: many surplus bottles have air leaked or been heat damaged. If they are already crumbling or stuck together or have been open > 3 months they are shot. NOTE: many current water purification tabs are NOT iodine based but chlorine or silver based – won’t help you! Dosing below.

g. Tincture of Iodine 2% - 7%, depending on what you can find. Tinctures (2%) have ‘about’ 4.5 mg iodine per 100 ml – too dilute to be of much use. 2% Free Iodine Solution has 1 mg per drop… still looking at 130 drops for an adult dose. Not very convenient.

h. Various Iodine supplements: They come in a LOT of different strengths. Iodorol is Lugols mix in a tablet, 12.5 mg/tab and 50 mg/tab & SLIGHTLY cheaper than IoSat. Iogen is ridiculously overpriced and too dilute for radiation protection. Ditto Iosol. There are no doubt many others. Remember, many ‘natural’ products have crappy quality control and are very variable on actual quantity of active ingredient. Iodorol is the way to go if you want bulk tablets.

i. Kelp: salt water grown kelp has a strong iodine content. It can be boiled to produce an indeterminate concentration solution. You can soak a piece of paper in the boiled solution, dry, and then expose to sunlight. The faster it turns brown, the stronger the solution. If the solution tastes like metallic crap, you are on the right track. Kelp tablets are available, read the label, typical iodine content is 100-150 MICRO grams per tab so you will be eating a lot of them, not a realistic choice unless you have no other option.

j. ‘Detoxified’/Nacent/Magnanacent/’Cayce’ Iodine: Absolute junk. Ignore.

4. United States FDA/CDC Recommendations for Specific Groups:

a. Iodine in Pregnancy: Because all forms of iodine cross the placenta, pregnant women should take KI to protect the growing fetus. However, pregnant women should take only one dose total of KI following internal contamination with (or likely internal contamination with) radioactive iodine.

b. Women who are breastfeeding: should take only one dose total of KI if they have been internally contaminated with (or are likely to be internally contaminated with) radioactive iodine. Because radioactive iodine quickly gets into breast milk, CDC recommends that women internally contaminated with (or are likely to be internally contaminated with) radioactive iodine stop breastfeeding and feed their child baby formula or other food if it is available. If breast milk is the only food available for an infant, nursing should continue.

c. Infants: Infants need to be given only one dose total the recommended dosage of KI, see dosing below. The amount of KI that gets into breast milk is not enough to protect breastfed infants from exposure to radioactive iodine. The proper dose of KI given to a nursing infant will help protect it from radioactive iodine that it breathes in or drinks in breast milk.

d. Children: Children internally contaminated with (or likely to be internally contaminated with) radioactive iodine should take KI, unless they have known allergies to iodine. Children from newborn to 18 years of age are the most sensitive to the potentially harmful effects of radioactive iodine.

e. Teens & Adults To Age 40: Young adults (between the ages of 18 and 40 years) internally contaminated with (or likely to be internally contaminated with) radioactive iodine take the recommended dose of KI. Young adults are less sensitive to the effects of radioactive iodine than are children.

f. Adults older than 40 years: should not take KI unless public health or emergency management officials say that contamination with a very large dose of radioactive iodine is expected. Adults older than 40 years have the lowest chance of developing thyroid cancer or thyroid injury after contamination with radioactive iodine. They also have a greater chance of having allergic reactions to KI.

5. Iodine Supplementation Side Effects, Complications, Emergencies:

a. Normal side effects include;
i. Nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, diarrhea, metallic taste in the mouth, fever, headache, runny nose, sneezing, or acne may occur

b. Complications include:
i. Burning mouth/throat, sore teeth/gums, swelling inside the mouth, increased saliva, eye irritation/swollen eyelids, severe headache, swelling of the front of the neck/throat (goiter), signs of decreased thyroid gland function (e.g., weight gain, cold intolerance, slow/irregular heartbeat, constipation, unusual tiredness), confusion, tingling in hands/feet.

c. Emergencies include:
i. Chest pain, black stools, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, bloody diarrhea, swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing, fever with joint pain, unconsciousness, death.

