Do You Really Need Potassium Iodide Tablets?

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

Dr. Cynthia Koelker addresses nuclear fallout and preventing radiation poisoning and thyroid cancer quite thoroughly in her book Armageddon Medicine, and I'd highly recommend acquiring a copy if it is at all possible.  What follows is a summary of the most critical points of information.


For those who wonder, potassium iodide tablets are recommended for preventing radiation sickness and future thyroid cancer in the wake of a nuclear event, whether that situation arises due to human error or faulty construction, like Chernobyl, or terrorist actions, or a natural disaster.  The radiation contaminates the entire atmosphere locally and then prevailing winds carry the radiation downwind, and it is radioactive iodine that is the most common component in fallout outside the immediate area of a nuclear event. People and animals then inhale and ingest the radioactive iodine, about one-third of which will accumulate in the thyroid.  This, in turn, may cause thyroid cancer years down the road.  Young children are at greatest risk.

Potassium iodide, also known as KI, when taken 30 minutes to 24 hours before exposure, saturates the thyroid with regular iodine and thus prevents it from taking up any radioactive iodine.  The radioactive iodine is then excreted from the body.  Using potassium iodide post-exposure (like what the Russian government told their citizens to do following their 2019 disaster) is pointless.  Keep in mind that potassium iodide can't prevent radioactive iodine from entering the body; it only prevents radioactive iodine from staying in the body, and only when it is taken before exposure.  Also, potassium iodide does nothing to prevent radiation sickness due to radioactive strontium or radioactive cesium.


The people at the Centers for Disease Control say to only take potassium iodide when directed to do so by a physician or the government.  And that will work just fine as long as communication channels are open.  But if such is not the case, you might be on your own, and having your own Geiger counter might be a good idea. 

Still, without a Geiger counter, and if there is no information forthcoming from the government, it's hard to know when to take your tablets.  Dr. Koelker feels that since a single dose of potassium iodide has very little risk of harm, and not taking it could lead to thyroid cancer, especially in children, it's better to be safe than sorry and take the pill.

And that brings up a somewhat related point that is only briefly alluded to by physicians and vendors.  While not incredibly expensive, those tablets smell horrible.  I don't have personal experience taking one, but based on what they smell like while still sealed in the foil packets, I know it's going to be really bad. The smell permeates through just about everything.  We keep our tablets in a metal tin in the closet, far away from any food.  You definitely don't want to take them if you don't have to.  If you have got to get a child to take these tablets, you should probably have some really good treats to wash it down with--chocolate milk, soda, and loads of candy would probably be a good idea. Might not be a bad idea for adults, either. 

The FDA recommendations for potassium iodide (KI) dosage are based on cases of thyroid cancer that developed in children exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Age and weight	Predicted Thyroid Exposure (centiGrays)	Dose of potassium iodide (KI)
Birth through 1 month	>5	16 mg
1 month through 3 years	>5	32 mg
3 years through 18 years, but under 150 lbs	>5	65 mg
12 years through 18 years, and over 150 lbs	>5	130 mg
Pregnant or nursing women	>5	130 mg
18 years through 40 years	>10	130 mg
Over 40 years	>500	130 mg

As with every medication, there are side effects, but in this case they're considered mild and clinically insignificant.  Two percent of children had some gastrointestinal distress, which was attributed to the bad taste of potassium iodide.  (When you smell it, you'll understand.)  One percent of children and adults developed a rash.  Only two people out of seventeen million had an allergic reaction, and both of those were known to have an iodine sensitivity.  The risk of reaction from a single dose is very small.

If there is a nuclear event, pregnant women, nursing mothers, those with thyroid conditions are advised to take a single initial dose, and then work with their physician to determine the best course of treatment.


So what do you do if you don't have potassium iodide?  What if your group suddenly expanded and there isn't enough for all?  Remember, children are at greatest risk, so they get treated first.  Thyroid cancer takes years to develop.  The middle-aged and elderly will likely be just fine without any treatment.

However, there is another option, if you start quickly enough.  Apply Betadine (povidone iodine) to the abdomen or forearm 2-12 hours prior to radiation exposure and reapply each day in the following amounts:

• Adults--8 ml 
• Children three years and up (but under 150 pounds)--4 ml
• Toddlers--2 ml
• Infants--1 ml

Continue for at least three days or until radiation levels drop.  Oh, and if you can't measure milliliters, a teaspoon measuring spoon contains 5 milliliters. 

Betadine is often recommended because it is more likely that families will have it rather than tincture of iodine, which can also be used.  

An adult could get a blocking dose of stable iodine by painting 8 ml of a 2 percent tincture of iodine on the abdomen or forearm approximately 2 hours prior to I-131 contamination. The abstract of his study titled "Effectiveness of Skin Absorption of Tincture of I in Blocking Radioiodine from the Human Thyroid Gland" from Health Physics, June 1989, Vol. 56, No. 6, pages 911-914, states:

• "Although there were large variations within each subject group in regard to serum-I levels and thyroid uptakes, the increase in serum-I concentration after topical-I application was effective in reducing the thyroid uptake of I131. The authors conclude that in the absence 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."

Keep in mind that because radioactive iodine can be inhaled and ingested, contaminated plants should not be used for food for at least 2-3 months. 

Cautions.  Do not drink Betadine.  Adverse reactions may occur in those taking diuretics and/or lithium.   Do not attempt ingesting iodized salt to get enough iodine.  You'd have to eat over five cups of iodized salt to equal one potassium tablet.  And that much salt would likely be fatal in and of itself.


Links to related posts:
Betadine
Armageddon Medicine book review
The Survival Medicine Handbook book review 
Salt  

For further reading:
Dr. Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, p 473.
Dr. Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, pp 255-260.
https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/using-potassium-iodide/
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/emergencies/ki.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Femergency.cdc.gov%2Fradiation%2Fki.asp
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/potassium-iodide-thyroid-blocking-agent-radiation-emergencies
https://www.fda.gov/media/72510/download
http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p904.htm

 08.27.19