The dangers of excess iodine uptake: This... - Thyroid UK

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The dangers of excess iodine uptake

diogenes profile image
diogenesRemembering
20 Replies

This excellent article by Tania Smith (Thyroid.ca) describes the dangers and outcomes of taking in too much iodine. An article to be read and understood by anyone taking iodine direct.

Potassium iodide (KI) dosing in a nuclear emergency

BY THYROIDPATIENTSCA on MARCH 4, 2022

thyroidpatients.ca/2022/03/...

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diogenes profile image
diogenes
Remembering
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20 Replies
shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

Thanks for posting diogenes and am sure those who've been prescribed iodine (or source their own) will find your post very informative.

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

Thankyou for the notification diogenes. will have a read later . link : thyroidpatients.ca/2022/03/...

when i heard the news about them giving out tablets to locals 'just in case' i didn't think about the thyroid implications .

I was already wondering how many people over there are struggling to get access to their thyroid hormone replacement due to the devastation being inflicted on their country.

Localhero profile image
Localhero in reply totattybogle

Been having the same thoughts, not just about thyroid medication but any essential medications. Just a complete nightmare of the impact on people’s lives.

Fruitandnutcase profile image
Fruitandnutcase in reply totattybogle

We were camping on a very small campsite site beside Pont du Gard in France a few years ago when we noticed a British man about our age going from camper to camper - it turned out to be a major incident at a nuclear power station on the Rhine not far from us.

They left the site as fast as they could followed by a young German couple with a baby which I thought was probably the right decision.

That left us and a Dutch couple about our age, we had a chat about it and decided we were probably too old to bother about it and anyway there was no activity at the campsite office.

At the same time we heard that people who lived locally all had some sort of tablets to take in case of problems. Sounds like it must have been iodine tablets they had.

As for Ukraine - I keep thinking that just a couple of years ago the people were doing all the same things we are doing now - taking their kids to school, going for walks, doing Pilates, teenagers studying for exams, people cooking their family meals, even just turning on their taps etc etc just normal everyday things and now their lives are beyond hell. I don’t go to church but I pray every day for a peaceful solution and soon.

jimh111 profile image
jimh111

Thanks. An outstanding article thyroidpatients.ca/2022/03/... .

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply tojimh111

Out of the entire range of thyroid "experts", two are head and shoulders above the rest.

Tania S Smith and diogenes.

(That is not meant to put down the rest of diogenes' colleagues - just that they don't post here or post to websites, etc.)

Both explain complex issues well for the non-experts we are.

jimh111 profile image
jimh111 in reply tohelvella

It's no coincidence that they do not market supplements or take advertising. Not on the make.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply tojimh111

Nor are TPC's web pages designed to be clickbait in search engines.

It is very hard to know what to believe when other thyroid "experts" are so heavily into sales. Some of their information might be good. They might post only what they truly believe is fact. But being clickbait must be a major factor in how they manage their sites.

TSH110 profile image
TSH110

Thanks for posting. It’s a bit scary - not sure I’d want to see the aftermath to be honest. Not heard any such advice being given here I guess we’d all be left to roast.

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toTSH110

We do have plans here to cover accidents /catastrophies etc , but they don't shout about them .. don't want to frighten the horses.

Mind you if you only live a couple of miles away from 2 nuclear power stations like i do , there's not much point worrying about it.. a mate in our fire brigade once told me the local emergency plans start 'a bit further away'

Imaaan profile image
Imaaan

It's a geat article,thnxs for posting

Localhero profile image
Localhero

That’s an excellent article. I hadn’t appreciated iodine could be used in such circumstances to block effects of radiation. Honestly, the things we’re having to get our heads round right now..

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator

NHS England has these documents (link to page with further links to documents) regarding potassium iodate and iodide use.

Protocols – Potassium iodate and potassium iodide

Document first published:

24 March 2016

Page updated:

20 January 2022

Topic:

Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response

Publication type:

Guidance

A specific set of Protocols developed by Public Health England (PHE) in partnership with NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and other specialist advice to enable the NHS in England to respond to a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) event.

england.nhs.uk/publication/...

tattybogle TSH110

AmandaK profile image
AmandaK

Thank you Diogenes. This is extremely helpful. I have a problem in that if I have anything with iodine in it, even relatively low doses, I get a stress reaction (strange salty taste in the mouth, dry and weirdly over-saliva-d - mouth, increased heart beat, louder tinnitus). This reaction is a mystery to the doctor. Heaven help me if I was required to take an emergency high dosage. A recent test to establish iodine levels revealed they were low in range, though the doctor postulated that this might be not optimal.

radd profile image
radd

Regarding RadBlock and those of us with an atrophied thyroid gland, I'm wondering if we would still need a high dose of iodine in the event of free radioactivity?

Thoughts anyone?

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toradd

I agree it is an important question.

diogenes profile image
diogenesRemembering in reply toradd

Accurately, probably not. But since it would a faff selecting out those with no thyroid, iodine tablets would be given to everyone. But if you have no thyroid and are on nonradioactive T4 or T3, it wouldn't be needed.

radd profile image
radd in reply todiogenes

diogenes, so I guess we'd just pee it all straight out then.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toradd

Not always as innocuous as you might think:

Serious kidney damage can be caused by the iodine-containing “dyes” that doctors use to enhance the quality of medical scans.

kidney.org/news/kidneyCare/...

(That was just the first of many hits concerning high iodine and kidney damage. And almost certainly not the best.)

jgelliss profile image
jgelliss in reply toradd

Great question???

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