6. Standard Dosing Guidelines:
a. NOTE: These were recently reduced; make sure you are not using the old ones! These daily doses represent what is currently believed to be the minimum effective doses for Potassium Iodide for thyroid blocking in a radiation dispersal event.

b. Duration? Till .gov says you can stop, or you exit the contamination zone AND are decontaminated, or you experience serious side effects, or you run out.

c. REMEMBER: You MUST know if you are using Potassium Iodide (KI, SSKI, IoSat = 130 mg Potassium Iodide adult daily dose); or Free Iodine (I, SSI, Polar Pure, Povidone/Iodine, Iodine water tabs, Kelp, supplements = 100 mg Iodine adult daily dose) as these each have DIFFERENT mounts of Iodine in them!

d. Dose Potassium Iodide (KI)/Free Iodine (I):
i. Pregnant: 130 mg KI/100 mg I; One Dose Only unless directed otherwise
ii. Breastfeeding: 130 mg KI/100 mg I; One Dose Only unless directed otherwise
iii. Infants birth – 1 month: 16 mg KI/12 mg I; One Dose Only unless directed otherwise
iv. Children 1 month – 3 years: 32 mg KI/25 mg I daily
v. Kids 3 years – 18 years: 65 mg KI/50 mg I daily
vi. Adults/anyone above 150 lbs: 130 mg KI/100 mg daily

Do No Harm. Do Know Harm.

Thanks folks - some excellent info there. I will take time to read it. Like I said earlier, I am not worried about Japan. However, we have 2 reactors in CA and they are both designed to withstand earthquakes up to the 7-7.5 scale (but no more). Not totally reassuring. I am hoping that this Japanese crisis might prompt a review of the emergency shutdown procedures for all reactors in the USA. That is something that we should be able to improve.

One other thing about radioactive iodine ... seems like if you had contamination sources in your environment (or food) that were radioactive, you should be able to detect this with some sort of radiation meter. Assuming that you had a personal meter available (with enough sensitivity), maybe you could just do spot checks on your food and drinking water before consuming it? I don't know if this is really practical, but it might be one approach.

Someone asked (on another thread at the site) how exactly does the radiation in Japan break down? How much is due to alpha, beta, and gamma radiation? Good question. I have never seen that data disseminated, but I bet they've got it. We could ask the same thing about future radiation contamination in the USA. Suppose that we had a real problem with a radioactive plume in the atmosphere. We've got scientsts who should be able to tell us exactly which isotopes are causing the problem - again, this stuff is not rocket science. We've got good people who should be able to give answers.

other Pete

Thanks, a lot of info there.
We have a partially used bottle of "Iosol Iodine". The label on the bottle reads: Below that it indicates that the amount per serving as specified above is 153 mg of iodine which would seem to be a 153% of a standard dose of KI. . .

. . . I think I'm getting enough -- probably more than enough. Time to throttle back . . .

I saw this story about Chinese buying up table salt for treatment of radioactive iodine-131 from Japan (possibly).

Japan radiation fears spark panic salt-buying in China
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-china-iodine-salt-20110318,0,4281601.story?track=rss

I knew it that wouldn't work, but I did some checking.

Prophylactic KI contains 130milligrams of KI for an adult dose of one tablet per day for up to 10 days, depending on the expected length of exposure. (http://ki4u.com/#5)

Iodized salt contains 67 micrograms of iodine per 1/4 tsp. It would take 1940 quarter teaspoon doses of iodized salt to equal one 130mg tablet dose. That's about 10CUPS/6.4lbs of salt!!! (almost 4 - 26oz. cartons)

A little checking (http://members.tripod.com/~Prof_Anil_Aggrawal/POISO014.HTML) and I found that 40tsp/13Tbsp/8.4oz/>3/4C of salt is considered a fatal dose for a 154lb human.

So, in order to get the prophylactic dose of KI from iodized table salt, you'd need to take 13.3 times the fatal dosage of salt EACH day!



Here's some information on the topical application of Iodine.

If Potassium Iodide tablets and access to health care is not available, Iodine tincture should NOT be ingested. Some research has been done showing that applying tincture of Iodine to the skin will allow absorption and protection.

