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Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:12 pm
by Gob
Fears of radiation sickness stemming from the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan have prompted a surge in US sales of potassium iodide.
Potassium iodide (KI), a salt, floods the thyroid gland with non-radioactive iodine which lessens the amount of radiation the gland can absorb.
Pharmacies do not generally carry KI, but several manufacturers have reported being out of stock.
The US government has a stockpile on hand in case of emergencies.
Online retailer nukepills.com said via its Twitter feed that it had sold out of KI pills on Tuesday.
It received 3,800 orders in 18 hours on Sunday and has shipped 50,000 pills to Tokyo, with the help of Harvard Medical School.
Debby Fleming Wurdack, co-owner of Fleming Pharmaceuticals, which produces a KI solution on demand, told the BBC the firm would be out of stock by the end of the day.
"This is insanity," Ms Fleming Wurdack said.
The company received more than 350 calls with orders from clients ranging from housewives to state governments on Tuesday, she said.
It also received orders from companies intending to send KI to their employees in Japan.
Ms Fleming Wurdack told the BBC that her company had ordered additional raw materials to manufacture more KI solution.
She expects the orders will continue for months.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12765401
People should be informed that iodine tablets are only effective when radiation is present and detectable in the thyroid,. Taking it without medical cause just damages the thyroid and makes it weak.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:20 pm
by Long Run
Gob wrote:
People should be informed that iodine tablets are only effective when radiation is present and detectable in the thyroid,. Taking it without medical cause just damages the thyroid and makes it weak.
People have jobs making, distributing and selling iodine. Are you anti-jobs?
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:34 am
by The Hen
I am going to keep using iodinated salt in my cooking regardless of your post.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:41 am
by The Hen
Actually, all the sites I have quickly randomly searched advise that iodine in you diet helps thyroid health.
Why else would it be so necessary?
Besides, aren't the Japanese only distributing these tablets in prefectures that have registered higher than healthy radiation levels?
Are you just worried there will be an unnecessary run on iodine tablets world wide? Is this really likely with anyone who doesn't already have a nuclear fallout shelter?
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:56 am
by Gob
Potassium iodide is not recommended until radiation levels are in the 50-rad region, he said. "It's not going to be anywhere near that in the United States. It's hitting the panic button unnecessarily."
In cases of true radiation exposure, the benefits of potassium iodide outweigh the risks.
Taking stable iodide tablets can protect the thyroid from exposure to radioactive iodine-131 by "filling up" the gland and preventing it from taking up the radioactive iodine. But potassium iodide can be harmful to people who are allergic to the substance or who have the skin disorders dermatitis herpetiformis or urticaria vasculitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People with thyroid disorders whot take the substance can experience a worsening of their thyroid illnesses, Wartofsky said. If potassium iodide is truly necessary for these people, they should take it under a doctor's supervision. Pregnant women and infants should not be given potassium iodide because it could cause a serious thyroid disorder in infants.
The supplements can cause some side effects including nausea, rashes and inflammation of the salivary glands.
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostersh ... 4276.story
The article I linked to was about a rush on iodine tablets in the USA, not Japan.
Dietary iodine is a minute comes in minute quantities, these tablets provide very large doses.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:59 am
by The Hen
Oh arse. Not only do I need more and better fucking drugs, I need fucking glasses too.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 1:00 am
by The Hen
I'll go back to fail log and cake wrecks for a few more days then.
NO POSTING FOR ME!
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 1:27 am
by Scooter
There were already reports here of a run on the tablets in pharmacies in Vancouver. I would hope that pharmacists would have been advising people that they most probably wouldn't be necessary.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2011 4:45 am
by dales
Dopes.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:06 pm
by dgs49
The radiation levels outside the power plants themselves are not high enough to present any measurable health hazard to the general public in Japan. Even the number of confirmed radiation-related deaths resulting from Chernobyl have been much fewer than were expected. The human body has a significant ability to tolerate the occasional blip of radiation - beyond what we constantly see under normal circumstances. The health risks in Canada or the U.S. are so slight as to be essentially non-existent.
People who live at high altitude (e.g., Colorado) or who fly frequently are exposed to much more radiation than is wafting through the sky to British Columbia or Washington state.
There are few businesses as profitable as the ones that cater to people's stupidity.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:48 am
by loCAtek
Well, of course I was very concerned about this, However;
The plume issue has arisen before. In 1986, radiation spewing from the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine was spread around the globe on winds and reached the West Coast in 10 days. It was judged more of a curiosity than a threat.
I remember those days; the only change was to the skies which seemed redder and the sunsets were pretty dramatic for almost a month afterwards. What really peaked my interest was this part;
Military Crew Said to Be Exposed to Radiation, but Officials Call Risk in U.S. Slight
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: March 13, 2011
The Pentagon was expected to announce that the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, which is sailing in the Pacific, passed through a radioactive cloud from stricken nuclear reactors in Japan, causing crew members on deck to receive a month’s worth of radiation in about an hour, government officials said Sunday.The officials added that American helicopters flying missions about 60 miles north of the damaged reactors became coated with particulate radiation that had to be washed off.There was no indication that any of the military personnel had experienced ill effects from the exposure. (Everyone is exposed to a small amount of natural background radiation.)But the episodes showed that the prevailing winds were picking up radioactive material from crippled reactors in northeastern Japan. Ever since an earthquake struck Japan on Friday, the authorities worldwide have been laying plans to map where radioactive plumes might blow and determine what, if any, danger they could pose to people.Blogs were churning with alarm. But officials insisted that unless the quake-damaged nuclear plants deteriorated into full meltdown, any radiation that reached the United States would be too weak to do any harm
This is a rather historical moment, for this is the first time the US Navy has ever engaged in a large-scale, real world CBR (Chemical, Biological,
Radiological) Defense Response
The military has only ever trained and drilled for this contingency before; but has never had to use it. It's quite a complex operation, which the journals make sound like everyone just took a shower; this is a General Quarters Alert with special teams to handle protection, decontamination of ship and personnel, and medical issues. History in the making, folks! I'[m sure those servicemembers will receive special commendations.
Re: Don't bother stocking up on iodine.
Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:05 am
by loCAtek
It look like this;
..while the US Navy was doing this;
