re iodine controversy

Dear people. My child had be advised to take iodine and zinc rethyroid issues for a while and some homeopathic stuff. I think due to health blood results he cannot be treated as yet with hormones but the doctor he saw agreed that he had thyroid issues and pointed out the loss of eyebrows. I have just used some lingual drops on my wrists and put some on my child too. Could I have some advise though please on best ways to take etc. Iamaware of the concerns about iodine and thyroid and would be interested to hear about this. I am not sure they are well founded. It was common practice thirty years ago to paint people with iodine prior to surgery. eally large areas and medicine back then and prior was much more observant.

[thyr01d]

How about reading up and comparing the alternative practitioners' advice with the advice from places that have nothing to gain from seeing patients and giving advice? I am not at all against alternative practitioners but I think the fact that they are called 'alternative' because it has proven impossible to show that their treatments bring reliable and predictable benefits, although they do sometimes, tells us that we need to be very careful and to do our own research before following their advice.

There is a lot of negative written about iodine when ingested, and, in my innocence I tried it for some months, having done the skin test and the advisor was astonished to see that all of it had vanished within just a few minutes. It did not improve my symptoms at all and I regret trying it because of all that I later read.

Just one opinion of course and I'm sure you'll receive opposite viewpoints, but, with any of my children their dependence on me means I would choose being medically safe rather than trying out something when the consequences cannot later be undone.

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

Thank you. Can you suggest where I might find such people? I also need to be very careful in regard to my childs treatment. He will not get it on NHS and is clearly hypothyroid. This doctor is an endo and pead and well versed in thyroid issues, especailly those in children. I have been painted big time with iodine a couple of times in my life and not great benefit but no harm either. I am and he is keeping stuff as safe as possible. I have read some good stuff about its affectiveness although I almost never read books as consider them all propoganda of one form and another.

[thyr01d in reply to Hidden]

Hello again Mandyjane, if your advice has come from an endocrinolost who is also a paediatrician then you seem already to have consulted the right people so I'm somewhat confused. Is it this medically qualified doctor who has advised iodine?

I don't know any doctors qualified as both an endocrinologist and also a paediatrician, I don't wish to be disrespectful but are you sure this doctor has the necessary in-depth knowledge and understanding?

From my experience, the best information comes from people on this website, it was through learning off here that I knew who to consult and listen to.

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

Yes I am sure he is qualified and trained with Dr hertogies in Belgium. I agree the best information is from this website and I always find connecting with others on here more reliable but treating a child in this country has to be supervised by doctor. You can even get into trouble for giving B12 if not supervised and taking a childs blood even by a finger prick can be considered assault. It seem iodine seems to be really good for some people and harmful to others and most people makes no difference. There are for and against books. Whatever information is out thier regarding iodine I would be really interested to hear from anyone who feels they were harmed by it. It would give an indication of what to look for and whether the anti iodine books were drug company driven to prevent people from getting better. There is as we know an agenda to prevent us getting better but the reverse could be true and books are written to say take it when it harms.

It may also be different treating children. But I expected him not to offer thyroid hormones and was going to say no if he did. he knew and we both acknowlegde thyroid issues but if you have a look at previous post I put his blood results and the only response I got was to say not a thyroid issue. The doctor is new practising out of NHS and prescribing hormones with those blood results would be too risky for him. I think blood will be takne in a few months to see if hormone levels reflect symptoms. He is thyroid resistant and will probably need sky high doses. Not many doctors would support this in an adult and with a child he would be in trouble big time.

[thyr01d in reply to Hidden]

Dear MandyJane, first of all I am sorry because you won't want to hear this but I don't think Dr Hertogies is a good source, a 'medical school' offering certification after a few hundred hours doesn't compare with years and years of study and hands on practice in a UK medical school, and, I'd be ultra cautious of someone practising out of the NHS.

I appreciate that it's none of my business, but I am concerned about you and your son. Can't you, via this site, find an NHS (or privately practising alongside NHS work) specialist?

It's clear that your motive is to get the best care you can for your son, I'm just worried you might not have found someone safe, well-intentioned perhaps and with some knowledge, but perhaps not enough to know what harm they could do?

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

Dear Thy01d,

Nobody gets one over on me and I am probably one of the most street wise people in regard to my children. There is no NHS treatment possible. It is much harder to get treatment for a child than adult and a lot of the doctors recommended on the forum will not see a child. I have been able to find a couple who base treatment on symptoms but I am very fussy. I understand your concern but this is the best I can do. I met someone this morning who has a thyroid issue being treated alternatively ( I do question the effectivenss long term) she did however say that there was a method of determing too much or too little iodine. He said that she had too much iodine and had to be treated for the reason she was not getting rid of it which led to gut issues. What I suspect is that I am dealing with someone who can tell the diffference by clinical observation of too much rather than too little or the other way round.I have decided to hold back on iodine untill I have spoken to him some more about it. It seems that if you have too little iodine can work miricles and if you have too much it can make matters worse.

The information about iodine readily available and not obscure. This either means that I am dealing with someone who knows next to nothing about thyroid issues but that was clearly not the case in consultation or someone who is very very good.

Thank you for your concern which I understand hence my reason for posting.

[thyr01d in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply, you are very understanding and it's good to read that you are streetwise and no-one gets one over on you. I wish you and your son the very best and hope he is soon restored to full health.

[diogenes Remembering]

Iodine rubbed onto the skin is very little absorbed into the body and blood. 90% + evaporates off without entering the skin at all, and most of the rest is stuck in the skin colloid and is released very slowly. So giving iodine in this way scarcely enters the body at all. See the site:

The Bioavailability of Iodine Applied to the Skin, by Guy E. Abraham, MD

optimox.com/iodine-study-20

for more details.

[thyr01d in reply to diogenes]

Yes, indeed Diogenes and I'm sorry if my reply implied that putting it on the skin was for treatment, I meant that the commonly-used test to see if the body needs iodine, which is to see how quickly it is absorbed, is unreliable.