A 1989 study headed by Health Physicist Ken Miller of the Hershey Medical Center conducted on 24 healthy adult male subjects tested the effectiveness of topically applied tincture of Iodine. The subjects were administered a blocking dose of stable iodine by painting 8 ml of a 2 percent tincture of Iodine on a 200 x 100mm area of the abdomen for one group and a 4ml dose administered to a 200mm x 50mm area of the forearm for another group approximately 2 hours prior to I-131 contamination. The synopsis of the study found that "Although there were large variations within each subject group in regard to serum-I (Iodine) levels and thyroid uptakes, the increase in serum-I concentration after topical-I application was effective in reducing the thyroid uptake of I-131. The authors conclude that IN THE ABSENSE OF KI, most humans would benefit from topical application of tincture of-I, and that in some the effectiveness would equal that of oral KI."
(The abstract of his study entitled "Effectiveness of Skin Absorption of Tincture of I in Blocking Radioiodine from the Human Thyroid Gland" published in Health Physics, June 1989, Vol. 56, No. 6, pages 911-914, http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~vL9NcN:1 )

Here is an interesting response from a reader in the UK who was sending a personal comment to the BBC about one of their stories ...

--------------------------------
"It is not 'radiation' that is the concern in a nuclear accident. It is the release of radioactive particles that can then be ingested either directly or months later in food. If that happens, the radioactivity will be permanently lodged in your body to become part of your bones, teeth and organs. Then you will be continuously exposed to radiation for the rest of your life - nothing like [i.e. no comparison to] a quick visit to the X-Ray department for a broken bone."

from Tony Duffin, Didcot, UK
---------------------------------

Pete #2

I'd be more worried about mutagenic properties of many radioactive isotopes. I don't really fancy turning into Hulk, and I suspect any useful super power would be too rare to take the risk.

And from the mutagenic characteristics, it follows that a weak dose can be more dangerous than a more severe one. The latter will kill the cells, while the former would/could mutate them while allowing them to duplicate.

-jh

Interesting, I just read that the French are clearing the store shelves of salt, too.

it would be nice if the producers of iodine containing compounds would provide the molar concentrations of their solutions rather than the percentages

...remember your high school chemistry that a mole of substance is the molecular mass in grams of that substance, and that a molar (M) solution is that amount dissolved in a liter of water, or that a molal (m) solution is dissolved in a 1000g of solvent (typically other than water)

for potassium iodide (KI).... K, mass of 39, I, mass of 127 so a mole (mol) of KI is 166g per mol... dissolved in a liter of water would be a 1M solution of KI

millimole...so if there are 166g KI per liter.... there are 166mg KI per milliliter (ml)

calibration or standardization of the eyedropper/ml calculations....there are a variety of "standards" when doing calculations...there are typically 20 drops of water per mililiter in normal chem calculations, but approx 15 drops for a solution of KI

to titrate for the recommended adult dosage of KI for thyroid blocking of 130mg per day you need 130/166 of 1 ml or around 12drops on the 15d/ml or about 16 drops if the 20 drops /ml value is used

This article pretty much repeats the information already presented. I add it because it is short, written by someone who knows what he is talking about, and it is easy to read and understand while not obscuring the important points:

http://scientopia.org/blogs/whitecoatunderground/2011/03/12/saturday-evening-rant-iodine-edition/

From Nuclear War Survival Skills (available free here )

Trans-Pacific fallout: http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p929.htm

PREVENTION OF THYROID DAMAGE FROM RADIOACTIVE IODINES http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p924.htm#Message2476

Looks like some Americans have been popping the KI pills and suffering from side effects. As has been mentioned by the authorities and folks here on ETS, there's no need to be taking them at this time anywhere in the US.

Here's an MSNBC article about it.

Can you blame them? The fear mongering media made it sound like the end of the west coast was already happening. I have to admit as soon as I heard about japan my preparing Phobia jumped alittle to high and I began wondering about buying some PItabs but slowly I calmed down and went back to normal prep duty getting a few simple things here and there.

a little off thread, but will pass it on anyway... I've become somewhat addicted to the "Food Channel" as I like to cook, and like the texture of kosher salt... I purchased without looking at the label... and it is not iodized... many of the specialty salts are not... better start checking the labels

Yep, we use Sea Salt and while it may have some form of iodine in there, it isn't iodized. Takes a lot of iodized salt to have a significant effect.

Since it's extremely unlikely that radiation will reach here in any dangerous amounts, why would anyone want to check the ingredients of their table salt? It's either a problem and needs to be treated with the proper materials, or it isn't a problem.

The approved dose of iodine in table salt is 150 micrograms per day. The medically-prescribed dose of Potassium Iodide is 130 mg, about 866 TIMES the daily dose of iodized table salt.

Sue

I have a question.

Would it ever be considered helpful to take a "test dose" of KI, say, half a normal dose, to test whether or not you have a bad reaction to it?

In the event that KI pills are needed then that seems like a really bad time to discover that they make you ill.

