I bought iodine tablets, now when do I take them?

Yea pills are going to work remember back in the day when they told you to duck and cover for impending nuke attacks. Stick your head between your legs and kiss your booty goodbye while your down there. But seriously a plume of radiation coming from Japan via Jet stream is going to be very minor in the US and wide spread and a timeline to predict when to take pills is silly, you'll see cancer rates go up over time everywhere but there's nothing you can do about that it's done, pill companies are cashing in fat though. Keep feeding the fear system.

reply to post by liejunkie01


Not exactly, prevention is always better than healing. It may not be a 100% OMG ur invincible against radiation but still better than nothing in the case of real issue. SO no I don't think it is a waste having bought some myself with this state of mind.

Originally posted by MysticPearl
I live in northern California, and given all the speculation about the radiation fallout hitting the west coast, I went out and bought iodine tablets yesterday. So, when should I take them? I have a feelling if I wait until the mainstream media reports on higher radiation levels here on the west coast, it will be too late. Does the government/media really ever give advanced enough warning? No. They'll deny it until it's too late.

Some posters on here have said the most important period in the west will be the 18th-21st. Do I start taking the iodine on the 18th to play it safe, or wait until we know for a fact the radiation levels here are higher? Once the radiation levels are higher, is it too late if you haven't already ingested the iodine?

You should put them in a package and donate them to the local red cross to send to where the people really need them - Japan.

reply to post by thruthseek3r


I understand.

Unfortuanately I have to put some fuel in the car at $3.48 a gallon. I cannot afford the luxury of such pills. So I guess I will take my chances and stay educated and aware. If needed the rent will be spent on duct tape, plastic, and more gas to get out of dodge.

I appreciate most of the responses so far. Want to make one thing clear though: I'm not panicing, nor am I in a state of panic.

I went to a local health store which I fequent, and spend $10 on a bottle of tablets. Thought I'd ask when I should take them, if at all, since I'm no expert on radiation. How the hell does that come across as me being in a state of panic? Just taking precautions, given if high radiation were to hit the west coast, I live 15 miles from the coast.

Seriously, I'm not one of the dozens upon dozens of posters on here ready to pack up and move off the grid, or pack up all my belongings and take off for high ground because of a pole shift which should be occuring as I type this, if I took everything on here literally.

I bought the tablets while shopping for my protein powder. So everyone thinking I'm off the wall, in a state of panic, and am about to pick up and move, can chill out. How about directing that line of thinking at the hundreds of posters who said our way of life should be ending today?

MysticPearl: I appreciate what your saying, but relying on the general ATS populace for medical advice is dangerous, imo.

reply to post by MysticPearl


Thank you for clarifying on your original post. I was under the asumption that these pills were more than $10. That would not but but a few gallons of gas anyway.

I believe that I was the first to S&F you. I am not being super critical here.

Originally posted by crudos
MysticPearl: I appreciate what your saying, but relying on the general ATS populace for medical advice is dangerous, imo.

Not relying, just weighing one opinion against another, and letting it filter, just like with anything in life.

Originally posted by MysticPearl

Originally posted by crudos
MysticPearl: I appreciate what your saying, but relying on the general ATS populace for medical advice is dangerous, imo.

Not relying, just weighing one opinion against another, and letting it filter, just like with anything in life.

But when dealing with something very specific like taking Iodine tablets, there is only one set of directions and time to take them. Talk with a doctor you trust, that is the only opinion to filter.

I came across this little nifty website with a one stop,nuclear fallout,info on how long radiation would last in the air,iodine pills,gieger counters.
It really has alot of info pertaining to this and it may calm some nerves.
www.ki4u.com...

I went to our pharmacy, what I discovered was no potassium iodine not even shelved, this didn't surprise me, but what I did find was the Over 50+ multivitamin contains 150 mg of potassium iodine. Consider your physical conditions, as a supplement is not right for everyone. Your dr. is your best resource, don't want to overdo other elements of the supplement and throw something else like your heart out of whack.
Went to the dollar store and had a better savings on the same level of ingredients 60 for $2.50 150 for $5.50. Guess what I am taking tomorrow am?

reply to post by SunflowerStar


Could you give us an example of what multivitamin to get?