Then again, there's also the reasoning that if you're going to get ill from KI may as well do it when it'll actually do some good.

Just wondering if anyone else has thought of this.

Id ask your doctor first befor testing any form of meds you question. Not only will he be able to inform you on your own personal risk it will give him a heads up if he says yeah sure do it and it infact has negative effects.

I posted the comment, not in response to the need for potassium iodide, but a comment on the medical requirements of the need for dietary iodine, hence the comment "a little off thread"...I have reduced my dietary intake of table salt (NaCl) for health reasons, and overlooked the need for trace amounts of iodine added to iodized salt when I switched to kosher salt for its texture...I do realize the difference between micrograms and milligrams...I taught Stoichiometric calculations for 30 years

Any time you take any medication (or any substance at all, for that matter) there is the possibility of side effects. Generally, one doesn't go around consuming pills just to check their body's reaction.

When a doctor takes your medical history, you will be asked about previous allergic reactions. A history of allergies suggests the likelihood of adverse reactions to new drugs you might receive in treatment, among other things.

Right now in the North American continent, we need KI like a fish needs a bicycle.....

... besides which, there are better forms of iodine than the KI tablets if all you want is a maintenance dose. The fraction of a drop of the liquid iodine I take or the iodine in the seaweed snacks I'm fond of, or even those awful tasting brown seaweed chewables are much preferable to me. This non-experience has taught me the dose' I need from the liquid and chewables; as for the snacks I have no idea, that's just extra I suppose.

while not directly related to Potassium Iodide, I ran across this on the web today. I have no idea if this is a legitimate research center, but since I like Miso soup I figure It can't hurt to have some in the "go bag".
[snip]
"People who eat miso regularly may be up to five times more resistant to radiation than those who do not eat miso. That is the conclusion of a team of researchers at Hiroshima University’s atomic bomb radiation research center.2
Dr. Kazumitsu Watanabe, professor of cancer and radiation research investigated the radioprotective effect of miso, a fermented soy product, by testing small intestine cells of lab mice. These cells absorb nutrients and are particularly sensitive to radiation, which can easily destroy these cells.
The victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced severe diarrhea after the atomic bomb blasts because of the massive destruction of these cells due to radiation. Even when X-rays at levels lethal to humans were administered to the mice 60 percent of them survived as opposed to nine percent of the mice that were not fed miso soup.
Akihiro Ito, head of one of the research teams at Hiroshima University, found that miso helps eliminate toxins from the body through stimulation of the circulatory and metabolic systems, which may possibly make miso useful when undergoing chemotherapy."
[snip]

Most people usually aren't instantly allergic to anything.

First, I understand you need an initial dose, an exposure. You body has to 'think about it a bit'.

The next time you have an exposure, you could show a reaction, but there's no guarantee.

An allergic reaction could come at any time, even after exposure for years. Consider beekeepers. They get stung, they get an itchy bump, and that's all. They may get stung hundreds of times over the next 20 or 30 years, no real problem. Then one day, they get stung and might go into anaphylaxis. If they're lucky, they get to treatment soon enough to reverse it.

But if they all worried about allergic reactions, we would never have any honey.

Sue

Most people usually aren't instantly allergic to anything.

First, I understand you need an initial dose, an exposure. You body has to 'think about it a bit'.

The next time you have an exposure, you could show a reaction, but there's no guarantee.

An allergic reaction could come at any time, even after exposure for years. Consider beekeepers. They get stung, they get an itchy bump, and that's all. They may get stung hundreds of times over the next 20 or 30 years, no real problem. Then one day, they get stung and might go into anaphylaxis. If they're lucky, they get to treatment soon enough to reverse it.

But if they all worried about allergic reactions, we would never have any honey.

Sue

Somewhere there should appear, if it has not already shown up, an article in a refereed journal. Studies on mice are suggestive, but not definitive, for humans.

I'll bet the stock of miso soup companies will soar....It's nice that it is tasty stuff.

Lucky for me I just got a pound and a half of Miso paste today! Of course, it did come from Japan but I'm sure it was in the warehouse stateside long before the quake. FWIW, there's no reason to buy iodized salt anymore; the stuff just tastes gross, and the modern Western diet contains plenty of iodine. The addition of the substance is just a goofy holdover from an earlier time when it seemed like a good way to get iodine out there. Sort of like how we consider it an employer's duty to provide you with health insurance.