Thanks

reply to post by BattleStarGal


The only one I found was for folks over fifty. any of them. Read the label, usually listed as iodine -(potassium iodine) ,was how it was listed. some listed potassium and potassium iodine, read the labels though. thing is, other than a regular daily dosage, how much mg is in the supplement everyone is searching for? And how much is given of it compared to the multivitamin? How much for minimal exposure to radiation as compared to onsite exposure

Originally posted by SunflowerStar
I went to our pharmacy, what I discovered was no potassium iodine not even shelved, this didn't surprise me, but what I did find was the Over 50+ multivitamin contains 150 mg of potassium iodine. Consider your physical conditions, as a supplement is not right for everyone. Your dr. is your best resource, don't want to overdo other elements of the supplement and throw something else like your heart out of whack.
Went to the dollar store and had a better savings on the same level of ingredients 60 for $2.50 150 for $5.50. Guess what I am taking tomorrow am?

edit on 15-3-2011 by SunflowerStar because: (no reason given)

edit on 15-3-2011 by SunflowerStar because: clarification

You do not need to take them unless you are almost certainly gonna be exposed.
And unless you are in Japan,you are not going to be affected.

Radiation that gets inside
The body is the one that kills you.
There are a lot of simple things you
Can do to keep your exposure down.
When you know you have radiation.
Wear a dust mask.
Small practical of dust with radiation get in to the lunges.
Shoes, coat, trousers and gloves will have radiation dust.
So take them of at the door, don't shake them.
And air vents, windows and air conditioner
put up a Very fine net to stop dust. in the hall way.
put up a sheet. to stop dust blowing in.
For water a very very fine filter.
Any food you buy. Check the date.
If the date is old you are ok.
But stock up NOW, mostly water.
Use the Sodium iodine sparingly.
when you start to bleed then use the MAX dose.

Multi vitamins DO NOT CONTAIN enough KI to be of any use.
You need a dose of 130 milligrams not micrograms starting 24 hours before exposure.
Some Japanese who eat a lot of seaweed get as much as 80 milligrams
a day in their diet and they would be protected. Side effects of even
that amount are usually minimal unless you are allergic to it.


WIKI:
Product labeling for diagnostic iodine-131 iobenguane recommends potassium iodide administration one day before injection and continuing 5 to 7 days following administration, in keeping with the much longer half-life of this isotope and its greater danger to the thyroid.[23] Iodine-131 iobenguane used for therapeutic purposes requires a different pre-medication duration, beginning 24–48 hours prior to iobenguane injection and continuing 10–15 days following injection.[24]
[edit] Thyroid protection due to nuclear accidents and emergencies

SSKI may be used in radioiodine-contamination emergencies (i.e., nuclear accidents) to "block" the thyroid's uptake of radioiodine (this is not the same as blocking the thyroid's release of thyroid hormone).

Potassium iodide was approved in 1982 by the US FDA to protect the thyroid glands from radioactive iodine from accidents or fission emergencies. In the event of an accident or attack at a nuclear power plant, or fallout from a nuclear bomb, volatile fission product radionuclides may be released, of which 131I is one of the most common by-products and a particularly dangerous one due to thyroid gland concentration of it, which may lead to thyroid cancer. By saturating the body with a source of stable iodide prior to exposure, inhaled or ingested 131I tends to be excreted.

Potassium iodide cannot protect against any other causes of radiation poisoning, nor can it provide any degree of protection against dirty bombs that produce radionuclides other than isotopes of iodine. See fission products and the external links for more details concerning radionuclides.
WHO Recommended Dosage for Radiological Emergencies involving radioactive iodine[25] Age KI in mg
Over 12 years old 130
3 – 12 years old 65*
1 – 36 months old 32
< 1 month old 16

(*...contained in one scored tablet specific for this use. The potassium iodide in iodized salt is insufficient for this use as 80 tablespoons would be needed to equal one tablet.)

The World Health Organization recommends that nuclear fallout KI prophylaxis is not recommended for adults over 40 years, unless inhaled radiation dose levels are expected to threaten thyroid function; because, the KI side effects increases with age and may exceed the KI protective effects "...unless doses to the thyroid from inhalation rise to levels threatening thyroid function, that is of the order of about 5 Gy. Such radiation doses will not occur far away from an accident site."[25]

The protective effect of KI lasts approximately 24 hours. For optimal prophylaxis, KI should therefore be dosed daily, until a risk of significant exposure to radioiodines by either inhalation or ingestion no longer exists.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services restated these two years later as "The downward KI (potassium iodide) dose adjustment by age group, based on body size considerations, adheres to the principle of minimum effective dose. The recommended standard (daily) dose of KI for all school-age children is the same (65 mg). However, adolescents approaching adult size (i.e., >70 kg [154 lbs]) should receive the full adult dose (130 mg) for maximal block of thyroid radioiodine uptake. Neonates ideally should receive the lowest dose (16 mg) of KI."[26]
[edit] Historical use and analysis

Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in April, 1986, a saturated solution of potassium iodide (SSKI) was administered to 10.5 million children and 7 million adults in Poland[26] as a prophylactic measure against accumulation of radioactive iodine-131 in the thyroid gland. People in the areas immediately surrounding Chernobyl itself, however, were not given the supplement.[27]

Potassium iodide’s (KI) value as a radiation protective (thyroid blocking) agent was demonstrated at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear accident when Soviet authorities distributed it in a 30 km zone around the plant. The purpose was to protect residents from radioactive iodine, a highly carcinogenic material found in nuclear reactors which had been released by the damaged reactor. Only a limited amount of KI was available, but those who received it were protected. Later, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reported, “thousands of measurements of I-131 (radioactive iodine) activity...suggest that the observed levels were lower than would have been expected had this prophylactic measure not been taken. The use of KI...was credited with permissible iodine content in 97% of the evacuees tested.”[28]

Poland, 300 miles from Chernobyl, also distributed KI to protect its population. Approximately 18 million doses were distributed, with follow-up studies showing no known thyroid cancer among KI recipients.[29] With the passage of time, people living in irradiated areas where KI was not available have developed thyroid cancer at epidemic levels, which is why the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported “The data clearly demonstrate the risks of thyroid radiation...KI can be used [to] provide safe and effective protection against thyroid cancer caused by irradiation.[30]

Chernobyl also demonstrated that the need to protect the thyroid from radiation was greater than expected. Within ten years of the accident, it became clear that thyroid damage caused by released radioactive iodine was virtually the only adverse health effect that could be measured. As reported by the NRC, studies after the accident showed that “As of 1996, except for thyroid cancer, there has been no confirmed increase in the rates of other cancers, including leukemia, among the...public, that have been attributed to releases from the accident.”[31]

But equally important to the question of KI is the fact that radiation releases are not “local” events. Researchers at the World Health Organization accurately located and counted the cancer victims from Chernobyl and were startled to find that “the increase in incidence [of thyroid cancer] has been documented up to 500 km from the accident site...significant doses from radioactive iodine can occur hundreds of kilometers from the site, beyond emergency planning zones."[25] Consequently, far more people than anticipated were affected by the radiation, which caused the United Nations to report in 2002 that “The number of people with thyroid cancer...has exceeded expectations. Over 11,000 cases have already been reported.”[32]

These findings were consistent with studies of the effects of previous radiation releases. In 1945, millions of Japanese were exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons, and the effects can still be measured. Today, nearly half (44.8%) the survivors of Nagasaki studied have identifiable thyroid disease, with the American Medical Association reporting “it is remarkable that a biological effect from a single brief environmental exposure nearly 60 years in the past is still present and can be detected.”[33] This, as well as the development of thyroid cancer among residents in the North Pacific from radioactive fallout following the United States' nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s (on islands nearly 200 miles downwind of the tests) were instrumental in the decision by the FDA in 1978 to issue a request for the availability of KI for thyroid protection in the event of a release from a commercial nuclear power plant or weapons-related nuclear incident. Noting that KI’s effectiveness was “virtually complete” and finding that iodine in the form of potassium iodide (KI) was substantially superior to other forms including iodate (KIO3) in terms of safety, effectiveness, lack of side effects, and speed of onset, the FDA invited manufacturers to submit applications to produce and market KI.[34]

Today, three companies (Anbex, Inc., Fleming Co, and Recip of Sweden) have met the strict FDA requirements for manufacturing and testing of KI, and they offer products (IOSAT, ThyroShield, and Thyro-Safe, respectively) which are available for purchase. The Swedish manufacturing facility for Thyrosafe, a potassium iodide tablet for thyroid protection from radiation manufactured by Recipharm AB, was mentioned on the secret US 2008 Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative leaked by Wikileaks in 2010.[35]
[edit] Adverse reactions

There have been some reports of potassium iodide treatment causing swelling of the parotid gland (one of the three glands which secrete saliva), due to its stimulatory effects on saliva production.[36]

A saturated solution of KI (SSKI) is typically given orally in adult doses of about 250 mg iodide several times a day (5 drops of SSKI assumed to be ⅓ mL) for thyroid blockage and occasionally as an expectorant. At these doses, and sometimes at much lower doses, side effects may include: acne, loss of appetite, or upset stomach (especially during the first several days, as the body adjusts to the medication). More severe side effects which require notification of a physician are: fever, weakness, unusual tiredness, swelling in the neck or throat, mouth sores, skin rash, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, irregular heartbeat, numbness or tingling of the hands or feet, or a metallic taste in the mouth.[37]